SMS Text Messaging has become extremely popular in recent years and is an excellent tool for MyCourts to use when needing to contact a member or hirer as quickly as possible. This service has only recently been added to MyCourts (November 2010) however we plan on expanding it's use rapidly over coming months. For example, MyCourts will send SMS reminders regarding upcoming reservations which should assist greatly in reducing 'no shows'.
There are several methods of sending SMS messages via the internet however all rely on using an SMS Gateway provider. These providers allow you to login to their website and then send and receive SMS messages. That ability can also be automated via several methods including just sending all the commands to send a message via a very long http web address which includes the password, login credentials, the message itself etc etc. We at MyCourts have chosen to use the same protocol that the gateways use to exchange data with the actual telephone service providers - SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol).
Before you can use MyCourts SMS you need to open an account with an SMS Gateway provider that allows you to use the SMPP protocol. Not all gateways allow you to use that protocol but most do. We use SMSGlobal who are located in most countries however you can use any provider that support SMPP that you wish. You should also examine the costs associated with SMS text messaging bearing in mind that in many cases both the sender and receiver must pay for the text message.
Once you have selected an appropriate gateway provider you will need to obtain from them the following information (we suggest you ring their support department before signing up for their service to enable you to confirm their service is suitable for MyCourts to use as well as their willingness to help you if needed).
The SMPP Server gateway address: eg smsglobal.com
Port Number: usually 2775 but can be almost anything
UserID: Your login name
Password: password
The other options configurable in MyCourts are all generally accepted as the defaults that the SMPP protocol (and hence the gateways) use however you should read the following setup instructions in case you encounter any problems.
The Ton and Npi default settings are normally accepted as a Ton value of 0 and an Npi value of 1. These may vary so it is well worth asking for confirmation of these two values at the outset.
We are more than happy to help you setup these settings if you have any problems obtaining this information from your chosen gateway. You can also troubleshoot your setup yourself by temporarily increasing the MyCourts log level to 'Debug' and then examining your log file as all commands and the results of those commands will be recorded for you.
Reminder Messages
MyCourts can optionally send reminder sms messages to each primary hirer that has a reservation for that day. This will assist greatly with reducing no-shows and enabling you to re-book newly vacant facilities. Use this window to configure these reminder messages. You will need to have designated an sms phone number and enabled SMS Messaging for the member in the Membership window for this to work.
MyCourts communicates with your chosen SMS gateway via the internet. Enter the gateway's server address here. Do not include http:// or https:// prefixes.
This number is the number which will be displayed to the recipient as to where the SMS is coming from.
You should use your own SMS number here so that people may contact you if necessary. If you are using the gateway to receive SMS messages then use the number they have provided instead.
At present MyCourts does not support inbound SMS message retrieval so you will need to use the gateways own web site to read inbound SMS Messages. This ability will be added to MyCourts in early course.
SMPP is the internet protocol used by MyCourts to communicate with your SMS gateway. Version 5.0 of that protocol is the latest version and is backward compatible with earlier versions of the protocol however you may select a previous version here if you need to.
This information can only be obtained from your gateway provider as it may vary from one telecommunications provider and another even within your own country. As an indication only, the Ton will likely be 1 if you are able to send and receive international phone calls. It is a Ton setting of 1 that means the leading '0' needs to be replaced with the Country Dialing Code ('61' for Australia) - see below. The Npi is normally also 1 because most SMS enabled devices are Mobile phones.
Your SMS Gateway provider may require that the Country code be used to send and receive SMS messages even though it is 'normal' for the user (you) not to enter these codes for SMS messages within your own country.
For example, to send an SMS Message from your mobile phone to another mobile in Australia you just enter the mobile number like 0411678835. However, your network provider will automatically replace the leading 0 with 61 (61 is the international dialing code for Australia). The same applies with the display on your mobile when you receive an inbound SMS message.
To avoid confusion, MyCourts can replace the leading 0 with the correct code for you.
If you do not need or wish to do this, just clear the two boxes and leave them blank.
Use this text box to enter the message you will send to each member who has hired a court today.
The length of the message will depend on the sms service type you have. Your sms service provider will be able to advise you of this or alternatively you can just use trial and error. For your convenience, the length of the text message is displayed for you in the top right corner of the text box.
You can also insert two tokens into your sms message text: #StartTime# will be replaced by the reservation's start time; #KabaAccessCode# will be replaced by the Kaba door/court access code applicable for the reservation.
MyCourts will send each sms message to the sms enabled members at this time each day.
The MyCourts program does not need to be running on your computer as MyCourts has it's own service that runs in the background on your computer. Your computer will however need to be running at the selected time. If your computer is not running, MyCourts will send any sms messages for that day when you startup the computer and the MyCourts Service starts.
