SMS text message credits
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Every SMS you send through SortScape uses text message credits from your monthly allowance. This includes invoice text messages, even when the invoice itself is created in Xero. Think of a credit like a stamp — most messages need just one stamp, but a longer message or one with emojis can need two or more.
The good news: you never have to work this out yourself. Whenever you write or edit a text message in SortScape, the app tells you exactly how many credits that message will use before you send it.
The simple version
Section titled “The simple version”Most short text messages use 1 credit.
The default reminder templates in SortScape are short, plain messages. They almost always use just 1 credit each — which is why most businesses never have to think about this.
A message only uses more than 1 credit when:
- It is longer than a normal text message, or
- It contains emojis or certain special characters
How long is a “normal” text message?
Section titled “How long is a “normal” text message?”For a standard text message (letters, numbers, and everyday punctuation), you can fit roughly 160 characters in one credit. That is about 2–3 short sentences — plenty for a job reminder like:
Hi John, this is a reminder that we’ll be at your property tomorrow between 8am and 12pm. Reply STOP to opt out.
If your message is longer than that, it gets split into parts and each part uses 1 credit. For example, a message that is roughly 200 characters long would use 2 credits.
You do not need to count characters yourself — SortScape shows the credit count as you type.
Emojis and special characters
Section titled “Emojis and special characters”Emojis use more credits
Section titled “Emojis use more credits”Emojis (like 👍 🌿 ✅) take up more space in a text message than regular letters. If you add even one emoji, your whole message is treated differently — you can only fit about 70 characters per credit instead of 160.
What this means in practice:
- A short message with an emoji at the end (under 70 characters) still uses 1 credit — you are fine.
- A longer message with emojis can quickly jump to 2 credits even if it does not look that long on screen.
If you are trying to keep costs down, skip emojis in your templates and bulk messages. A plain text reminder works just as well.
Some symbols count as extra
Section titled “Some symbols count as extra”A few less common characters — like the euro symbol (€) or curly brackets — also take up extra space in a message. This rarely comes up for lawn care reminders, but SortScape accounts for it in the credit count it shows you.
Copy-pasting from Word or email
Section titled “Copy-pasting from Word or email”If you copy text from Word, an email, or a website, it sometimes brings along “fancy” punctuation — curly quote marks, long dashes, or odd spaces. SortScape tidies most of these up automatically when the message is sent, so a pasted message does not accidentally cost more than it should.
Multiple numbers multiply credits
Section titled “Multiple numbers multiply credits”When a contact has extra mobile numbers, each number gets the full message and uses its own credits. For example, a 1-credit template sent to a contact with three numbers uses 3 credits for that send. The same applies to automatic reminders and bulk texts from a job run. See Multiple mobile numbers for SMS reminders.
Xero invoice text messages
Section titled “Xero invoice text messages”Invoice texts for Xero invoices use your credits like any other SMS, whether you tick Send invoice text message when creating the invoice or send the text later from the invoice. Most use 1 credit. See Sending invoices after they have been created for when you can send invoices and how Xero fits in.
Text messages on the free trial
Section titled “Text messages on the free trial”A free trial includes a small number of text messages, so you can see how texting a customer works before you choose a plan.
To send a lot of texts, choose a paid plan. Billing is only available in a web browser, not the SortScape mobile app. Sign in at app.sortscape.com if you are using the app on your phone, then open Settings → Company → Billing and click Choose a plan.
Each paid plan includes a monthly allowance of text messages. If you need more texts than that plan includes, add text message credits from the same Billing page. See Credits included with your plan and Adding more credits.
Credits included with your plan
Section titled “Credits included with your plan”The amounts below are for a paid plan. A free trial includes only a small number of texts. See Text messages on the free trial.
How many text message credits you get each month depends on your plan and how many users you have.
Basic plan | Premium plan | |
1 user | 10 SMS credits | 50 SMS credits |
2 users | 25 SMS credits | 100 SMS credits |
5 users | 50 SMS credits | 150 SMS credits |
10 users | 100 SMS credits | 200 SMS credits |
15 users | 150 SMS credits | 250 SMS credits |
20 users | 200 SMS credits | 300 SMS credits |
25 users | 250 SMS credits | 350 SMS credits |
30 users | 300 SMS credits | 400 SMS credits |
35 users | 350 SMS credits | 500 SMS credits |
40 users | 400 SMS credits | 600 SMS credits |
45 users | 450 SMS credits | 650 SMS credits |
50 users | 500 SMS credits | 700 SMS credits |
Your credits reset at the start of each month.
Need more? See Adding more credits below. Extra credits come in bundles of 100 per month. For pricing and how add-ons work on monthly vs annual plans, see Billing plans, changes, and cancellation.
Adding more credits
Section titled “Adding more credits”Billing is only available in a web browser, not the SortScape mobile app (iOS or Android). To buy more text message credits, open Settings → Company → Billing. Other admin settings, including checking sent messages and credit usage, are available in the mobile app. See Checking how many credits you have left below.
If you use SortScape on your phone, open a browser (Safari, Chrome, or similar), go to app.sortscape.com, and log in with your SortScape email and password. Being logged into the mobile app does not sign you into the browser.
Once you are logged in on the web:
- Open Settings → Company → Billing.
- Click Add text messages.
- Set the quantity to the number of bundles you want (1 is one bundle of 100 credits a month). The price is shown before you confirm.
You do not need to add another user to get more credits. The credits included with your plan stay. One bundle adds 100 credits a month on top of those.
Adding a bundle does not add an extra month, and it does not move your renewal date. On a monthly plan, the bundle price is added to your monthly total. On an annual plan, the bundle is billed annually with your plan, and adding one mid-year charges a prorated amount up to your renewal date. See SMS add-ons on annual plans.
You need an active paid plan to buy add-ons. Free trial accounts must choose a plan first.
Checking how many credits you have left
Section titled “Checking how many credits you have left”Open Settings → Messaging → Sent messages or Settings → Messaging → Settings. These pages are available to administrators. See Recent messages for more detail.
At the top of the page you will see how many credits you have used this month and how many you have left. Tap or click View history to see each message and how many credits it used. On the web, Add credits takes you straight to Billing.
To buy more credits, see Adding more credits above.
Warning before you run out
Section titled “Warning before you run out”If you have automatic text reminders set up, SortScape emails your administrators before the credits run out, so you can top up before any reminders are missed. The email is called “Running low on text message credits” and goes out when either of these is true:
- You have used 80% of this month’s credits before 80% of the month has passed.
- The automatic text reminders due today and over the next two days need more credits than you have left.
The email says how many credits are left and links to Billing. You get at most one of these emails a month. If you add credits and later run low again in the same month, you get another. Once the credits have actually hit zero, you get the failed notification email instead (see below).
Each administrator chooses whether to receive it under the Low text message credits toggle in their notification settings. It is turned on for the account owner, and anyone who is made an administrator later can turn it on themselves. There is also an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email.
What happens when you run out
Section titled “What happens when you run out”Once you have used all your credits for the month, you cannot send any more text messages until you add more. The text message options in SortScape are greyed out, with a note saying the credits are used up. In a web browser:
- Administrators also get an Add text message credits link that opens Billing.
- Employees are asked to get an administrator to add more, because only administrators can open Billing.
The mobile app only says the credits are used up, because Billing is not available in the app. To add more, sign in at app.sortscape.com in a web browser and follow Adding more credits.
If you have automatic appointment reminders set up, SortScape keeps retrying that day’s reminder texts until 9:30pm, so they go out if you add credits the same day. Reminders are not sent on a later day (see When reminders send). Administrators with Failed notification alerts turned on also get an email letting them know a text could not be sent. When the cause is running out of credits, the email has an Add text message credits link to Billing.
Messages that are free (no credits used)
Section titled “Messages that are free (no credits used)”A few automatic messages do not count against your monthly allowance:
- The confirmation sent when a customer replies STOP to opt out — see SMS opt-out and resubscribe
- The confirmation sent when a customer replies START to opt back in
- Follow-up texts from the AI receptionist (if you have that enabled)
These still show up in your sent message history, but they do not eat into your credits.
Quick tips
Section titled “Quick tips”- Stick with the default templates — they are already short and use 1 credit each.
- Skip emojis in reminders unless you really want them — they can double your credit usage on longer messages.
- Check the credit count shown in SortScape before sending — especially if you have edited a template or written a longer message.
- Keep it short and simple — your customers just need to know you are coming; they do not need a long message.
For help when texts are not arriving, see Why aren’t my customers receiving SMS reminders?. For using your own phone number as the sender, see Can I send text messages from my own number?.