How to create an SMS package for the company in the accounts panel?

 To use the SMS module, you must first purchase an account from a bulk SMS vendor who provides HTTP SMS service. Use the connection parameters provided by the service provider to configure the SMS settings in the Fedena account panel. There are many vendors who provide bulk SMS services who on purchasing SMS credits from them will provide an account that will allow you to send SMS text messages through an API. When choosing an SMS API that is to be integrated with Fedena, the following two conditions must be met to be able to send SMS text messages:

• Fedena supports Bulk Gateway SMS providers with 'http' or ‘https’ response code. Fedena does not support SMS API with ‘XML’ response code.

• SenderID in the SMS API must be a single word.

1. Log in to your Fedena account panel.

2. In the top right, click your account name to open the account panel.

3. Click the Company option. Your company’s profile is displayed.

4. On the left, click SMS. The list of SMS packages (created and inherited) are displayed.

5. To create a new SMS package, click the Create an SMS Package button. You must enter the SMS package details and parameter mapping details.

The SMS package details include the following:

• Package Name – Enter the name of the SMS package.

• Service Provider – Enter the name of the SMS service provider.

• Message Limit – Enter the total number of messages that can be sent. If a message limit is not provided, it will be considered as ‘Unlimited’ SMS.

• Valid Till – Select the package validity date. When the date passes the validity date, messages cannot be sent. If a date is not provided, it will be considered as ‘Lifetime’ validity.

• Character Limit – Enter the total number of characters that make up one message. If left blank, the character limit per message is taken as 160. In some cases, service providers may include a few characters of their own as part of the messages being sent, in such cases, specify the character limit accordingly.

Under the Parameter Mappings section, the following fields must be mapped to the SMS API settings of the vendor:

• Username

• Password

• Sender name – Enter the sender name. The ‘sender name’ is the name the recipients will see when they receive an SMS text message. If you enter a sender name and enable Sender name modification, the sender name can be changed when assigning the package to a school. If you disable Sender name modification, the sender name cannot be changed.

• Host URL

• Success Code – Enter the success code. Success code is a response that is generated when a message is sent successfully. It is used to track the number of sent SMS from the SMS log. Some vendors may not have a fixed value and hence you need not enter a value.

• Message

• Phone

• Additional parameters

Since there are many vendors who provide HTTP SMS service, the settings can vary. Hence, you will also have to map the parameters provided by the vendor in Fedena. For example, some vendors use the term API Key instead of username, so the value of the API Key provided by your vendor can be entered as the parameter value in the Username field, and “API Key” as the parameter name.

6. After you have entered all details, click the Create button.