The 2021.1.1 release added the ability to automatically send SMS messages to mobile phones when business events are triggered.
To use these features, the MYOB SMS feature must be enabled under Monitoring and Automation on the Enable/Disable Features screen (CS100000).
Licensing SMS MessagingTo send SMS messages from MYOB Acumatica, your organisation must purchase licensing bundles that determine your SMS message allowance each bundle allows the sending of 500 SMS messages per month. Two types of bundles are available:
- Subscribed bundles are paid for in advance. They are available to all tenants. Once you have decided on the number of subscribed bundles you want to be billed for, this number cannot be changed.
- Flexible bundles are paid for at the end of each month, depending on how many you use. Flexible bundles are specific to each tenant, and are only used once the subscribed bundles have been used up. You can change the number of flexible bundles available to you at any time during the month and you will only be billed for the bundles you actually use.
The intention of this licensing arrangement is that your organisation should purchase enough subscribed bundles to cover the normal amount of SMS messages you expect to send in a month. If you are running low on messages in a month, you can purchase flexible bundles as necessary to be able to continue sending SMS messages that month. System alerts will warn you when the SMS allowance is close to being used up and when it has been reached.
(Because you only pay for the flexible bundles that you use, it is possible to set the number of flexible bundles to a very high number to be sure that you will never run out of messaging; however, if a misconfiguration or other unexpected event results in a large number of messages being sent in a short time, you would have to pay for them all. Keeping the number of flexible bundles to a minimum guards against this.)
When you run out of messages, no more will be sent. If the allowance was reached part way through sending a batch of SMS messages, the remaining messages will not be sent, even if the allowance is increased after the fact by adding flexible bundles.
Examples
And organisation is configured with:
- two subscribed bundles (1,000 messages)
- no flexible bundles
In one month, the site sends 400 SMS messages. The organisation is billed for two subscribed bundles.
An organisation is configured with:
- two subscribed bundles (1,000 messages)
- three flexible bundles (an extra 1,500 messages)
In one month, the site sends 1,100 SMS messages. The organisation is billed for one flexible bundle in addition to the two subscribed bundles. The remaining two flexible bundles were not used this month, so the organisation is not billed for them.
SMS Messaging SettingsThe SMS messaging functionality is set up on the new MYOB SMS Preferences screen (MYSM1000). This screen displays your messaging allowances and your current usage.
A user account with the Administrator role is required to access this screen.
The Sender ID field is only used in Australian companies. It lets you enter text that will be displayed as the sender of SMS messages on recipients' devices. (In New Zealand, the sender ID is always a four-digit number defined by mobile service providers.)
The fields in the SMS Bundle Details section show your SMS message allowances and current usage:
| Field | Description |
| Subscribed bundles | A read-only field displaying the number of pre-paid messaging bundles available to all tenants, based on your licence. |
| Flexible bundles | This field allows you to specify the number of flexible bundles available to this tenant only. You can increase or decrease the number of flexible bundles available each month as necessary. You are only billed for the flexible bundles you use. |
| Total SMS allowance | A read-only field showing the total number of messages that can be sent this month. This is the total of subscribed bundles and flexible bundles. (As flexible bundles are tenant-specific, this total can differ from tenant to tenant.) |
| Number of messages sent | A read-only field showing how many messages have been sent this month from this tenant. |
| Total messages remaining |
A read-only field showing how many messages can be sent from this tenant before your bundles are used up. Because this total includes the subscribed bundles, which are available to all tenants, this value can go down even if no messages have been sent from this tenant. |
| Renewal date | The date when your organisation's messaging allowance next renews – this is based on the date when you first purchased a licence for SMS messaging. At this date, your bundle allowances are refreshed and the Number of messages sent value is reset to zero. |
Clicking Send Test Message lets you test the SMS messaging configuration. When you click this button, a small window opens where you can enter the mobile number to send the message to and some message text. Click OK to send the message.
Test messages count against your SMS allowance for the month.
Once SMS messaging has been enabled and set up, you can use them with business events. When adding a subscriber to a business event on the Subscribers tab of the Business Events screen (SM302050), select Create Subscriber > Mobile SMS Notification.
This opens the Mobile Notifications screen (SM204004). On this screen, enter a description for the subscriber, then enter a mobile number or numbers into the To field and select MYOB SMS Global Provider in the From field. Enter the text of the message to be sent on the Message tab, then click Save & Close.
When the business event is triggered, SMS messages will be sent to the number(s) set up in the subscriber.
SMS allowance alertsTo have SMS Notifications activated, the Accounts/Operations team needs to be contacted. They will handle:
- The purchase of an initial SMS Bundle.
- Having the feature enabled under Enable/Disable Features (this cannot be done by users or consultants, as it requires backend system linkages be created).
The system uses business events to alert you when you are close to running out of SMS messages and when you have reached you allowance. In an upgrade to MYOB Acumatica 2021.1.1, two pre-configured business events are added:
- SMS allowance at 90% – this event is triggered when your number of messages sent is at 90% of your total SMS allowance.
- SMS allowance reached – this event is triggered when you have run out of messages to send this month.
These business events are set up to send email notifications by default. After upgrading to MYOB Acumatica 2021.1.1, you should review these events on the Business Events screen (SM302050) and set up subscribers as necessary to ensure that the alerts are sent to the right people.
If SMS messages fail to send (due to the SMS allowance being reached or any other reason), this failure and the reason for it will be shown on the Business Event History screen (SM502030).