SMS Alerts Setup

Overview

Actionstep has released improved SMS function that will work in all regions allowing users to send one-direction SMS messages to any party and to allow for reminders of calendar appointments for your client. 

This feature is currently in the early adopter feature preview mode.

In this article, we explain how the SMS alerts work. If you want to learn how to set your Actionstep so it can use SMS Alert, please see Using SMS Alerts.

Note:

While in Early Adopter mode, SMS is not available in Express systems.

Pricing 

Region	Monthly cost	Number of SMS for the monthly cost	Cost per SMS once the monthly number is exceeded
USA	$20	1000	$0.01
UK	£20	600	£0.03
AUS	$30	400	$0.07
NZ	$40	200	$0.20

Enabling SMS under Early Adopter Feature Preview

To set your Actionstep system so that it can use this feature preview, please go to General Settings (Admin > General Setting).

Go to the Feature Preview section at the bottom of the page.

If not already on, Enable Feature Preview.

If not already on, turn on Early Access Group.

Switch SMS Upgrade (with USA/UK SUpport) to on.

Setup SMS Alerts

To begin setup, navigate to Admin > Email & SMS. 

Select SMS messaging.

Enable SMS by toggling the Enable SMS toggle to On. 

The subscription increase and additional pricing information will be different in various regions. To agree to pricing, select the I accept the changes to my subscription checkbox.

If you only want to allow users to send SMS out of Actionstep, click Save. If you want to also configure SMS reminders for clients calendar appointments, read below.

Turning on the toggle revels further options.

Client Calendar Appointment Reminders

Send SMS reminders to selected attendees when an appointment is linked to a matter. The attendee must be linked to a contact record and have an SMS number configured.
 
Two reminders are sent, 1 day before and 1 hour before the appointment start time, with all day appointments adjusted to 8am.

Add an SMS number on participant's contact record in the Phone & messaging section:

Note: The country code must be included. In the example above, the country code is "+1"

Calendar appointment settings

Enable SMS Reminders	Dictates whether SMS reminders are sent for calendar appointments
Limit to matter party types	Dictates which party on the matter can receive messages Client - The client participant on the matter Primary participant - The contact in the roles that has been specified as the primary participant on the matter
Send to Actionstep users	Dictates whether Actionstep users will receive SMS reminders when they occupy the specified party type in the matter

 

Additional settings

The additional settings link to permissions for SMS in the system.