Integrating with Textlocal (SMS)
You can send and receive SMS messages directly from ChurchSuite by completing an integration with Textlocal. One advantage of an SMS integration is the ability to bulk-send messages to multiple people, perhaps a group or even everyone in your Address Book!
In this article
Setting up Textlocal integration
Obtaining the API Key
Authorising users to send SMS messages
Sending text messages through ChurchSuite
FAQs and common issues
Textlocal SMS costs
It's free to open a Textlocal account and there is no minimum spend or ongoing monthly subscription – you simply purchase bundles of credits to use on a pay-as-you-go basis. Textlocal credits are purchased in bundles starting from 500 credits. Textlocal will alert you when your account credits are getting low. Top-up is online through your Textlocal account control panel.
Further information about Textlocal standard pricing can be found here. For UK-registered charities, Textlocal offers discounted pricing of 2.8p + VAT per SMS. Click here to request the discounted pricing for your account before purchasing your first bundle of credits.
When you open a free account with Textlocal they will assign you a free Keyword. However, for an additional monthly cost, Textlocal can provide you with a "custom" Keyword; perhaps something that better represents your organisation's name e.g. "KHC" for "Kings Hope Church". Further details can be found on the Textlocal website.
Prices correct on 1st Jan 2024
Message lengths
A single SMS is 160 characters, so messages exceeding that length will use more than 1 credit, however, longer messages can be sent, resulting in multiple messages being strung together to create a single long SMS. Seven hidden characters are used to join each message together so that it delivers readable as one long SMS. This can make calculating long message costs complicated, as a single message can be up to 160 characters but multiple conjoined messages are calculated in multiples of 153, i.e. 160 characters minus the 7 hidden characters used to join the messages together.
| <= 160 | 1 credit |
|---|---|
| > 160 | 2 credits |
| > 306 | 3 credits |
| > 459 | 4 credits |
| > 612 | 5 credits |
| > 766 | The message will be truncated to 765 characters. |
Note: Message lengths are a restriction of SMS and are imposed by the networks, not Textlocal. The above credit costs are based on sending to local numbers.
Setting up Textlocal integration
To complete the Textlocal integration, navigate to the Integrations section in your Account Settings and click on Textlocal.
Next, you'll need your Textlocal account details. Click Add Account.
On the Add account pop-up, enter a Name by which this Textlocal account will be known within ChurchSuite (e.g. General SMS, Church SMS, etc). Optionally set the Default From name (i.e. the sender name from which an SMS from this account will show as having come from) and select all the authorised Users who can send SMS messages from this account - only authorised Users can send messages. You can return to this pop-up in the future to make changes to the authorised Users. See the next section for obtaining the API Key.
Obtaining the API Key
The Textlocal API Key securely connects your ChurchSuite account to your Textlocal account without requiring an account username and password (both of which may be changed over time). Begin by logging into your Textlocal account in a new browser tab (you'll return to the Textlocal Integration later). Hover over the Settings menu and select API Keys.
A list of any existing API Keys is shown. If there are no API Keys listed click Create New Key.
When prompted, ignore requests to enter IP Addresses. Click Save New Key.
Copy the generated API Key from Textlocal...
...and paste it into the API Key field in the Textlocal integration in ChurchSuite. Click Save.
You can return to the integration at any time, perhaps to Add additional accounts or Edit and make changes to the list of authorised Users, change the Default account or Reset the integration entirely.
As long as you're one of the authorised users, you can send SMS messages through ChurchSuite!
Authorising Users to send SMS
Since sending an SMS incurs a cost to your organisation, only Authorised Users can send messages. From the Textlocal integration page, select Edit from the account actions:
On the Edit pop-up, search and select each of the Users authorised to send messages (and remove any no longer authorised).
Sending text messages through ChurchSuite
When composing an SMS, the SMS From is pre-populated with the default sender name set in the integration but this can be overtyped with any valid mobile number to which replies will be received (no spaces). Merge Fields can be used for SMS personalisation. Choose a previously prepared Preset SMS or compose your own message. You'll be alerted if the character count exceeds 160.
Click Preview SMS to review the message and Add, Remove or Clear recipients, or go Back to edit the message. Click Send SMS to send or schedule the message.
FAQs and common resolving issues
Q: Can I see a log of sent SMS communications?
A: Yes. You can see sent communications listed in the Communication report in the corresponding Address Book, Children or Giving module reports section. You can also see further, more detailed logging in your Textlocal control panel.
Q: Textlocal's Terms of Service say that failure to include a STOP "opt-out" message in all outbound SMSs is a breach of their terms of service. How does ChurchSuite handle this?
Since ChurchSuite already includes comprehensive communication preferences to enable people to easily opt in/out of receiving SMS messages, Textlocal has agreed with ChurchSuite that they will not enforce that term from their terms of service. It's therefore not necessary to include a STOP "opt-out" option in your outbound SMS message.