Scheduled SMS
Schedule text messages for later
Write the text when you've got a minute and pick when it goes. If plans change, cancel it before then and the credits come straight back.
How do you schedule a text message?
In CaptiFi Connect, write your text in Send SMS or a campaign, choose a date and time up to a year ahead, and confirm. The credits are taken when you schedule, and the text waits until its time comes. Cancel it before then and the credits are refunded. Through the API, add schedule_at to POST /messages.
How scheduling works
Any send can be scheduled: one text, a batch to numbers you've pasted in, or a campaign to one of your lists. You pick the date and time, and message history shows it in UK time. When the moment comes the texts join the queue and go out as normal, and you can follow each one in message history.
Credits come off your balance when you schedule, so a scheduled send can't fall over later because the balance ran low. Cancel before the send time and every credit for the cancelled texts goes back, with the refund showing in your billing ledger.
If someone opts out between now and the send time, their text is cancelled and refunded on its own. You don't have to go looking for it.
Merge fields are filled in when you schedule, from each contact's details at that moment. Correct someone's name afterwards and the scheduled text keeps the old one, so it pays to tidy the list before you set a send going. A contact with no first name gets a blank where {first_name} was, which is worth a look too.
What people use it for
Most scheduling is about getting the timing right without having to be at a screen when it matters. A few common ones:
- Appointment and booking reminders, set up the day the booking is made.
- Campaigns written on a quiet afternoon and timed for when customers are likely to read them.
- Event-day messages prepared a week or two before.
- Shift reminders that land just before staff need them.
Rules and limits that apply
You can schedule up to a year ahead. Scheduled texts follow the same rules as any other send: UK mobiles only (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man included), 10 parts at most, and opted-out numbers refused at no charge when you schedule.
A scheduled text can be cancelled until it starts sending. There's no editing a scheduled text in place, but cancelling refunds it in full, so to change one you cancel it and schedule the new version.
Campaigns can be scheduled the same way. Choose a time when you start the campaign, and you can cancel it right up until it begins sending.
Getting the time right
The date picker uses your computer's clock, which for most UK businesses is UK time anyway. Once a text is scheduled, message history shows its send time in UK time, so you can check it went in as you meant.
API users tend to get caught out by the clocks changing. UK time is UTC in winter and an hour ahead of UTC in summer, so 09:30 in London is 09:30Z on a December morning and 08:30Z in July. Send schedule_at either as UTC worked out for that date, or as a UK time with the offset that applies on that date (+00:00 or +01:00), and the text goes when you expect.
For developers
Add schedule_at to POST /api/v1/messages as an ISO 8601 time with its offset, for example 2026-12-01T09:30:00Z. The texts come back with the status scheduled. POST /api/v1/messages/{id}/cancel cancels one and refunds it, and GET /api/v1/messages?status=scheduled lists everything still waiting.
For campaigns, pass schedule_at to POST /api/v1/campaigns/{id}/send. When a scheduled text goes, you'll get message.sent and then message.delivered or message.failed, the same as any other send.
Schedule a text in the dashboard
- 1
Write it
Open Send SMS or a new campaign and write the text, with merge fields if you need them.
- 2
Pick the time
Choose a date and time up to a year ahead.
- 3
Confirm
The credits are taken now, and the texts wait in message history with the status scheduled.
- 4
Cancel if plans change
Cancel any time before it sends and the credits go straight back.
Questions people ask
How far ahead can I schedule a text?
Up to a year ahead, for single texts, batches and campaigns.
When are credits taken for a scheduled text?
When you schedule it. If you cancel before the send time, the credits are refunded in full.
Can I edit a scheduled text?
Not in place. Cancel it and schedule a new one; cancelling gives the credits back, so it doesn't cost anything to redo.
What happens if the person opts out before the send time?
Their text is cancelled and the credits are refunded automatically.
What time zone are scheduled times in?
The date picker uses your computer's clock, and message history shows send times in UK time. Through the API, schedule_at carries its own offset, so send UTC or a UK time with the right offset for that date (+00:00 in winter, +01:00 in summer).
Are merge fields filled in when I schedule or when the text sends?
When you schedule. Each text is written out from the contact's details at that moment, so changes you make to a contact afterwards won't reach a text that's already scheduled.
Can I schedule a campaign?
Yes. When you start the campaign, choose a time instead of sending now. You can cancel it until it begins sending.
Send your first text this week
Set up your account and contacts now; we check every new account before it can send.