SMS and Notifications
SMS communication, reminders, and notification tools
The SMS and Notifications section helps you communicate with customers and staff through multiple channels — SMS, WhatsApp, email, and Telegram. Whether you need to send a single message, broadcast a payment reminder to hundreds of subscribers, or receive automated alerts, this is where you set it all up.
ISPBills routes notifications through your preferred channel automatically. If WhatsApp is configured and enabled, messages are sent via WhatsApp; otherwise they fall back to SMS.
At a glance
| Feature | What it does | Sub-page |
|---|---|---|
| Send SMS | Send a single SMS to a customer or any mobile number | Send SMS |
| SMS Broadcast | Send a message to many customers at once, filtered by status, zone, or package | SMS Broadcast |
| Payment Link Broadcast | Send personalised payment links to customers with outstanding bills | Payment Link Broadcast |
| Due Date Notifier | Automatically remind customers before their bill due date | Due Date Notifier |
| Expiration Notifier | Automatically warn customers before their service expires | Expiration Notifier |
| Event-Based SMS | Trigger SMS messages automatically when system events occur | Event SMS |
| SMS Gateway Setup | Configure your SMS provider credentials and sender ID | SMS Gateway Setup |
| SMS History | View all sent messages with delivery status | SMS History |
| SMS Bills | Track SMS usage and billing | SMS Bills |
SMS
Send SMS
Send a single text message to any customer directly from the SMS History page. Select the recipient by name, customer ID, or mobile number, type your message, and send. Delivery status is tracked automatically.
SMS Broadcast
Reach a large group of customers in a single operation. You can filter recipients by:
- Customer status — active, suspended, billed, or expired
- Zone — geographic or logical grouping
- Package — specific service plan
- Operator / reseller — customers belonging to a particular operator
Compose your message using template variables (e.g. customer name, due amount, expiry date) and ISPBills will personalise each SMS automatically. Broadcast jobs run in the background so you can continue working while messages are sent.
Payment Link Broadcast
Send personalised payment links to customers who have outstanding bills. Each customer receives a unique link that takes them directly to their payment page — no need to log in to the portal. This is one of the most effective tools for improving collection rates.
You can filter which customers receive the link (e.g. only those with bills overdue by more than 7 days) and choose to send via SMS or WhatsApp.
➡️ Payment Link Broadcast details
Automated notifiers
Due date notifier
Set up automatic reminders that are sent to customers before their bill due date. You can configure:
- How many days before the due date the reminder is sent (e.g. 3 days, 1 day).
- The message template — include the customer's name, due amount, and due date.
- The channel — SMS, WhatsApp, or email.
This reduces late payments by giving customers advance notice.
Expiration notifier
Similar to the due date notifier, but focused on service expiry. Automatically notify customers when their package is about to expire so they can renew in time and avoid service interruption.
➡️ Expiration Notifier details
Event-based SMS
Configure SMS messages that are triggered automatically by system events. Supported events include:
| Event | When it fires |
|---|---|
| Payment received | A customer makes a payment (cash, online, or card) |
| Customer suspended | A customer's service is suspended due to non-payment |
| Customer activated | A customer's service is activated or reactivated |
| Expiration warning | A customer's package is approaching its expiry date |
| Due date reminder | A customer's bill due date is approaching |
| Welcome message | A new customer is registered |
Each event SMS uses a customisable template with variable placeholders that are replaced with real data at send time (e.g. {customer_name}, {amount}, {due_date}).
WhatsApp messaging
ISPBills supports sending messages through WhatsApp as an alternative or complement to SMS. Features include:
- Text messages — send free-form messages to customers via WhatsApp.
- Template messages — use pre-approved WhatsApp templates with dynamic components for transactional notifications.
- Broadcast — send WhatsApp messages to a filtered group of customers, just like SMS broadcast.
- Event-triggered messages — the same system events that trigger SMS (payment received, suspension, activation, etc.) can also trigger WhatsApp messages.
- OTP delivery — send one-time passwords for customer verification via WhatsApp.
- Message history — every WhatsApp message is logged with delivery status tracking (sent, delivered, read, failed).
ISPBills supports multiple WhatsApp providers: Meta (Official Cloud API), Twilio, 360dialog, and an unofficial bridge option. Configure your WhatsApp gateway from the WhatsApp Gateways page.
Email notifications
ISPBills can send email notifications alongside or instead of SMS and WhatsApp. The email system supports:
- Per-operator SMTP settings — each operator can configure their own mail server (host, port, encryption, username, password).
- Email templates — create reusable templates with
{{variable}}placeholders for consistent, branded communications. - Event-triggered emails — automatically send emails on the same events that trigger SMS (payment received, suspension, activation, expiration, welcome).
- Email history — view every sent email with its delivery status.
Supported events for email:
| Event | Email support |
|---|---|
| Payment received | ✅ |
| Customer suspended | ✅ |
| Customer activated | ✅ |
| Expiration warning | ✅ |
| Welcome message | ✅ |
Telegram alerts
For internal team notifications, ISPBills integrates with Telegram. You can configure Telegram bots to send alerts to designated chat groups:
- Emergency notifications — receive instant alerts in a Telegram group when critical events occur (e.g. device down, payment failures).
- Customer support — route customer queries to a Telegram support group.
- Software support — receive system-level notifications.
Telegram is particularly useful for NOC teams who need immediate mobile alerts without relying on email.
SMS billing
SMS messages sent through ISPBills are tracked and billed:
- SMS balance — your current credit is shown on the dashboard. A low-balance alert is sent when credits run low.
- SMS bills — generated automatically based on your usage. View them on the SMS Bills page.
- SMS payments — pay your SMS bills through the same payment gateways used for subscription payments.
- Advance payments — top up your SMS balance before bills are generated.
SMS gateway setup
Before sending any messages you need to configure at least one SMS gateway. ISPBills supports over ten SMS providers. See the gateway setup page for step-by-step instructions on entering your credentials and testing the connection.
SMS history
Every SMS sent through ISPBills is recorded in the SMS History page. You can:
- View the full list of sent messages with timestamps and delivery status.
- Filter by date, customer, or status (successful, failed, pending).
- Resend failed messages.
Tip: Combine automated notifiers with payment link broadcasts for maximum collection efficiency. Set up a due-date reminder 3 days before the due date, an expiration notifier 1 day before expiry, and a payment link broadcast for overdue accounts.