> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rubica.au/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rubica.au/households/sending-a-bulk-text.md).

# Sending a Bulk Text

Send one text message to many clients at once, such as a reminder, an office closure or an event notice. Each client gets their own text, and replies land in their own thread.

**Bulk text** sends the same text message to a group of clients at once: a reminder that tax returns are due, an office closure over the holidays, an invitation to a client evening. You choose who gets it, write or pick the message, check it, and send.

Each client gets their own copy, with their details filled in, from your firm's text number. It isn't a group chat: nobody sees who else got it, and when a client replies, the reply lands in **their own thread** in the Text Messages inbox, just like any other text.

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-71f9f03646c398ce58ac603778efb17ea9db716b%2Fbulk-text-button.png?alt=media" alt="the Text Messages inbox, with the Bulk text button next to New message"><figcaption><p>Bulk text sits next to New message in the Text Messages inbox. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
**Bulk text or one-to-one?** Use a bulk text for the same message to a group. To text one client, use **New message**, or see [Sending a Text Message](/households/sending-a-text-message.md).
{% endhint %}

## Open Bulk text

1. Open the **Text Messages** inbox.
2. Click **Bulk text**, next to **New message**.

The **Bulk text** window opens on three steps: **1 Recipients**, **2 Message** and **3 Review**. Click **Recent sends** at the top at any time to see your firm's latest bulk texts.

## Step 1: Recipients

Under **Audiences**, pick one or more groups to text. Click a card to select it, and click it again to deselect it. Each card shows how many people in it have a mobile number.

* **All active clients**: everyone who is an active client and has a mobile number. It's always up to date.
* **Your saved audiences**: the same audiences your firm uses for [Email Broadcasts](/households/email-broadcasts.md), such as *Newsletter* or *Retirement evening invite*.
* **Paste numbers**: a one-off list of mobile numbers that isn't saved. Type or paste them in the box that appears, one per line. If a pasted number belongs to one of your clients, it's sent as that client, with their details filled in.

You can combine them. Anyone who is in two audiences you picked gets **one** text, not two.

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-1a8a5771db2be23a4a222aa4126f8a87bc1c2380%2Fbulk-text-recipients.png?alt=media" alt="Step 1 Recipients, with All active clients and one saved audience selected, and the table of clients showing Will it send? for each"><figcaption><p>Pick one or more audiences and check who will get the text. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

### Check who will get it

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-6a66fb2eda5d86c842feb71541ac86463d9b6cf0%2Fbulk-text-recipients.gif?alt=media" alt="Picking audiences and watching the list of recipients fill in"><figcaption><p>Pick audiences and the list updates straight away. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

As soon as you pick an audience, a table shows the people in it, with their **Household**, **Mobile** and **Will it send?** Anyone who will be left out is shown first, with the reason:

| Will it send?              | What it means                                                                                               |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Same number, sent once** | Two people share this mobile number, for example a couple with one phone. They get one text between them.   |
| **No mobile**              | There's no mobile number on their record.                                                                   |
| **Number looks wrong**     | The number on file isn't a valid mobile number. Fix it on their record and it will be included next time.   |
| **Replied STOP**           | They've replied STOP (or similar, such as UNSUBSCRIBE) to one of your texts, so they won't be texted again. |
| **Deceased**               | The client is marked as deceased.                                                                           |

The bottom of the window shows how many texts will send, and how many were skipped and why. Click **Next: message** when you're happy with the list.

{% hint style="warning" %}
One send can go to up to **5,000** people. If your audiences add up to more than that, you'll see a message and can't continue. Split them into two sends.
{% endhint %}

### Make a new audience

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-98220f6326db2fc848ee2e813976c3cf0ab45e18%2Fbulk-text-new-audience.gif?alt=media" alt="Making a new audience: choosing where it comes from, checking the list and naming it"><figcaption><p>Make a new audience without leaving Bulk text. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

If the group you want doesn't exist yet, click **+ New audience**. It works the same way as in Email Broadcasts, and the audience you make is **saved for Email Broadcasts too**.

1. **Choose how to say who's in it:**
   * **From a report**: everyone on a report you already have. Start typing the report's name, then click it.
   * **Describe it**: say who you want in plain words, for example *active clients in Perth with a mobile*. Rubica builds the rule for you.
   * **From a spreadsheet**: a list someone exported and refined, matched back to your clients. Choose the file (.xlsx, .xls or .csv, with headings in the first row).
   * **Write a query**: for admins.
2. **For a spreadsheet, choose who gets the text and how it stays up to date:**
   * Under **Who gets the text?**, choose **the people inside those households** (usually what you want when the file lists households) or **the records named in the file**, texted at their own mobile.
   * Under **Fixed or live?**, choose **Use the file as imported** (Fixed: everyone in the file, every send) or **Keep it current** (Live: re-checked before every send, so anyone who stops meeting the rules you tick drops out on their own).
3. **Check the list.** You'll see how many people can be texted, who was left out and why, and the first few people. If it's not right, click **Back** and change it.
4. **Name it.** Give the audience a name people will recognise, then click **Create audience**. It's selected for this send straight away.

See [Audiences](/households/email-broadcasts/audiences.md) and [Audiences from a Spreadsheet](/households/email-broadcasts/spreadsheet-audiences.md) for more on each way of making one.

{% hint style="info" %}
An audience made from leads (prospects who aren't clients yet) can be used for email but **can't be texted**, so it won't appear in the Bulk text list.
{% endhint %}

## Step 2: Message

1. Under **Template**, pick one of your firm's text message templates, or leave it on **No template, write my own**.
2. Write or edit the text under **Message**. Picking a template fills the message in for you, and you can still change it.

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-68bbf5cd29b5a3a1b0c6d935baa790bd2ae9781f%2Fbulk-text-message.png?alt=media" alt="Step 2 Message, with a template chosen, the message text, the length meter underneath and a phone preview for one client on the right"><figcaption><p>Write the message once. The preview shows it filled in for each person. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

### Put each client's details in

Use merge tags to put each person's own details into their text. For example:

> Hi {{Client First Name}}, a reminder from {{Adviser Name}} at {{Company Name}} that our office is closed from 24 December to 2 January.

becomes, for one client:

> Hi Priya, a reminder from Sam Okafor at Harbourline Advisory that our office is closed from 24 December to 2 January.

Useful tags include `{{Client First Name}}`, `{{Client Name}}`, `{{Partner Name}}`, `{{Household Name}}`, `{{Adviser Name}}` and `{{Company Name}}`.

* **A pasted number that isn't on file** gets **there** in place of the first name or name, so the text reads *Hi there*.
* **If another tag can't be filled for someone**, for example there's no partner on file, or a pasted number isn't a client, **that one text fails** rather than reaching the client with a blank or a `{{tag}}` in it. Everyone else still gets theirs. You'll see a warning before you send, and the reason afterwards.
* **Tags about a job**, such as `{{Job Name}}` or `{{Due Date}}`, can't be filled in a bulk text, because the text isn't sent from a job. Leave them out.

### Preview as

On the right, **Preview as** shows the text exactly as one person will get it, on a phone. Use the **‹** and **›** arrows to step through the people on your list and check a few. If a tag can't be filled for the person shown, a warning says so.

### Length and cost

Under the message, a meter shows how long it is and what it will cost:

* **Characters**, and how many **parts** each text takes. A text of up to 160 characters is 1 part. A longer one is split into parts of about 153 characters each, and the client's phone joins them back into one message.
* **Emoji and some special characters** (such as curly quotes or accented letters) change how the text is encoded, which cuts a part to 70 characters, or about 67 when it's split. One emoji can double the cost of a message.
* **About how many parts in total**, and an **estimated cost** for the whole send. You're charged per part, so a 2-part message to 300 people is 600 parts.

The length is worked out from the preview, so it reflects real names, which can make some people's texts a little longer than others.

Click **Next: review**.

## Step 3: Review

The review shows what one person will get and a summary of the send:

* **Sending to**: how many people, with a link to the people who were skipped.
* **Audiences**: the audiences you picked.
* **From**: your firm's text number.
* **When**: now.
* **Length**: parts per text, and in total.
* **Estimated cost**: an estimate in US dollars, based on the price per part. Your actual bill may differ slightly.

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-73fa339faf0d5cd71da278a8869ef4566af335ff%2Fbulk-text-review.png?alt=media" alt="Step 3 Review, with a phone preview on the left, the summary on the right, and the box to type SEND and the number to confirm"><figcaption><p>Check the summary, then type the confirmation to send. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

To send, type the confirmation shown, for example **SEND 214**, then click **Send 214 texts**.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Texts can't be recalled.** Once a text has gone, it's on the client's phone. Check the preview and the number of people before you confirm.
{% endhint %}

If the list of people changes while you're reviewing (for example a client was updated in the meantime), you'll be asked to go back and check it again before it sends.

## While it sends

The window shows the send's progress:

* a bar, and the number **sent**, **failed** and **waiting**;
* how many were **skipped before sending**;
* how many **replies so far**;
* a **Failed** table, with each client, their mobile and the **Reason** it failed.

You can **close the window**: it keeps sending. To come back to it, open **Bulk text** and click **Recent sends**.

* **Stop sending** stops the texts that haven't gone yet. Texts already sent can't be recalled.
* **Retry failed** appears once the send has finished, if any texts failed. It resends **only the failed ones**, so nobody gets the text twice. If a text failed because a tag couldn't be filled, or the number is wrong, fix that on the client's record first.
* **New bulk text** starts another send.

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-05be24a967c364300154335ded3d36436c501da5%2Fbulk-text-progress.png?alt=media" alt="a bulk text sending, with the progress bar, the sent, failed and waiting counts, and a table of failed texts with the reason for each"><figcaption><p>You can close the window while it sends. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

### Who it's sent as

Each text is sent from your firm's text number, as the person who started the send. It's saved against each client like any other text, so it shows in their thread and on their household's [Activities Timeline](/households/activities-timeline.md).

### Replies

<figure><img src="https://3555949013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqzoPnlIGiL5ejRdJEq5X%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-85aff565ffde7ad59ea8fe1d1233b154ad2824ee%2Fbulk-text-sending.gif?alt=media" alt="Sending a bulk text: the progress climbing and a reply arriving in the client&#x27;s thread"><figcaption><p>Watch it send, and replies arrive in each client's own thread. All names are examples.</p></figcaption></figure>

When a client replies, the reply goes into **that client's own thread** in the Text Messages inbox and is routed to their team as usual. Reply to them there, one to one.

If a client replies **STOP**, they're left out of future bulk texts automatically.

## Recent sends

Click **Recent sends** at the top of the **Bulk text** window to see your firm's latest bulk texts:

| Column     | What it shows                                                                                                    |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Send**   | Its name: the template's name, or *Bulk text* and the date and time. Click it to open its progress and failures. |
| **Status** | **Sending**, **Done** or **Cancelled** (stopped part-way).                                                       |
| **Sent**   | How many were sent, out of the total.                                                                            |
| **Failed** | How many failed.                                                                                                 |
| **By**     | Who started it.                                                                                                  |
| **When**   | When it was started.                                                                                             |

## Good to know

* **Keep it short.** You pay per part, and every part is multiplied by the number of people. Staying under 160 characters, with no emoji, keeps each text to 1 part.
* **Test it on yourself first.** Choose **Paste numbers**, paste your own mobile, and send it to just you. Check how it looks on your phone before sending to everyone.
* **Check the skipped reasons.** *No mobile* and *Number looks wrong* often point to client records that need tidying. Fix them and they'll be included next time.
* **Say who it's from.** Clients see your firm's text number, not a name. Use `{{Company Name}}` or `{{Adviser Name}}` so they know who's texting.
* **Respect STOP.** People who've replied STOP are skipped for you. Don't paste their numbers in to get around it.