Are text messages (SMS) working? Can NextUp text my customers right now?
NextUp's text messaging is still being switched on. Until texting is active on your account, texts to customers are not delivered, and texting options such as move-up texts show greyed out. Nothing is wrong with your setup, and you don't need to do anything to prepare.
In the meantime the line works fully without texts: customers see their place and wait live on their phone, their page shows when it's their turn, the TV announces them with a chime, and customers who allow browser notifications or use the NextUp app can get a notification. Appointment confirmations and reminders also go out by email to customers who left an address.
The assistant cannot send texts or messages to your customers for you. When texting is turned on, it follows the settings described in the Help Center.
What texts do customers get (when texting is active)?
Texts are consent-based. A customer only gets texts if they enter their own US mobile number on the join page or door tablet and tick the consent box. Joining without a number always works.
When texting is active on an account, opted-in customers get:
- A confirmation of their place in line, with a short link to their spot.
- A "You're up" text when staff press Call, and a second one if staff press Call again.
- Optional texts you turn on: move-up texts as they get closer, "Are you still coming?" check-ins, and appointment confirmations and reminders.
- An optional rebooking reminder a set number of days after a visit.
Visit texts are only about that visit. Customers can reply STOP at any time and NextUp stops texting them. NextUp's texting is still being switched on, so these may not be going out on your account yet.
Move-up texts (text customers as they move up the line)
Move-up texts let a customer step out for coffee and know when to head back, for example "You're now 3rd in line", before the final "You're up" message.
To set them up, open Location settings, find Move-up texts and turn them on. Choose the places in line that trigger a text (anywhere from 5th to next, for example at 3rd and next), or every place. Then set the limit: the most move-up texts one visit can get, from 1 to 5, so nobody gets too many on a long day.
Customers opt in with an "Also text me as I move up" checkbox on the join form; only those who tick it get the extra texts. Move-up texts aren't sent overnight (9 pm to 8 am local time).
Move-up texts need texting to be active on your account. NextUp's texting is still being switched on, so if the option is greyed out, texting isn't active on your account yet.
Call customers who don't respond (phone call notification)
"Call customers who don't respond" is an optional setting per location in Location settings. When it's on and staff press Call a second time for someone who hasn't come up, NextUp places an automated phone call saying it's their turn, alongside the second text. It never blocks the queue: if a call fails, the line carries on.
Like texts, phone calls depend on NextUp's texting and calling being active on your account, which is still being switched on. Calls only go to customers who gave a mobile number when they joined. Your team can always call or text a customer from the device's own phone or messages app, but those calls and texts come from you, not from NextUp.
Text message allowance and overage charges
Each location includes 1,000 text messages a month on both plans. Texts beyond the allowance cost 5 cents each, billed after the period ends. Unused texts don't roll over. During the free trial, texts are counted but not charged.
Only customers who opt in get texts, and only the texts you've turned on, so most businesses use far fewer. NextUp counts texts per business each month, and overage is billed through your normal subscription invoice. Turning on move-up texts at every place sends more texts than choosing a couple of places.
Pricing
Dashboard notifications and push alerts for the team
The dashboard has a notification bell that shows when someone joins the line, is called or doesn't show, when bookings are made, moved or cancelled, and when reviews come in. It has All and Unread tabs, and notifications are kept 30 days.
Each person chooses which events they want and whether they go to their phone, from the bell's gear or from Account, Notifications. Owners and managers hear about every location; staff hear about their own. Mark notifications read, or clear them, from the bell. These alerts are for your team only; customers get their own updates on their status page.
Daily and weekly summary emails
Owners can get summary emails of how the business did. The weekly summary arrives every Monday at 7 am local time with last week's key numbers. A daily summary is optional and arrives 30 minutes after your last location closes, with the same numbers for that day. Turn them on or off under Summary Emails on your Account page; each location can be set separately. Summaries go to your account email address. For deeper numbers, open the Insights page, which covers any date range and exports to Excel.