Frequently asked questions

One credit = one SMS sent, not one customer. Here's why that distinction matters:

When you enter a customer's name and number, the first message — asking them to rate their experience — uses 1 credit. If they don't respond within 48 hours, a single follow-up message is sent automatically, which uses a second credit. So one customer can use either 1 or 2 credits depending on whether they respond straight away.

A simple way to think about it: your credit balance covers roughly that many messages sent, not that many customers reached. If you're not using follow-ups, your credits go further. If you want every customer nudged twice, budget for roughly double.

Google reviews are posted directly on Google — not inside ReviewGetter. We don't have access to pull the review text back into your dashboard, since Google doesn't share that data with third-party apps.

What you can see in your dashboard is whether a customer clicked your link, what rating they gave when they rated their experience, and how your total Google review count is trending over time. To read the actual review, check your Google Business Profile directly — we'll always send you straight there when you tap "View on Google" from your dashboard.

The most common reason: that phone number has previously replied STOP to a message — either from your business or, in some cases, from another business also using ReviewGetter. Once a number opts out, we permanently stop sending to it, as required by Australian law. This protects both you and your customers, but it does mean a message can silently not go out with no error shown.

If a customer wants to start receiving messages again, they can simply reply START to any previous message from us, and they'll be automatically added back.

Every customer is asked a quick rating question first (from 0 to 5) before anything else happens. This step exists to protect your rating — it's what catches unhappy customers before they reach Google. Whether a customer is sent straight to your Google review page depends on the rating threshold you've set — anyone rating at or above it goes to Google, anyone below it is sent to a private feedback form instead.

Sometimes a happy customer simply doesn't respond to the rating question at all — they get busy, or don't see the text in time. If that happens, they won't be automatically forwarded to Google, since we only know they're happy once they've told us. A single automatic follow-up is sent 48 hours later to give them a second chance to respond.

This depends on whether you're on a monthly or annual plan, and they work differently:

Monthly plans reset every billing cycle. Any credits you don't use by the end of the month are gone — they don't carry over into next month.

Annual plans work differently: you get your entire year's worth of credits in one lump sum the moment you subscribe, and they're yours to use at whatever pace suits your business across the full 12 months. A quiet month and a busy month even out naturally, since nothing resets until your next annual renewal.

Nothing is ever deleted just because your trial ends. Your dashboard switches to a read-only view — you can still see everything: your review history, your stats, your Google review count growth — you just won't be able to send new review requests until you subscribe to a paid plan.

If you come back and subscribe a week, a month, or even a year later, your history will still be exactly where you left it.

Yes — and this is genuinely your responsibility as the business owner, not something ReviewGetter checks on your behalf. Under Australian law (the Spam Act 2003), you should only send messages to customers who've actually interacted with your business — someone who's booked an appointment, made a purchase, or had a job done for them, for example.

In practice, this means: only enter the details of real, recent customers — not numbers you've found elsewhere or people who've never engaged with your business. Every message we send includes an opt-out option automatically, so if you're ever unsure, entering genuine past customers and letting our built-in opt-out handle the rest is the safe, compliant approach.

The features are identical — the only difference is how many credits you get each month, and the price.

Basic suits most solo operators and small teams — sole traders, single-chair salons, individual tradies — sending review requests after each job or appointment.

Pro suits busier operations — multi-staff salons, growing trade teams with several people in the field, or any business sending a noticeably higher volume of requests each month.

If you're not sure, start with Basic. You can upgrade at any time, and we'll show you your actual usage in the dashboard so you'll know quickly if you're bumping up against your monthly limit.

It depends on whether you're upgrading or downgrading:

Upgrading (moving to a higher tier, or from monthly to annual) takes effect immediately. Your credit balance is topped up to the new plan's full allowance right away, and your new billing cycle starts from the day you upgrade.

Downgrading (moving to a lower tier, or from annual to monthly) doesn't take effect straight away. You keep everything you've already paid for — your current credits and access continue uninterrupted — and the change only applies once your current paid period naturally ends. You'll never lose paid-for value by downgrading.

You'll need an active Google Business Profile to get the most out of ReviewGetter, since that's where your customers' reviews actually get posted, and it's what lets us track your review count for you.

If you haven't set one up yet, it's free and usually takes about 10 minutes at business.google.com. Once it's live and verified, come back and paste your Google Maps link into your ReviewGetter account during onboarding, and everything else works exactly as expected.