Illustrative scene: Reception coordinator discussing appointments with a colleague
SMS API for business

Keep customers updated.
Keep business moving.

Buy standalone SMS API access from C9. Connect your booking, order or customer system so an agreed workflow can send updates without staff composing each message. Software and integration are additional requirements.

Explore SMS features
Available as a standalone service.
SMSYour business · Customer view
EXAMPLE

Example one-way SMS updates.

Business: Hi Alex, your appointment is confirmed for Thursday at 10:30 am.

Business: A reminder: your appointment is tomorrow at 10:30 am.

Business: Need to change your booking? Please contact our team.

One-way SMS notifications
EVERYDAY SMS

Useful updates. Right when they’re needed.

A booking, an order or a changed schedule can trigger a useful update. Your software controls when it is sent.

Illustrative scene: business adviser planning business requirements with two clients
01

Appointment reminders

A booking is coming up.

EXAMPLE

Hi Alex, your appointment is tomorrow at 10:30 am. Call us if you need to reschedule.

Keep the time and next step easy to find.

Illustrative scene: Retail team member helping a customer collect a purchase
02

Order notifications

An order is ready.

EXAMPLE

Hi Sam, your order is ready to collect. We’re open until 5 pm.

Let customers know when to come in.

Illustrative scene: technician completing a scheduled service visit at a café
03

Service alerts

The schedule has changed.

EXAMPLE

Your service visit is now Friday, 9–11 am. Please contact our team with any questions.

Share revised details before the visit.

Illustrative scene: Small business owner at her shop at the end of the day
04

Permission-based promotions

A customer has opted in to offers.

EXAMPLE

Our weekend offer starts today. Visit us in store. To opt out, contact our store.

Reach interested customers with a suitable opt-out method.

SMS CAPABILITIES

The details that make messaging work.

Match the connection to the way you work. Availability depends on the selected service, destination or account, and the software connected to it.

01

Send from your systems

A compatible application submits the message request. Its connector or developer defines when the message is sent.

02

Personalise the content

Your application can supply names, booking times and order details. The source data and message rules stay in your workflow.

03

Follow delivery status

Return supported status events to your application so your team can identify messages that need attention. Delivery status is not proof of reading.

04

Choose a sender identity

Discuss a business-name sender or number. Destination support and registration requirements determine the available options.

05

Plan for replies

Two-way use needs a supported number and a configured receiving application. Business-name senders cannot receive SMS replies.

06

Connect message records

Your developer or connector can link available message and status data to a booking or order. Your application supplies the reporting view.

WHAT YOU’RE BUYING

Know what comes with your service.

C9 supplies the messaging API access. Your application controls the messages and triggers; its connector or developer links the two.

Illustrative scene: business adviser reviewing the proposed service scope with a business owner

API access

Buy SMS API access independently of other C9 services. Confirm recipient countries, sender choice and required status events before ordering.

Software you arrange

Use your existing application if it can connect, or select software with a suitable connector. A campaign builder or reporting application is not included with API access.

What you provide

Your use case, recipient permissions, message content and a compatible application. Agree who configures and maintains the connection.

Need help connecting it? Include that in your enquiry. Confirm whether C9 can quote for the work or whether you need your software provider or developer before ordering API access.

Who handles setup and ongoing support?

C9 supplies API access. Your business provides message content, recipient permissions and someone to own the workflow. Software configuration, testing and maintenance need an assigned application provider or developer; any work you ask C9 to perform must be agreed in the quote.

Before activation, agree the contact and coverage for API service issues, who fixes the software connection and who reviews failed messages or unanswered replies. API access alone does not include ongoing workflow management.

What determines your SMS costs?

Budget for message usage, any applicable service or sender fees, and software or integration work. Message length and characters can affect billable segments. Ask for one-off and recurring charges to be identified separately.

See the cost factors
Destination countries
Where recipients are located affects the applicable message rates.
Expected volume
Estimate monthly messages, including busy periods.
Message length
Longer text and some characters can create multiple billable segments.
Service, sender or number fees
Check any recurring service fees and charges for the sender or reply-capable number you need.
Setup and integration
Identify configuration, software and development work separately.
Adding messaging to a new or growing business?

Starting a business

Choose your first use case, such as a booking confirmation, then identify the software that will hold customer details. You can enquire before you have an application or developer.

Adding to existing software

Tell us which booking, order or customer system you use and what should trigger a message. An existing connector may help; a custom connection may need a developer.

Opening another location

Plan which location appears in each message, where replies go and who owns the customer record. Include your existing sites when defining the connection.

PLAN YOUR MESSAGING

Know what you need before you connect.

A practical guide to choosing your channel, understanding the setup and preparing for a quote.

  • When to choose SMS or WhatsApp
  • API access, team software and integration explained
  • A checklist to help you prepare for a quote
PDF · 3 pages · Enter your details to download
Connected SMS workflow: business system, messaging API, customer phone and delivery status.
GETTING STARTED

Plan it. Connect it. Test it.

Agree the work and responsibilities before connecting your first workflow.

  1. 01

    Plan the requirements

    Choose the messages, destinations, sender and whether you need replies.

  2. 02

    Configure the connection

    Assign service setup to the agreed provider and software configuration to your application provider or developer. Record any C9 implementation work in the quote.

  3. 03

    Test the workflow

    Your business and integrator test content, triggers, recipients and available status events, plus replies if enabled.

  4. 04

    Prepare for activation

    Agree the activation steps, service support contact and who maintains the application connection before sending to customers.

STRAIGHT ANSWERS

Before you connect SMS.

The service, software and setup questions worth settling before you start.

Can I buy SMS API access on its own?

Yes. C9’s SMS API service is available independently. No other C9 telecommunications or IT service is required.

Can recipients reply to an SMS?

Replies require a reply-capable sender and an application configured to receive them. Alphanumeric business-name senders are one-way. The available number and destination options need to be checked for your selected service.

Can messages show our business name?

A business-name sender may be available, subject to destination support and registration or approval requirements. Provide the proposed name and recipient countries when you enquire. This sender type does not accept direct SMS replies.

Will it connect to our existing software?

Share your application name, version and any messaging connector or API documentation. A connector must work with the API being purchased; having an SMS feature alone does not establish that. Without a suitable connector, a developer must build and maintain the connection.

What does delivery reporting tell us?

Supported status events can help your application record the progress or outcome of a message. Availability and detail vary by service and destination. Delivery status does not confirm that a person has read the SMS.

How is SMS usage billed?

The applicable billing unit is confirmed in your quote. SMS can be billed by segment, so a longer message or certain characters may use more than one unit. Destination rates, sender charges and other applicable fees are also confirmed in the quote.

What do we need to get started?

Share your use case, recipient countries, expected volume and software details if known. We can discuss the sender and reply requirements. Configuration, integration responsibilities, testing and activation steps are agreed before the service is used.

Can booking reminders be sent automatically?

A compatible application can trigger a request when a booking is made or a reminder becomes due. That trigger must be configured and tested in your software; API access alone does not create the automation.

Can each message include a customer name or booking time?

Your application can supply those details when it creates the message. Keep the source records accurate and test how missing information is handled. Personalisation and message rules are part of the application workflow.

What happens if a message is not delivered?

Your application can use supported status events to flag messages that need attention. Agree who reviews failures and whether a retry or another contact method is appropriate. Automatic retries or fallback channels need their own configured workflow.

LET’S CONNECT

Put your next customer update in motion.

Tell us what triggers the message, who receives it and which system you use.

Send your requirements to C9 with email as your preferred contact method. Use the discussion to establish the API fit, pricing and work needed before placing an order.