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Credit balances and topping up
Credit balances and topping up

​View your SMS, PAF and Email balances in the Credit Checker.

Steph Stevens avatar
Written by Steph Stevens
Updated over a week ago

Looking for the link to request a quotation for more credits? Click here.

Check your SMS, PAF and Email balances by typing the keyboard shortcut 'x' which displays the Credit Checker:

(TIP: to see all keyboard shortcuts you can select it from the Jump menu top left OR just type 'k'.)

Your university uses credits each time one of the following Student CRM services is used:

  • SMS - you buy credit packs in advance (real-time stats)

  • PAF (Postcode Address File) - you buy credit packs in advance  (real-time stats)

  • Emails - you are on our Unlimited Emails plan which is usually enough* (stats updated overnight)

Using your SMS balance

SMS Credits are changing. Check this article for more information about SMS Balances and 'bottomless refills'.

Using PAF (Postcode Address File) credits

Each address that is looked up from the Royal Mail's PAF data file uses a credit. Royal Mail hold the accurate UK addresses and they licence it out at a fee that we pay, so you pay. So, when a student uses the 'Find Address' feature on any of your web forms and chooses their address from the choices returned that costs you 1 credit.

As your PAF credits are used up you can top them up or visit https://www.student-crm.co.uk/pricing

Using Email credits

*You are on our Unlimited Emails plan so you pay nothing (until you exceed our rather generous one million emails per year Unlimited limit). 

Yes I know! A 'limit' for an unlimited service, but that's the only way our legal beagles allow an 'unlimited' service to be provided.

Even though the allowance is rather generous, it's a good thing to keep track of your email usage, and so you can see your year-to-date email balance, alongside the number of emails sent so far in a year. Each email, regardless of its origin point, takes up one email "credit". Operations on the CRM that send emails (and thus consume "credits") are:

  • Touchpoints

  • Ad-hocs

  • Campaigns

  • Enquiry responses

  • Individual communications to students

  • Birthdays app

If you need to top up your email credits, just speak to a member of the CS team or visit https://www.student-crm.co.uk/pricing

What is included in a 'starter pack'?

When you first start using Student CRM we set up SMS, PAF and Email accounts for your university to use. We provide the following 'starter pack' of credits:

  • SMS = £100

  • PAF = £100

  • Email = 500,000 credits

That will get you going and gives you time before you need to top up (as per the top of this article).

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