As well as sending bulk SMS campaigns, you can send a one-off text message to a single Contact from their profile. Use this for a direct conversation — following up on an enquiry, confirming a detail, or answering a reply — rather than messaging a list.
Individual messages are sent with the Send text quick action, and the full back-and-forth stays on the Contact's record.
What you can do
- Send a text message to one Contact from their profile.
- Read the whole conversation history with that Contact.
- Check the length of your message and how many SMS units it will use before sending.
- Send straight away, or schedule the message for a future date and time.
Sending a message
- Open the Contact's profile.
- In the quick actions beside the business card, select Send text.
- A drawer slides out from the right showing the conversation so far, grouped by date. Messages you have sent appear on the right, messages from the Contact on the left.
- Type your message in the box at the bottom. As you type, the counter beneath shows the length and the number of SMS units it will use (for example 25 characters : 1 SMS unit).
- Select Send.
Send and Schedule stay unavailable until you have typed something.
Scheduling a message for later
- Compose your message as above.
- Select Schedule.
- The Schedule text message popover opens with the Date, Time and time zone already filled in with the present moment.
- Set the Date and Time you want the message to go out, and check the time zone is the one you mean.
- Select Schedule.
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The Schedule button inside the popover stays unavailable until you move the date and time into the future — the pre-filled values are the current moment, which cannot be scheduled. Select Close to back out without scheduling anything.
If you can't type a message
Where the Contact's number cannot be messaged, the message box is replaced by a notice reading "SMS messaging is only available within your country at this time." This appears for numbers outside the country your account sends from. Check the mobile number recorded against the Contact, including its country code.
If the Contact has unsubscribed from text messages, that is shown separately by the messages icon beside their mobile number on the business card — see Text message opt-outs and unsubscribes.
Context and relationships
- Individual messages and bulk campaigns share the same conversation history. A reply to a campaign appears in the same thread as a one-to-one message.
- Replies also appear in the Texts Inbox, where you can answer them without opening the profile (see Texts Inbox — reading and replying to messages).
- Text messages are a paid send funded from your account's Communications Wallet. Longer messages use more SMS units and more credit.
- Viewing conversations and sending messages are governed separately by the View SMS and Send SMS permissions on your user group (see Text message permissions for user groups). Where you have viewing access only, the conversation is visible but you cannot send.
- The sender number or sender name your messages come from is configured in Settings → Communications → Text messages (see Text message numbers & sender IDs).
FAQs
Where is the Send text action?
In the quick actions beside the business card at the top of a Contact's profile, alongside Send email and Make call.
Can I use merge fields in an individual message?
No. Merge fields are a campaign feature, available in the Compose step of the Bulk SMS Sender.
Can I apply a saved template?
No. Templates apply to text campaigns only.
How do I know how long my message is?
The counter beneath the message box updates as you type, showing the character count and the number of SMS units.
Why is the Schedule button greyed out?
Either you have not typed a message yet, or the date and time in the popover are still set to the present moment. Move them into the future.
Why can't I type a message?
The number may not be messageable from your account — look for the notice in place of the message box — or you may not have permission to send individual messages.
Do individual messages cost the same as campaign messages?
Yes. Both draw on the Communications Wallet, priced by SMS unit.