CBP will bill you a small amount (per usage) for SMS messages and phone calls using the business phone number. These charges are initiated by the carriers behind the scenes that actually provide the phone number and integrate with the platform. The same goes for email communications with the SMTP server and dedicated sending domain.
I've been told that charges will vary slightly depending on carriers (from what I understand is based on location) but here are the estimated amounts that they've told me.
SMS Messages are approximately:
$ 0.0158 / segment (1 segment is equal to a SMS (text) of 160 characters)
Outgoing Calls (Making Calls) are approximately:
$ 0.028 / min
Incoming Calls (Receiving Calls) are approximately:
$ 0.017 / min
Sending Emails are approximately:
$0.002025 / email
So all minimal amounts and just a cost of doing business but info that is good to know nonetheless. Also, I believe our plans include $5 worth of complimentary credits each month which should cover around 316 texts or 294 mins in calls or 2469 emails.
So similar to paying for a phone plan for your personal phone, there are some costs involved with having this business phone number that the carriers charge - but it is very useful to have especially for SMS communications and the custom call reminders for your calendar appointments.
THPA just uses the business phone number for SMS (text) communications (including call reminders) and not for any phone calls. And because of this we didn't think to mention these minimal costs.
To minimize these costs, you can do all of your calls on zoom just like Dr Shaunna has always recommended. Or you can use your personal phone if you are really against using zoom for specific applications.
THPA will occasionally get a $10 charge to refill our account credits. There is a setting in the account that if your credit balance goes below $0, it will refill your "credit wallet" with $10 worth of credits (for SMS, Phone and Email) to ensure that all messages, call reminders etc. still get delivered and avoids any costly issues and missed opportunities with your day to day operations.