Basic Concepts
Before diving deeper into TeamMessage, it helps to understand the core concepts: Teams, Team Lists, Members, and Channels.
Teams
A Team is your account – it represents your organization or company. When you register, a Team is created for you with:
- Team ID – A unique number identifying your account (e.g., 100042)
- Team Name – A short name used in email addresses (e.g., 'myteam')
- SMS Credit – Your available message quota
The Team Name appears in all your TeamMessage email addresses:
+49171XXXXXXXX.myteam@tmsg.de
Team Lists
A Team List is a group of recipients. Each Team List has its own email address, and sending to that address delivers your message to all members.
Your first Team List uses your team name directly:
Main Team List
myteam@tmsg.de
For many users, this single list is all they need. If you require additional lists for different purposes, you can create them with extensions:
Additional Team Lists
myteam-alarm@tmsg.demyteam-support@tmsg.de
Key features of Team Lists:
- Members can have different channels (SMS, Voice, Email, etc.)
- You can control who is allowed to send to the list
- Create as many additional lists as you need
Members
Members are the recipients in your Team Lists. For each member, you configure:
- Name – For identification in the portal
- Channel(s) – How they receive messages (SMS, Voice, Email, Push)
- Contact details – Phone number, email address, or push token
Tip
You can assign multiple channels to a single member. For example, both SMS and Email – they will receive the message on both channels.
Channels
Channels are the different ways TeamMessage can deliver your messages:
| Channel | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Text message to mobile phone | Quick, reliable delivery anywhere |
| Voice | Phone call with text read aloud | Urgent alerts, wakes people at night |
| Standard email message | Detailed information, attachments | |
| Fax | Fax transmission | Supporting established legacy processes that require fax |
| Pushover | Push notification via Pushover app | Instant delivery to smartphones |
How It All Works Together
Here's a typical workflow:
- You create a Team List called 'myteam-support' with three members
- Anna receives SMS, Ben receives Voice calls, Clara receives Pushover
- You send an email to myteam-support@tmsg.de
- TeamMessage delivers your message to all three – each on their preferred channel
Note
You can also send directly to a phone number without using Team Lists. This is called 'Direct Addressing' and is covered in the Email to SMS documentation.
What's Next?
- Email to SMS – Learn the email address formats
- Creating Lists – Set up your first Team List