Answering WhatsApp Customers as a Team

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1What it does

• Messages to your business number show up under WhatsApp Inbox: text, photos, voice messages, documents and locations.
• Everyone with the inbox gets a notification. Once a chat is assigned, only that person is notified.
• If the customer’s number is already in Contacts, the chat shows their name. Otherwise, add them with one tap.
• You see when your message was sent (✓), delivered (✓✓) and read (blue ✓✓).
• Connect several numbers, such as Sales and Support, and filter the inbox by number.

Set up

2Before you start

The inbox uses Meta’s official WhatsApp Business Platform. You need:

1. A Meta Business account and a Meta app

   At developers.facebook.com, create an app of type Business and add the WhatsApp product.

2. A phone number for the platform

   Add it under WhatsApp → API Setup. A number that’s in use in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business phone app has to be removed from that app first. It then works only through the platform.

3. A permanent access token

   In Business Settings → System users, create a system user, give it the WhatsApp app and your WhatsApp account, and generate a token with whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management. The 24-hour test token on the API Setup page stops working the next day.

Set up

3Connect a number

1. Open WhatsApp Inbox → Numbers

   Only company admins see this tab. Click Connect a number.

2. Fill in the four details

   Phone number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID are on WhatsApp → API Setup. The access token is the system user token. The app secret is in App settings → Basic.

3. Save and check

   FinAccounting asks WhatsApp straight away and shows Connected with the number’s name. Tokens and secrets are stored encrypted and never shown again. Leave those boxes blank when editing to keep them.

Set up

4Point WhatsApp at FinAccounting

This is how WhatsApp delivers your customers’ messages. You do it once per Meta app.

1. Copy the two values

   The Numbers tab shows a Callback URL and a Verify token.

2. Paste them into Meta

   In your app: WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook → Edit. Paste both and click Verify and save.

3. Subscribe to messages

   Under Webhook fields, click Subscribe next to messages.

Send your business number a WhatsApp from your own phone. It shows up in the inbox, and the Numbers tab shows when the last message arrived.

Every day

5Answering chats

• Filters: Open, Mine, Unassigned, Closed or All. Search by name, number or message.
• Assign a chat with the dropdown at the top. The person gets a notification.
• Add to Contacts creates a contact with the customer’s number, or links someone already there.
• Close chat when it’s done. It reopens by itself if the customer writes again.
• Press Enter to send, and Shift + Enter for a new line. Use *bold* and _italic_ as in WhatsApp.
• On a phone, an open chat fills the screen. Tap ← to go back to the list.

Every day

The 24-hour rule and templates

WhatsApp lets businesses reply freely for 24 hours after the customer’s last message. The box above the message field shows how long is left.

After that, you can only send a template: a message Meta approved in advance, such as “Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is ready.” Click Send a template, pick one, fill in the blanks and check the preview. Once the customer replies, you can chat freely again.

Create templates in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager → Message templates. Approval usually takes minutes. Click Refresh list in FinAccounting to see new ones. Templates with an image or document header aren’t offered yet.

Every day

Messaging a customer first

Click New chat, choose the number to send from and type the customer’s number with the country code, for example 233 24 123 4567. WhatsApp requires the first message to be a template, so the template picker opens next.

Reference

Who can use it

Company admins, Sales Managers and Sales Officers have the inbox by default. A company admin can add it to any other role under Users. Only company admins can connect, change or remove numbers.

Reference

Troubleshooting

• Messages don’t arrive: check that the webhook was saved with the exact Callback URL and Verify token, and that messages is subscribed. The Numbers tab says when the last message arrived.
• The number shows “Problem”: the access token expired or lacks permissions. Generate a permanent system user token and paste it under Edit.
• A message says “Not delivered”: the reason from WhatsApp shows under it. Common reasons are that the customer has no WhatsApp, or the 24-hour window had closed.
• A photo won’t open: WhatsApp keeps media for 30 days.

What it doesn’t do