The SMS you send from EXACT are charged depending on the number of characters used in an SMS template, this means that the more characters used, the higher the cost.

Understanding SMS character limits

The number of SMS used for a message is displayed in EXACT along with the character limit at the top and the actual used amount at the bottom of the feature.

To give you an idea of how these are calculated;

• 1-160 characters = 1 SMS credit
• 161-306 characters = 2 SMS credits
• 307-459 characters = 3 SMS credits
• And so on...

When using the character counter in EXACT, you will need to keep in mind that any merge fields will not be counted, however, these are counted when sending a message. For example, if you use {firstname} in an SMS the patient's firstname will be counted in your character count for that message.

The following SMS template is counted as 55 characters

• Hi [patient.firstname], we are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at [patient.nextappttime].

When sending this same message to a patient, the total character count will increase, this example becomes 67 characters;

• Hi Brendan, we are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at 10:15.

Including patient names is great for personalisation, however, they can significantly increase the character count, especially if a patient has a longer name.

• The name Dan uses only 3 characters whereas Michelle is more than double that, using 8 characters.

Reducing your SMS character count

• Don't include unnecessary filler words in your SMS.
• Do you need the patient's first and last names in an SMS?
• Leave out non-standard GSM characters and emojis (these are counted as multiple characters).

Tips and Tricks

• Don’t copy and paste content from emails or Word/Google Docs documents as these sometimes use non-standard GSM characters and can significantly increase your character count without you being aware.