📖 Help & Documentation

Everything you need to know to get the most out of TellbySMS Communications. Send SMS, manage contacts, run campaigns and integrate with your systems.

Send SMSSingle & bulk messaging
ContactsGroups & import
CampaignsScheduled & recurring
TemplatesReusable messages
REST APIIntegrate anything
Team MembersRole-based access
Your Account
1
Register
Go to https://sms.scopehost.net/register and fill in your details. You'll receive a verification email.
2
Verify your email
Click the verification link in the email we send you. Your account will activate automatically.
3
Top up credits
Go to Credits & Billing and add credits via Yoco, PayFast or MoMo. Credits are added instantly after payment.
4
Start sending
Go to Send SMS, type your message and recipients. Each SMS costs E0.4 in credits.
Your profile, password and 2FA settings can be updated anytime at My Profile.
Credits & Billing

TellbySMS uses a prepaid credit system. Credits are deducted per SMS sent.

  • 1 SMS (up to 160 characters) = E0.4 credits
  • Messages over 160 characters are split into multiple SMS parts
  • Failed deliveries are not charged

Top-up methods: Yoco (card), PayFast, MTN MoMo — all credit your account instantly.

View your transaction history and download invoices from the Credits page. Once an invoice PDF is uploaded by our team, a green Download button will appear.

Your current balance is always shown in the top navigation bar.
Send SMS

Go to Send SMS in the sidebar to compose and send a message.

1
Enter recipients
Type phone numbers separated by commas (e.g. 26876123456, 26878654321), or choose a contact group.
2
Write your message
Type your message. The character counter shows how many SMS parts will be used. Use a saved template by clicking Use Template.
3
Choose Sender ID (optional)
Select an approved Sender ID to show your brand name instead of a number. Leave blank for default.
4
Send or schedule
Click Send Now to deliver immediately, or set a date/time to schedule it for later.
Bulk SMS

To send to many people at once:

  • Select a Contact Group from the recipient dropdown — all contacts in that group will receive the message
  • Or paste multiple numbers separated by commas
  • Use {{name}} and {{mobile}} in your message to personalise each SMS
Example: "Hi {{name}}, your appointment is tomorrow!" — each recipient gets their name inserted automatically.
Sender IDs

A Sender ID is the name or number that appears on the recipient's phone instead of a random number (e.g. MyBrand).

  • Go to Tools → Sender IDs and click Apply for Sender ID
  • Enter your desired name (max 11 characters, no spaces) and purpose
  • Our team reviews and approves within 1–2 business days
  • Once approved, select it when composing a message
Sender IDs must represent a legitimate business name. Generic or misleading names will be rejected.
SMS Templates

Save frequently used messages as templates so you don't have to retype them.

  • Go to Tools → Templates
  • Click New Template, give it a name and write your message
  • On the Send SMS page, click Use Template to load it instantly
  • Templates can include personalisation tags like {{name}}
Campaigns

Campaigns let you schedule SMS messages to run automatically — once or on a recurring schedule.

1
Create a campaign
Go to Campaigns and click New Campaign.
2
Set recipients & message
Choose all contacts or a specific group. Write your message with {{name}}/{{mobile}} personalisation.
3
Choose frequency
Once — single delivery. Daily / Weekly / Monthly — repeats automatically at the same time.
4
Set start date & save
The campaign runs automatically via our scheduler. You can pause, edit or delete it anytime.
Managing Contacts

Go to Contacts to add, edit and organise your contacts.

  • Click Add Contact to add a single contact with name and mobile number
  • Search contacts by name or number using the search bar
  • Click the edit icon on any row to update contact details
  • Delete contacts individually or use bulk delete by ticking checkboxes
Contact Groups

Groups let you organise contacts and send bulk SMS to a specific audience.

  • Go to Groups and click New Group
  • Give the group a name (e.g. VIP Customers, Staff, Monthly Subscribers)
  • Assign contacts to a group when adding or editing them
  • When sending SMS, select a group to message all its members at once
Importing Contacts

You can import contacts in bulk from a CSV or Excel file.

1
Download the template
From the Contacts page, click Import then Download Example to get the correct format.
2
Fill in your contacts
Add your contacts to the file. Required column: mobile. Optional: name, group.
3
Upload
Click Import, select your file and confirm. Duplicate numbers are automatically skipped.
Phone numbers should include the country code (e.g. 26876123456 for Eswatini).
Two-Factor Login (2FA)

Add an extra layer of security to your account with 2FA. When enabled, you'll receive a one-time code every time you log in.

  • Go to My Profile → Security
  • Click Enable Two-Factor Authentication
  • Choose SMS (sent to your phone) or Email
  • Enter the code sent to you to confirm — 2FA is now active
Make sure your phone number is saved in your profile before enabling SMS 2FA.
API Access

Integrate TellbySMS directly into your website, app or system using our REST API.

  • Go to Tools → API Access to find your personal API token
  • Use the token in the Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN header
  • Full endpoint documentation at https://sms.scopehost.net/api/documentation
  • PHP code examples can be downloaded from the API Access page
  • Rate limits: 1000 requests/minute · 60,000 requests/hour. Responses include X-RateLimit-* headers
Keep your API token private. If compromised, regenerate it from the API Access page immediately.
Webhooks

Receive real-time event notifications in your own system by configuring a webhook endpoint.

  • Go to Tools → Webhooks and click Add Webhook
  • Enter your HTTPS endpoint URL and choose which events to subscribe to
  • Optionally add a secret for HMAC-SHA256 payload signing
  • Use the Test button to send a test ping to your endpoint

Available events: sms_sent, delivery, low_balance, credit_added, ping

Webhooks are automatically disabled after 10 consecutive failures to protect your endpoint. Re-enable from the Webhooks page.
Delivery Reports

Track the delivery status of every SMS you send — whether it was delivered, failed, pending or expired.

  • Go to Messages to see your full message history with per-message status
  • Delivery statuses update automatically every 15 minutes via our gateway polling
  • Retrieve delivery status programmatically via the API using ?endpoint=delivery&message_id=N
  • Delivery updates are also fired to your configured webhook endpoints

Status values: pending · delivered · failed · rejected · expired

Scheduled Reports

Receive automatic performance summaries by email so you never lose track of your SMS activity.

  • Go to My Profile → Reports and toggle on Weekly Report or Monthly Report
  • Weekly — sent every Monday covering the previous 7 days
  • Monthly — sent on the 1st of every month covering the previous month
  • Reports include: SMS sent, delivery rate, credits used, and top active days
Team Members

Give your team access to your account with specific permissions using roles.

  • Sender — can send SMS only
  • Viewer — can view reports and message history only

Go to My Profile → Team Members to invite team members by email.

Support

Need help? Our support team is here for you.

  • Open a support ticket from Support Tickets in your account
  • We typically respond within a few hours during business hours
  • For urgent issues, contact us directly at [email protected]
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