SMS messages in Groovio require credits because each message segment costs money to send.
This article explains how credits work, how to purchase and manage them, and how to review all related charges.
How SMS Credits Work
1 credit = 1 SMS segment per recipient
Standard (GSM-7) characters: 160 chars per segment (153 if the message splits across multiple segments).
Unicode/emojis: 70 chars per segment (67 if split).
Credits may cost more depending on the carrier or destination country.
Every time you send an SMS (manual, automated, or test), credits are deducted based on the number of segments required.
Purchasing SMS Credits
Before sending SMS messages, your studio must purchase credits.
Go to Account > SMS Charges and click Top Up (or use the purple 200 SMS Credits Top Up button at the top right of any automated messages page).
Enter the number of credits you want to buy.
Minimum purchase: 100 credits
Maximum purchase: 10,000 credits
Review the estimated total.
For example, 100 credits at 0.0108 USD per credit ≈ USD 1.08.
Select a saved studio card or add a new one.
Click Proceed to Payment to complete the purchase.
Credits are added immediately and available for use across all SMS messages, including automated, campaign, and individual texts.
Auto Top-Up
You can enable auto top-up so credits are replenished automatically.
Toggle Enable auto top-up.
Set a threshold (minimum credit balance) and a top-up amount.
Choose the saved studio card to charge.
Click Save Settings.
When your balance drops below the threshold, Groovio will automatically purchase the specified amount of credits.
Viewing SMS Charges and Usage
The Account > SMS Charges page provides a complete ledger of every SMS transaction:
Top-ups – Manual and auto top-ups, showing the number of credits purchased and cost.
Usage – Per-message deductions, including:
Who sent it (Automated or staff name)
Recipient
Date and time
Credits used
Status and reason (e.g., “SMS sent: 2 credits used” or “Campaign SMS: 4 credits used”)
You can filter by Status and Type and click View to see message details.
This page is your single source of truth for reconciling all SMS costs and activity.
Additional Notes
Test SMS messages (e.g., when testing automated templates) also consume credits.
If a student has not opted in to receive SMS messages, the system will skip them and no credits will be deducted.
Credits never expire and can be used across all SMS channels (manual, automated, campaigns).
Summary
With the SMS Credits & Billing tools, you can:
Buy credits (minimum 100) manually or set up auto top-ups.
Track all SMS spending and usage in one place.
Ensure automated and manual SMS messages always have the credits they need.
This gives your studio full control and visibility over SMS messaging costs while ensuring important communications are delivered reliably.