WhatsApp

Messaging Customers Where They Already Are

Quickenerp integrates directly with the official WhatsApp Business Platform (Meta's API) — not a personal WhatsApp app — letting you send and receive WhatsApp messages tied to your business records (orders, invoices, appointments) rather than a phone sitting on someone's desk.

Core Concepts

Why Templates Are Required

WhatsApp's platform rules require any business-initiated message (one the customer didn't message first, or outside a 24-hour reply window) to use a pre-approved template — this prevents businesses from freely spamming phone numbers and is enforced by Meta, not something Quickenerp can bypass. Within an active 24-hour customer conversation, free-form replies are allowed.

Building a Template

Go to WhatsApp > Templates → Create.

Template Structure

• Header (optional) – text, image, or document.
• Body – the main message text, with placeholders for dynamic content (customer name, order number, amount due).
• Footer (optional) – small print, e.g. "Reply STOP to opt out."
• Buttons (optional) – quick-reply buttons or call-to-action links (call a number, visit a URL).

Dynamic Variables

Map each placeholder in the body/header to an actual field on the record the template will be used with (e.g. {{1}} → the invoice's Customer Name, {{2}} → Amount Due) so every sent message is personalised automatically, not copy-pasted per customer.

Approval Status

Every new/edited template must be submitted to and approved by Meta before it can be used to start a conversation:

• Draft → Pending (submitted, awaiting review) → Approved (usable) or Rejected (needs revision, most often for promotional-sounding wording without a real transactional purpose).
• An approved template can later be Paused or Disabled by Meta if quality feedback drops (e.g. too many recipients blocking/reporting it) — watch the Quality rating and adjust wording/targeting if it declines.

Approval typically takes minutes to a day; plan ahead rather than creating a template the same day you need to send it.

Day-to-Day Messaging

Sending From a Record

1. Open a record that supports WhatsApp (a contact, sales order, invoice) → Send WhatsApp Message.
2. Pick an approved Template — its variables auto-fill from the record's own fields.
3. Review and send. The message and its delivery status are logged directly on that record's chatter.

Message Status Tracking

Every message shows its real delivery lifecycle: In Queue → Sent → Delivered → Read, or Failed/Bounced with a failure reason (e.g. blacklisted number, network error) if it didn't go through — the same visibility you'd get checking WhatsApp itself.

Receiving & Replying

Inbound customer replies arrive as Discuss messages/notifications tied to the originating record and open a 24-hour window during which free-form (non-template) replies are allowed — respond directly from Quickenerp within that window, same as a normal chat.

Automated Notifications

Beyond one-off manual sends, WhatsApp templates can be triggered automatically from other apps' events — an order confirmation from Sales, a delivery/pickup notice from a POS sale, an appointment reminder, an event registration confirmation — using the same Automated Actions mechanism covered in the Settings course.