You can text a guest straight from their booking, to say their table’s ready or that you’re running late. Every text NomNom sends uses SMS credits, including the automatic confirmation and reminder texts. Here’s how to send one, what a text costs, and how to keep your credits topped up.
Send a text to a guest
1. Open the booking’s messages. Open the booking, go to Messages and click Send SMS. The window shows the guest’s name and the mobile it’s going to.
2. Write your message. Click a ready-made message such as Your table is now ready., or Booking reminder to fill in your reminder text for this booking, and change it if you like. Or type your own.
3. Click Send. It goes straight away, at any time of day, and appears in the booking’s messages.
In NomNom Web: open the booking → Messages → Send SMS. In the phone app: open the booking → Messages tab → Send SMS.
No mobile on the booking? Add one to the guest’s details first. Admin and Standard staff can send texts; Read-only staff can’t (see What Admin, Standard and Read-only staff can do).
What a text costs
A text of up to 160 characters costs one credit. A longer one is sent in parts, and each part costs a credit. Two things can make a text cost more than you’d expect:
- Emoji and curly quotes. One emoji, or one curly apostrophe or quote (’ instead of a straight one), switches the whole text to a format that fits only 70 characters per part. iPhones type curly apostrophes on their own.
- The details filled in. Names, dates and your venue’s name are added as the text is sent, so a long one can tip a text into a second part.
The counter under the message box counts characters, up to 1,000, not credits. Credits are also used by card requests and payment links you send by text. For more on costs, see Texts aren’t reaching your guests: what to check.
Check your balance
In NomNom Web, your balance shows as SMS CREDITS at the bottom of the screen, and in the account menu. Click the one at the bottom to see how many are left. In the phone app it’s along the bottom of the main screen, as SMS Credits. Everyone on your team can see it.
Top up your credits
Only admins can buy credits, so only admins see the top-up buttons.
1. Open the top-up page. In NomNom Web, click SMS CREDITS at the bottom of the screen, then Top up SMS. In the phone app, go to Settings → SMS Service and tap Top up SMS credits, or tap Top up next to your balance when it’s running low.
2. Pick a package. The page opens in your browser, showing each package, its price and the price per credit. Click Buy now.
3. Pay. You pay by card through Stripe. Your credits are added as soon as the payment clears, usually within a minute.
In NomNom Web: SMS CREDITS (bottom of the screen) → Top up SMS. In the phone app: Settings → SMS Service → Top up SMS credits.
The Admin dashboard, in NomNom Web’s account menu, has an SMS Credits page with the same packages. Need more than 5,000 credits at once? Email support@nomnom-app.net.
Choose when you’re warned
In Settings → SMS Service, Low credit threshold sets how low your balance gets before you’re warned. When it falls to that number or below, your balance turns amber in NomNom Web, and the Top up button appears beside it in the phone app. Leave it blank to use the default of 100, or set 0 to never be warned.
Good to know
- 50 free credits for UK venues. A new UK venue starts its free trial with 50 SMS credits. Venues elsewhere start with none.
- When credits run out, automatic texts stop until you top up, and Send SMS tells you you’re out of credits.
- Texts only go to UK mobiles, and need a Sender ID.
- Automatic texts are explained in When NomNom sends confirmation and reminder texts.