Applies to: SimpleConsign accounts with the SimpleConnect add-on. US customers only.
SimpleConnect is added to your existing SimpleConsign subscription. There is one bill, one account, and no separate payment method to set up. This article covers how plans work, how usage is counted, how to track what you have used, and what to do if you run low before the month is over.
In this article
- How usage is counted
- Plans
- Tracking your usage
- Top-ups
- Who can buy top-ups
- Choosing between a top-up and a plan upgrade
- Making your plan go further
- Frequently asked questions
How usage is counted
Your plan includes a monthly allowance for emails and a separate monthly allowance for text segments. These are two different units, tracked separately.
Emails
Emails are counted per recipient. A campaign sent to 400 people draws 400 emails from your allowance.
Text segments
Carriers count text messages in segments rather than messages. One segment is 160 plain-text characters, including punctuation and spacing. This is how carriers measure it, and it is how your usage is counted here.
A 150-character message to 100 people uses 100 segments. A 250-character message to the same 100 people uses 200 segments, because each message runs to two segments.
Both directions count against your segments. That includes:
- Outbound messages you send by hand
- Outbound messages the system sends automatically, including scheduled messages
- Inbound messages a customer or consignor sends you
- Auto-replies and keyword responses
This matters when you are estimating. A back-and-forth conversation costs you segments on both sides, and turning on auto-replies adds a segment to every inbound message.
Plans
There are three levels. Every plan includes all three tools: Text Marketing, Email Marketing, and Reputation Management. The only difference between them is how much you can send each month.
| Plan | Monthly price | Emails per month | Text segments per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $49 | 1,000 | 500 |
| Growth | $69 | 3,500 | 1,500 |
| Pro | $79 | 12,000 | 4,000 |
Emails and text segments are separate allowances, and each resets on your billing date. You can see how much of each you have used at any time inside each platform (see Tracking your usage below).
An active SimpleConsign subscription is required. Your SimpleConnect plan is added to your SimpleConsign account and appears on the same bill.
Tracking your usage
Both platforms show your usage in the upper right, and you can check either at any time.
| Platform | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Email Marketing | Your email count based on your package and plan: how many you have used, how many remain, and your total. Outbound emails track here as you send campaigns. |
| Text Marketing | A segment counter tracking how many segments you have used against your plan. |
Your plan and SMS information is also available in Text Marketing under Settings.
Seeing where your segments went
The Dashboards area in Text Marketing breaks your message volume down by day, week, month, or the prior year, showing how many outbound messages were sent and how many inbound messages were received. That is what accumulates into your counter.
If you are trying to work out whether you are on the right plan, that report is the place to look, because it shows your actual pattern rather than a single month's snapshot.
Top-ups
A top-up adds sends to your current month without changing your plan. It is a one-time charge rather than a recurring one, and it is added to your SimpleConsign bill.
You can buy more than one top-up in a month if you need to.
Available top-ups
| Top-up | Amount | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 500 additional emails | $1.25 | |
| 1,000 additional emails | $2.50 | |
| SMS | 500 additional segments | $4.50 |
| SMS | 1,000 additional segments | $9.00 |
Where to buy one
Top-ups are purchased inside SimpleConnect under Billing and Top-ups, rather than in your SimpleConsign billing portal. Choose the top-up you want and confirm. The charge is applied to your SimpleConsign account.
To recap the split: your plan lives on your SimpleConsign account, and your top-ups are purchased inside SimpleConnect.
Who can buy top-ups
Only Admins can purchase a top-up. This keeps the same people in control of spending regardless of which part of the product the charge originates in.
A manager with access to SimpleConnect can build campaigns and send messages, but cannot add a charge to your account. Billing is limited to Admins and can't be granted to a manager.
Choosing between a top-up and a plan upgrade
A quick rule.
Buy a top-up when the month was unusual: a big holiday push, a store event, or a one-off campaign that ran larger than normal.
Move up a plan when you are buying top-ups two or three months running. At that point the higher plan is almost certainly cheaper than repeated top-ups, and you stop having to think about it.
Check your usage reporting before deciding. Two months of data will tell you which situation you are actually in.
Already on Pro? Pro is the highest plan, so top-ups are how you add more. For example, if you regularly need about 4,500 text segments a month, one 500-segment top-up ($4.50) covers the difference.
Making your plan go further
A few habits meaningfully reduce consumption.
Keep text messages under 160 characters
This is the biggest single lever. Every 160 characters is another segment charged for every recipient.
Use Page Builder instead of long texts
Build a landing page in Text Marketing and send the link. You deliver a full page of content, including images, buttons, and details, for the cost of one short message. That is the difference between a five-segment message and a one-segment message to your whole list.
Turn off the signature in ongoing conversations
Your business name is appended to every message by default. Once someone recognizes your number, toggling the signature off saves characters and can keep a message inside one segment.
Send to targeted lists rather than everyone
A message to your whole database costs the same whether it is relevant or not. Use the List Builder to send to the people the message actually applies to. You will use less of your allowance and get better engagement.
Be deliberate about auto-replies
Auto-replies and keyword responses consume segments, and they fire on inbound messages that are already costing you a segment. They are often worth it for the time they save your team, but if you are consistently running short, this is a place to look. If you only use one, the closed-hours reply is usually the most valuable.
Clean up bad contact data
Run the SMS error report in Text Marketing and check the duplicate phone number report. Invalid and disconnected numbers are wasted sends. Fixing them in SimpleConsign improves both your usage and your deliverability.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I hit my limit mid-campaign?
SimpleConnect won't start a send that needs more emails or segments than you have left, so a campaign never stops partway through. Check your counter before a large send, and buy a top-up first if you need more room.
Do inbound text messages count against my segments?
Yes. Any incoming message from a customer or consignor counts, as does any outbound message you send, whether it was typed by a person or sent automatically.
Are top-ups recurring?
No. A top-up is a one-time charge for that purchase only. It does not change your plan and it does not repeat next month.
Do unused emails and segments carry over?
No. Your allowance resets on your billing date, and anything you haven't used by then doesn't carry over.
Can I buy more than one top-up in a month?
Yes, as many as you need. If it is becoming routine, look at moving up a plan instead.
How do I change my plan?
Your plan is managed in your SimpleConsign billing portal. In the Back Office, an Admin selects their name in the top right corner, then Manage Billing. Select your subscription, click Edit Subscription, choose Remove under your current SimpleConnect plan, click Add Addons to add the plan you want, and select Update Subscription. If you'd like help, contact SimpleConsign Support and we'll walk you through it.
Is SimpleConnect billed separately from SimpleConsign?
No. It is an add-on to your existing subscription, on the same bill and the same account. Top-ups are charged to the same account.
Do emails and text messages draw on the same allowance?
No. Emails and text segments are tracked separately, and each platform shows its own counter.
Can my manager buy a top-up?
No. Only Admins can buy top-ups. Billing access can't be granted to a manager, even one with SimpleConnect access.
Why were segments used on texts that never arrived?
Every text that's sent uses segments, even if it isn't delivered. Texts to a landline, a number with missing digits, or a disconnected number still count, and so does a text that was only emoji. Keep phone numbers accurate in SimpleConsign, and run the SMS error report to find numbers to fix.