How to Send Bulk SMS to Residents, Customers or Field Teams

SIMcloud’s bulk SMS workflow accepts a CSV containing recipient and message. Upload the file, review every message and the calculated SMS count, confirm the order and then use SMS History to monitor delivery states, replies and follow-up messages.

Choose the message type and audience

Bulk SMS works well for operational communication where recipients may not have mobile data or an app installed. Examples include:

• Water, electricity, gate or maintenance notices for residents.
• Field-team instructions and shift updates.
• Customer service and order-status communication.
• Appointment, collection or event reminders.
• Approved campaigns and customer offers.

Separate operational notices from marketing. The purpose changes what consent, objection and opt-out controls may apply. Do not upload an acquired or scraped number list simply because it is technically possible to format it as CSV.

Prepare and validate the recipients

1. Start with a current list from an authorised business source.
2. Remove blank, duplicate and obviously invalid numbers.
3. Use a South African format such as 0821234567, 27821234567 or +27821234567.
4. Confirm that each recipient belongs in this specific communication.
5. Record the purpose and source of the list for internal review.

SIMcloud normalises valid mobile numbers during upload and identifies the row number when a recipient is invalid. Keep one person per row so the error can be corrected cleanly.

Write clear messages and control the SMS count

Each row can contain a different message. That is useful for personalised operational content, but it also means every row must be reviewed.

Long messages are concatenated and normally displayed as one message on the phone, but the parts are billed separately. Pricing and limits should be rechecked on the SIMcloud upload screen before a campaign because product pricing can change.

• Identify the organisation early in the message.
• State the action, place and time clearly.
• Avoid unnecessary links or ambiguous urgency.
• Keep personal or confidential information out of general SMS text.
• Proofread names, amounts, dates and contact numbers.
• For marketing, include the required sender identity and opt-out mechanism after appropriate review.

Example CSV shape

recipient,message
0821234567,"SIMcloud Estate: Water will be off from 10:00 to 12:00 on Thursday for planned maintenance."
0831234567,"SIMcloud Field Team: Please report to the Bellville office at 08:30 on Friday."

If a message contains a comma, export it from a spreadsheet so the value is enclosed in quotes correctly.

Upload and confirm the bulk SMS

1. Sign in and open SMS → CSV Bulk SMS.
2. Download the CSV template.
3. Keep the recipient,message header and complete the rows.
4. Save the sheet as CSV. The current upload accepts CSV files up to 1MB.
5. Select the file and choose Upload and Process.
6. Correct every displayed row error before continuing.
7. On Confirm Bulk SMS, review total recipients, total SMS parts, total cost and wallet balance.
8. Read the message preview, including character and SMS counts.
9. Select Confirm and Send once, or cancel the order to correct the source file.

Monitor delivery status and replies

Open SMS History to search, export or open a sent message. The table includes the recipient, message, status, person who sent it, simplified delivery information and reply indicators.

Common delivery descriptions include:

• Delivered: successfully delivered to the handset.
• Submitted: sent to the network and waiting for confirmation.
• Undelivered: the number may be inactive or unreachable.
• Expired: the delivery attempt expired while the handset was unavailable.
• Restricted: delivery may be blocked by an owner request or industry restriction.
• No route: no delivery route was available for the number.

If a recipient replies, open the message to review the conversation. SIMcloud’s threaded history can show incoming replies and queue a follow-up SMS reply while keeping the conversation attached to the original message.

Privacy, consent and direct marketing

This tutorial explains the SIMcloud controls; it is not legal advice. Before sending, determine whether the message is an operational communication or direct marketing and have the responsible person review the list and text.

The South African Information Regulator identifies SMS as electronic communication for direct-marketing purposes. Its guidance says a business generally needs consent before unsolicited electronic direct marketing to someone who is not a customer, with specific rules for requesting that consent and communicating with existing customers. Read the current Information Regulator guidance on direct marketing and obtain professional advice for your circumstances.

• Know where the number came from and why it is being used.
• Keep evidence of the appropriate consent or customer relationship for marketing.
• Identify the sender.
• Provide and honour the applicable opt-out process.
• Remove objected, unsubscribed or restricted recipients from future lists.
• Limit staff access to recipient lists and message history.

Frequently asked questions