With text messaging in Planning Center, you can send messages to your congregation and receive donations via Text2Give using a unique toll-free number for $5 per month. In addition to the monthly fee, purchasing outgoing text message credits is required for sending texts to your congregation. Text2Give has no additional cost.
Instructions for setting up text messaging vary depending on whether you are setting it up for the first time or have already registered a toll-free number with Planning Center and need to enable outgoing text messages or Text2Give.
Choose which of the options below best describes your account to find instructions for you!
Important
Text messaging is only available to customers in the US. However, several third-party integrations are available for international customers.
Setting up text messaging in Planning Center for the first time? You're in the right place!
In compliance with mobile carrier requirements for sending mass text messages, Planning Center's texting partner Twilio will assign your organization a 10-digit toll-free number.
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Select the product name in the top navigation and choose Account settings from the dropdown.
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Select the Billing page from the top navigation.
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Select the Text Messaging tab on the left of the page.
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A credit card must be on file to set your account up to send or receive text messages. If you don't already have a credit card on file, select the Add credit card button. Once you've added a card, return to the Text Messaging tab.
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Select the Register button to open the registration form page.
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In the Registration Types section, use the checkboxes next to Register for outgoing messaging and Register for Text2Give to select which option(s) you'd like to register for.
Important
Even if you only need one option now, it is highly recommended that you register for both to save you from needing to submit an additional application in the future. The cost to maintain the toll-free number remains $5/month, even if you select both options. (This excludes the additional cost of outgoing text message credits required for sending texts to your church.)
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Complete the fields in the Organization information section.
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If you did not select the Register for outgoing message option above, your registration is complete, and you can select the Next: Review button.
If you did select the Register for outgoing messaging option above, your registration form also contains a Purchase outgoing text message credits section. Use the dropdown in that section to choose how many credits you want to start with, and then select the Next: Review button.
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Carefully review the information you've submitted for accuracy. If you need to fix anything, select the Back: Registration form button at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, select the Complete registration button.
After you submit your application, the mobile carriers will review it in 3-5 business days. Once approved, Planning Center's text messaging partner, Twilio, will notify you via email.
To send outgoing messages, you must purchase credits, which cost $0.02 each. This cost is in addition to the $5.00 monthly fee to maintain your toll-free number. If you only use text messaging to receive donations via Text2Give, you do not need to purchase outgoing text message credits.
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Select the product name in the top navigation and choose Account settings from the dropdown.
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Select the Billing page from the top navigation.
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Select the Text Messaging tab on the left of the page.
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In the Purchase outgoing text message credits section, use the dropdown to choose the number of credits you need.
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Select the Purchase credits button.
Tip
An organization administrator can enable auto-refill in account settings. This optional setting allows your organization to automatically purchase additional SMS credits when your account drops below a set threshold.
Credits never expire. If you run out of credits, you'll be prompted to buy more when composing your text message.
You will always know how many credits a message will require before it is sent.
Total cost: A credit is one text message of up to 160 standard characters to one recipient. Messages using more than 160 characters will be broken into two messages, with a 300-character total limit. The message size limit will decrease if your message uses special characters like emoji. Special characters are any characters not found in the GSM-7 encoding standard.
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To send outgoing text messages: Once your toll-free number is successfully registered, you've purchased outgoing text message credits, and you're set up to gather consent to text, you're ready to send text messages to your congregation.
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To receive donations via text message: Once your toll-free number is successfully registered, you must enable Text2Give in Giving. After you've done that, you're ready to receive donations via text message.
Since you already have a toll-free number registered to receive donations via Text2Give, these steps are to re-submit your application to the mobile carriers to add outgoing text messaging to your account.
Your existing toll-free number will still work for receiving donations via Text2Give while your application is under review.
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Select the product name in the top navigation and choose Account settings from the dropdown.
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Select the Billing page from the top navigation.
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Select the Text Messaging tab on the left of the page.
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In the Outgoing text messaging section, select the Add outgoing text messaging button.
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Review the details in the popup and select the Continue to application button.
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In the Registration Types section of the next page, select the checkbox next to Register for outgoing messaging.
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Create a form to gather consent and enter the form's URL in the Opt-in form URL field.
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Review the details in the Purchase outgoing text messaging credits section and use the dropdown to choose the number of credits you'd like to purchase at this time.
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Select the Next: Review button at the bottom of the page.
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Carefully review the information you've submitted for accuracy. If you need to fix anything, select the Back: Registration form button at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, select the Resubmit registration button.
After you submit your application, the mobile carriers will review it in 3-5 business days. Once approved, Planning Center's text messaging partner, Twilio, will notify you via email.
To send outgoing messages, you must purchase credits, which cost $0.02 each. This cost is in addition to the $5.00 monthly fee to maintain your toll-free number. If you only use text messaging to receive donations via Text2Give, you do not need to purchase outgoing text message credits.
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Select the product name in the top navigation and choose Account settings from the dropdown.
-
Select the Billing page from the top navigation.
-
Select the Text Messaging tab on the left of the page.
-
In the Purchase outgoing text message credits section, use the dropdown to choose the number of credits you need.
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Select the Purchase credits button.
Tip
An organization administrator can enable auto-refill in account settings. This optional setting allows your organization to automatically purchase additional SMS credits when your account drops below a set threshold.
Credits never expire. If you run out of credits, you'll be prompted to buy more when composing your text message.
You will always know how many credits a message will require before it is sent.
Total cost: A credit is one text message of up to 160 standard characters to one recipient. Messages using more than 160 characters will be broken into two messages, with a 300-character total limit. The message size limit will decrease if your message uses special characters like emoji. Special characters are any characters not found in the GSM-7 encoding standard.
Unlike Text2Give, there's no button you need to press to turn on outgoing text messaging. Once your toll-free number is successfully registered, you've purchased outgoing text message credits, and you're set up to gather consent to text, you're ready to send text messages to your congregation!