How to send bulk SMS from an Excel sheet

Most businesses already keep customer lists in Excel. You do not need special software to message them — just a clean sheet and an SMS platform that can read it. Here is the process.

Step 1: Clean up your sheet

• Put mobile numbers in one column with no spaces or dashes. Add the country code (91) or make sure your platform adds it.
• Use one row per contact and a header row at the top (Name, Mobile, Amount, Date…).
• Remove duplicates and obviously invalid numbers (fewer or more than 10 digits for India).
• Save as .xlsx or .csv.

Step 2: Match your DLT template

Your message must match an approved DLT template. If the template is "Dear {#var#}, your fee of Rs {#var#} is due on {#var#}", your sheet needs columns for name, amount and date — in that order of use.

Step 3: Upload and map columns

In TextNSMS, go to Contacts → Import, upload the file and map each column: Mobile to the phone field, Name, Amount and Date to the template variables. The importer flags duplicates, invalid numbers and numbers on your opt-out list before anything is sent.

Step 4: Preview and test

Check the preview for three or four rows to make sure each variable lands in the right place. Then send a test to your own number.

Step 5: Send or schedule

Choose the header, pick a send time (promotional SMS only go out during the allowed daytime window) and launch. Delivery reports show delivered, failed and pending messages, and you can download them back to Excel.

Tips

• Keep a "consent" column noting where each contact opted in.
• Split very large lists into batches so you can stop a campaign if something looks wrong.
• Re-import failed numbers only after checking why they failed.

Ready to try it? See Bulk SMS features or create your account.

Frequently asked questions