When Glamly sends an SMS on your behalf — a birthday message to a client you haven't seen in a while, a win-back nudge to someone who hasn't rebooked, or a campaign you've written yourself — that message uses an SMS credit. Credits are the currency of Glamly's marketing system, and understanding how they work means you can plan your usage, stay in control of costs, and make sure your automations never go quiet without warning.
This guide covers everything: your free monthly allowance, what uses credits, how top-up packs work, and the key settings that keep you on top of your balance.
SMS and WhatsApp — two separate systems
It's worth being clear about this upfront, because the two channels do different jobs in Glamly and have different credit systems.
WhatsApp handles appointment messaging — the transactional messages that keep clients informed around their bookings: confirmations, reminders, reschedule notifications, and cancellation confirmations. These draw from your WhatsApp message allowance, which is part of your main Glamly plan.
SMS handles marketing — the proactive messages you send to bring clients back, celebrate milestones, and fill your calendar. These draw from your SMS credits, which are part of the Marketing subscription add-on (£10/month). The two pools never overlap.
Your monthly allowance
The Marketing subscription includes 100 free SMS credits per month. They're added to your account on the 1st of each month and can be used for any SMS marketing activity — automations or campaigns — throughout that month.
At midnight on the last day of the month, any unused free credits are cleared. They do not roll over. On the 1st, your allowance resets to 100 again. This applies only to the free monthly credits — any top-up credits you've purchased work differently (more on that below).
100 free SMS credits, every month
- Included with the Glamly Marketing subscription (£10/month)
- Resets on the 1st of each month — unused credits do not carry over
- Used for SMS automations and SMS campaigns
- Completely separate from your WhatsApp message allowance
What uses SMS credits
SMS credits are consumed by two types of activity in Glamly: marketing automations and SMS campaigns. Each message sent — to one client — uses one credit (assuming it fits within 160 characters; see below).
Birthday automation
Sends a personalised message on a client's birthday — ideal for a discount or a simple warm touch that keeps you top of mind.
Rebooking reminder
Nudges clients who haven't booked again after a set number of weeks — a quiet prompt that brings people back without any effort on your part.
Win-back automation
Targets clients who haven't visited in a longer period — typically 3 to 6 months — with a message designed to re-engage lapsed regulars.
SMS campaigns
One-off messages you write and send to a segment of your client list — new service announcements, seasonal promotions, or filling a quiet week.
Each automation fires per eligible client at the moment it's triggered. If you have 30 clients due a rebooking reminder in a given week, that's 30 credits. A campaign sent to your entire client list of 80 people uses 80 credits in one go. Planning ahead — especially before running a campaign — is worth doing.
Top-up packs
When you need more credits than your monthly allowance provides, you can buy a top-up pack. These are one-off purchases — not a subscription — and the credits never expire. They stack on top of your free monthly credits and are used only once your free credits for the month have been exhausted.
Top-up packs are available from Settings → Marketing → SMS Credits. The balance is added to your account immediately and sits alongside your free monthly credits, ready to be used once the free allowance runs out.
Free credits vs. purchased credits — the key difference
Free monthly credits and purchased top-up credits behave differently, and it's worth understanding the distinction before you make decisions about topping up.
Free monthly credits reset on the 1st of every month. Any you haven't used are cleared — they don't carry over to the next month and they have no cash value. Think of them as a fresh 100-credit allowance each month, not a running balance that accumulates.
Purchased top-up credits never expire. They stay in your account until you use them, regardless of how many months pass. If you buy 250 credits in July and only use 80, the remaining 170 are still there in September. They're always drawn on after your free monthly credits are exhausted, so you always get the most out of your allowance before dipping into what you've paid for.
1 credit = 160 characters
SMS messages are measured in segments. One credit covers a message of up to 160 characters — which is enough for a natural, readable message without feeling cramped. If your message goes over 160 characters, it counts as 2 credits. Messages can run up to 8 credits (around 1,120 characters), but that's rarely useful for marketing.
In practice, you won't need to count characters manually. Every automated message Glamly sends on your behalf — birthday messages, rebooking reminders, win-back messages — is written to stay within 1 credit. The only time you might cross the threshold is if you write a very long custom campaign message. Glamly shows you a character count and credit estimate in the campaign editor before you send.
Keeping messages within 1 credit
- 1 credit: up to 160 characters — enough for a clear, friendly message with your name and a call to action
- 2 credits: 161–306 characters — you're using two credits per recipient for this message
- Up to 8 credits: maximum per message — Glamly will warn you if a campaign approaches this
- All Glamly automations are pre-written to stay within 1 credit
Managing your credits
You can check your current SMS credit balance at any time from Settings → Marketing → SMS Credits. The page shows your free monthly credits remaining, your purchased credits remaining, and your usage history for the current month.
Marketing Insights also shows you an estimated credit usage projection based on your active automations and the size of your client list — useful for working out whether you're likely to need a top-up before the end of the month.
Two settings help you avoid running dry unexpectedly:
- Low credit alert — Glamly sends you a notification when your total SMS credit balance drops below a threshold you set. Use this as an early signal to buy a top-up before automations are affected.
- Auto turn-off — Pauses all SMS automations automatically when your credits hit zero, rather than letting messages fail silently. Once you top up, SMS automations resume without you needing to manually switch them back on.
What happens if you run out
If your SMS credit balance reaches zero, all SMS automations are automatically paused and any SMS campaign you attempt to send will fail. Your WhatsApp appointment messages are completely unaffected — they run from a separate pool. Once you buy a top-up pack, your automations resume automatically with no action required on your part.
For most users with a moderate client list, 100 free credits per month is enough to keep automations running without ever thinking about it. If you run regular campaigns or have a large list, keeping a buffer of purchased credits means you can send without having to check your balance first.