SMS

Compose and send instant SMS messages to individual customers or segmented groups, estimate character segments, and monitor live delivery logs.

Send an SMS now

To dispatch instant text messages, navigate to Communication → Messages in your Nukta dashboard.

The SMS messaging dashboard displays your transmission volume, today's dispatches, delivered messages, failed counts, recent credit spend, and active provider health. Click New Message to open the instant compose window.

Choosing recipients

The messaging composer supports four flexible recipient targeting modes:

• Specific Customers: Search individual customers by name, phone number, or username (e.g., S102) and add their contact numbers directly.
• Segments: Target dynamic customer status groups—including Online Customers, Active (Subscribed), PPPoE Customers, Expired Hotspot, Expired PPPoE, Offline, Paused, or Inactive Accounts.
• Mikrotiks: Target all customers associated with one or more specific MikroTik router sites (ideal for tower-level maintenance notices).
• Everyone: Broadcast to all eligible customers registered across your ISP workspace.

NOTE

Automatic Exclusion of Invalid Numbers

Customer records missing a valid mobile phone number are automatically filtered out by the dispatch pipeline. Always check the estimated recipient count rather than assuming every customer record in a segment has a usable mobile number.

Composing and estimating delivery costs

1. Choose your audience mode and select your recipient group.
2. Draft your message in clear, concise language.
3. Insert dynamic personalization tags directly from the UI dropdown:
   • {{first_name}} and {{last_name}}: Customer's name.
   • {{phone}} and {{email}}: Customer contact details.
   • {{package_name}}: Customer's active internet package.
   • {{expiry_date}} and {{expiry_at}}: Current expiration date and timestamp.
   • {{company_name}}: Your ISP brand name.
4. Review Character Count & Segments:
   • Up to 160 characters represents 1 standard GSM segment.
   • Concatenated messages longer than 160 characters are segmented at 153 characters per part.
   • Special unicode symbols, emojis, or accents reduce the per-segment threshold to 70 characters.
5. Inspect the Cost Estimate: Verify the total estimated recipient count, segments per recipient, and projected SMS credit expenditure.
6. Verify Balance: If your SMS gateway requires prepaid units (such as Nukta SMS), ensure your account credit covers the estimated total.
7. Click Send Message once and observe real-time delivery in the dispatch log.

Reusable message templates

Save time on recurring customer notices by saving reusable SMS templates under Settings → Communications → SMS → Templates.

• Templates enforce a required unique name (up to 120 characters) and message body (up to 480 characters).
• Frequently review saved templates to prevent sending outdated pricing, expired promotional dates, or changed customer support phone numbers.

Delivery logs and resending failures

The messaging log provides detailed operational visibility:

• Filter messages by Status (Delivered, Sent, Pending, Failed), Recipient Phone, or custom Date Ranges.
• Investigate Before Resending: Resolve the root cause before attempting to resend. Resending without addressing formatting or credit issues simply incurs duplicate charges.
• Bulk Resend: The bulk resend action is scoped strictly to failed records within the active filter. Review your filter parameters and failure reasons before triggering bulk retries.

Common failure causes

• Invalid Phone Number Format: Numbers missing standard international dial codes (e.g. +254 or standard zero-prefixed local format).
• Unconfigured or Revoked Gateway Keys: Inactive API tokens, invalid partner IDs, or expired credentials.
• Unapproved Sender ID: Using an alphanumeric Sender ID that has not yet completed regulatory telecom registration.
• Insufficient Prepaid Balance: Depleted SMS credit balance on your gateway account.
• Carrier Rate Limits: Provider quota restrictions or spam-filter throttling.
• Handset Reachability: Recipient device is switched off, out of network coverage, or has an active SIM swap hold.

SMS credit balance and top-ups

• Nukta SMS: Displays real-time prepaid credit balance and self-service top-up within your dashboard. You can configure automated low-balance alert thresholds to receive an SMS warning when balance drops below a set limit.
• Third-Party Gateways: External aggregators (such as Africa's Talking, Beem, BulkSMS, Infobip, or Twilio) manage billing and top-ups directly in their respective merchant developer portals.

CAUTION

Avoid Testing on "Everyone"

Never select the Everyone audience segment while verifying new gateway integrations or testing variable placeholders. Always send test dispatches to individual team-owned phone numbers.

To schedule recurring customer outreach, see Broadcast Campaigns. For gateway setup and custom sender tags, see Messaging Providers and Sender IDs. For automated payment receipts and expiration triggers, see Notifications and Templates.