SMS Pricing and Limits
In order to keep up with increasing costs of commercial SMS messages and more accurately reflect the value our clients get from them, we have started to implement overage charges.
Starting in October 2019, customers who go above their SMS limit will be billed $0.01 USD per additional SMS segment.
Please read the F.A.Q. below to better understand if and how this may affect you.
Will this affect my billing?
For the great majority of our customers, there will be no changes, as our limits are pretty generous for most regular practices. We expect that only high volume customers who have a low practitioner-to-client ratio will be affected.
How are SMS messages priced?
Standard SMS messages are limited to 160 characters per message. If a message exceeds this limit, it is broken up into multiple segments of 160 characters each. The message recipient only sees one message because the device combines all the segments when necessary. For billing purposes, what matters is how many segments are sent, not how many messages the recipient sees. For example, if your appointment reminder has 200 characters, you are using 2 segments per reminder.
How is my limit calculated?
The limit on your account depends on your plan and on the number of practitioners you have. Here's a breakdown:
- Practice Management plan: 300 SMS segments per practitioner/month
- Forms Only plan: 150 SMS segments per practitioner/month
- Practice Management Low Volume: 50 SMS segments per practitioner/month
- Forms Only Low Volume: 25 SMS segments per practitioner/month
How can I keep track of my SMS usage?
We have added a new section to your subscription page (More > Subscription) showing your usage for the current and previous periods, as well as your limits.
What happens if I go over my limit?
There will be no service disruption. When you go over your limit on a given month, we will charge $0.01 USD for each additional SMS segment in your next monthly bill.
When will IntakeQ start to enforce SMS limits?
The limits will start to be reinforced in October 2019. If you are above the limit for the month of October, you will only be billed in November.
Why are you making this change now?
We have decided to start charging overages now for two main reasons. First, we are preparing to release a feature that will allow customers to send forms via SMS. This will potentially double or triple the number of SMS messages certain accounts use. Second, Verizon is planning an increase of up to 33% on commercial SMS messages, and it's likely that other carriers will do the same in the near future.