SMS delivery is run by Heltio under a shared contract with the operators. You cannot connect your own SMS provider account — there is no field, screen or setting for it, and the messages go out through our channel regardless. Three things are yours to decide: how many SMS you have on the account, what name they arrive under, and which notifications go by SMS at all.
All three live under Messaging: the balance and the sender on the SMS tab, the notification choices on the Channels tab.
How to do it
Check the balance
The SMS wallet splits the state into two parts: Included this month (renewed with the subscription) and Packages (bought separately, not lost on renewal), with Total balance above them.
When it starts running out, SMS balance is low appears at the top with the hint "top up to keep reminders flowing".
The screen has two parts worth telling apart: (1) the Messaging tab list — the balance and the sender sit on SMS, the notification choices on Channels, (2) the balance section split between the subscription and separately bought packages.
Buy a package
Buy more SMS opens SMS packages — one-time top-ups: SMS 100, SMS 500, SMS 2 000, SMS 5 000 and SMS 15 000. The package card shows the net price, VAT, gross, validity and the effective price per SMS.
Once confirmed you click Pay with Przelewy24 →. The app tells you up front: "SMS are credited to your wallet immediately on payment confirmation".
Turn on auto top-up
Auto top-up will "Automatically purchase a new SMS package when your balance drops below the threshold". You set the threshold and the package, then Save settings.
Mind how the payment works: "When auto top-up triggers, you'll receive an email with a one-click Przelewy24 payment link. Stored payment methods are not yet supported." So the top-up does not quite happen on its own — somebody has to click the link.
Order your own sender name
By default the patient sees a message from Heltio. On the Custom sender name card you order your own: "Send SMS under your clinic's brand".
The naming rules are hard: 3–11 characters, English letters and digits only. Polish diacritics are rejected — "Polish diacritics are not allowed by SMS operators".
The app states the fees plainly: a one-off 99 PLN net and 29 PLN net per month, added to the subscription invoice. The name is approved independently by four operators — Plus, Orange, T-Mobile, Play — usually in 3–5 business days. The status runs Requested → Submitted to operators → Partially approved → Active; Rejected, Suspended and Cancelled are possible too.
Choose what goes by SMS
On the Channels tab every notification has separate Email, SMS and Push switches, and the reminders also have a lead time (30 min, 2 h, 24 h or a custom one).
An expanded row shows Patient will see with the ready text, Override template and a test send. The test takes a number in international format, +48600000000 for instance, and has a limit: "Limit: 5 test sends per clinic per 24h".
When something does not work
SMS wallet exhausted
What this means: The balance has dropped to zero — every SMS reminder is falling back to email.
Opt-out (blocked)
What this means: The patient replied STOP, or SMS notifications are blocked on their record. The message never went out and nothing was taken from the balance.
Sender name must be 3–11 characters.
What this means: A custom-sender request with a name that is too short or too long.
A sender with this name is already requested or active for your clinic.
What this means: The same name has already been requested from this clinic.
Daily test-send limit reached (5 per 24h).
What this means: The clinic has used up all its test sends for the day.
Who has access
Clinic AdminBuying packages, auto top-up, requesting a sender and changing channels all need administrator rights. The balance and the message history are visible to any team member with access to messaging settings.
Related
- SMS packages — top-up prices and validity.
- SMS to the patient — the texts that actually go out.
- Email notifications — the channel delivery falls back to on an empty wallet.
Related features
Email notifications
Heltio sends emails to patients from its own sender address. The clinic sets the footer, the reply-to address and decides which message types go out.
SMS to a patient
How Heltio sends SMS to patients — content and channels, message length, a custom sender name, and the STOP and START keywords.
SMS wallet and packages
The clinic's SMS balance — how much is left, where it comes from, how to buy a package and how to switch on auto top-up.
My notification preferences
Your own settings — what Heltio should remind you about, how loudly, on which device, and during which hours it should stay quiet.