This article provides detailed instructions on setting up your WhatsApp business account. For a general overview of the WhatsApp integration with Freshworks, see Overview of WhatsApp Business Integration.
This article contains the following sections:
Prerequisites
Before you proceed, please ensure that the following prerequisites are met:
| What? | Why? | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| A valid phone number | Ensure that you have a valid phone number that can receive OTP via voice calls or SMS for authentication. You can use any number, such as, landline, VOIP, or, international numbers. Note: You can also use a phone number that is already associated with a WhatsApp Messenger (iOS and Android) or a WhatsApp Business Account hosted by another Business Service Provider (BSP). However, before using this number, make sure to delete the account from the number. For details, see Migrate an Existing WhatsApp Number to a Business Account | Yes |
Facebook/Meta Business Manager Account | Ensure that you have a Facebook/Meta Business Manager Account. You can use an existing Facebook Business Manager account or create a new account. To use the WhatsApp Business Platform with Freshworks, each business or brand must have a Face Business Manager Account. The account is used by Meta to verify the company's identity. Using the Facebook Business Manager, companies can have a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). Within the WABA, businesses can register phone numbers with WhatsApp. For more information about how to create an account, see Create a Business Manager. Note: We strongly recommend verifying your Facebook Business Manager Account to remove any limitations. | Yes |
| WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) | WABA lets your business use the WhatsApp Business Platform to communicate directly with your customers. You can easily access all your WhatsApp accounts to manage associated phone numbers, create templates and catalogs, and get real-time insights of each WhatsApp number. For more details, see Managing your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). | Yes |
| User Permissions | Ensure that you have admin permissions in Freshchat/CSS and your brand's Facebook Business Manager Account. | Yes |
Things to know
A few things to know before you start the WhatsApp integration:
- Using an existing WhatsApp number
You can use a phone number that is already associated with a WhatsApp Messenger or WhatsApp Business Account.
To use your existing number, you must first delete the existing WhatsApp account associated with the number. For this, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Delete my account. For more information, see Migrate an Existing WhatsApp Number to a Business Account.Caution: Please note that once you migrate a phone number to the WhatsApp Business Platform, you cannot use that number on the WhatsApp Business App concurrently. Your number must be used either on the WhatsApp Business Platform or WhatsApp Business App. You will also lose all your data associated with WhatsApp after migration as Meta does not allow data transfers. Hence, we highly recommend you take a backup of your data before the migration.
- Migrating your number from another WhatsApp Business Service Provider
If you wish to migrate your WhatsApp number from another WhatsApp BSP to Freshworks, please contact support@freshchat.com.
Note: While migrating your number from another BSP, conversations and contacts will be lost. However, WhatsApp number, Green Tick (if any), all approved Message Templates, and messaging limits will be migrated. - Unlinking a WhatsApp number
You can always revert the WhatsApp integration and unlink your connected WhatsApp number with Freshworks. To do this, contact support@freshchat.com.
Note: Unlinking can be done immediately only if the number does not have any active charges for the current month. - 24-hour reply window
As per the WhatsApp business policy, you can respond to a customer only within 24 hours of their last message. If a customer initiates a chat, you can continue the conversation via Freshchat until 24 hours after the previous message was sent by the customer.
Beyond the 24-hour window, you can only send messages via approved message templates. Once 24 hours are complete after the last message, the agent will not be able to respond via Freshchat. However, they can send a template via Channel Switcher or Proactive Messaging. When the customer responds to this Template Message, the Agent can then continue the conversation with them with free-form/free-text messages. For more details, see this article.
Tip: Check out the FAQ section for quick troubleshooting tips.
Connect your WhatsApp account
Add your WhatsApp numbers and connect your WhatsApp Business Account with Freshchat/CSS to start your business conversations. You can add multiple WhatsApp numbers to manage your different business needs.
To set up WhatsApp business accounts:
- Log in to your account and go to Admin Settings > Channels > WhatsApp.
- Click Start Setup.
- You will be redirected to the Facebook page. If you are already logged into your Facebook account, you can continue with the same. You can also choose to log in to a different account or create a new Facebook account.
- Click Get Started to connect your Facebook account with Freshworks and allow the required permissions to manage your WhatsApp account.
- Enter your business information, such as business name, business email address, and business website page, and click Next.
Note: If you already have a Facebook Business Manager Account, you can continue with your existing account. For more details, see Embedded Signup.
- Create a new WhatsApp business account or select your existing account. Additionally, create or select a WhatsApp business profile, and click Next.
- If you want to create a new WhatsApp business profile, add your business profile details, such as WhatsApp business account name, display name, and category, and click Next.
- Add phone number details and select how you want to verify this number. You can choose to verify via text message or phone call and click Next.
Note: You can also use an existing phone number that is already associated with WhatsApp Messenger or WhatsApp Business Account. However, before using the existing number, ensure to delete the number from the associated account. For more details, see Migrate an Existing WhatsApp Number. - Enter the verification code received on your number, and click Next.
- Review the permissions required by Freshworks and click Continue.
- Finish the setup. Meta will review your business. However, you can still start using the number for your business.
- You can enable or disable the WhatsApp account, configure Settings, and edit your profile details. For more details, see
Note: If you are a trial user, you can add only one WhatsApp Business number and use up to 1000 service conversations (User-initiated Conversations) per WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) per month which does not include template conversations (Business-initiated Conversations). To use more than 1000 conversations, we recommend you purchase our paid plans.
Verifying your Facebook Business Manager
Once Meta verifies your Facebook Business Manager account, you can initiate unlimited conversations. However, until the verification is pending, you can start with the following:
- Initiate 250 business conversations in a 24-hour rolling window.
- Respond to customer-initiated conversations without any restrictions.
- Have two WhatsApp business numbers in an unverified Facebook Business Manager account.
You can continue using the number with the restrictions mentioned above if the business verification is unsuccessful.
If your Facebook business account is not verified, you may request verification to ensure the Facebook Business Account is authenticated, including proof of legal entity and access to the business. This way, your business will be verified, and you can interact with your customers via WhatsApp without limitations. For more details, see Verifying your Business in WhatsApp Business Manager here.
Additionally, WhatsApp conducts several checks to ensure the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) and the display/Business name comply with WhatsApp policies.
Configure settings for your WhatsApp numbers
Once you successfully add your WhatsApp Business number, you can configure different settings for the WhatsApp number to enhance your customer interactions on WhatsApp. For example, you can share your products and services with customers by creating a catalog, which will be displayed on your business profile.
To configure settings:
- On the WhatsApp page, click on the Configure button next to the WhatsApp number you want to configure.
- You can see the different configuration settings you can enable/disable for your WhatsApp Business Account.
Configuration Settings
Setting | Description |
| Topic Info | Add a channel name to easily manage assignments and reporting. |
| Deflection (Trigger a bot) | Set up a bot for your WhatsApp number and enable this option to trigger the bot to effectively manage customer conversations. With bots, you can provide personalized solutions to your customers, enhance self-service by answering the most frequently asked questions without agent intervention, and relieve your agents from answering repetitive customer queries. For more details, see How to build a simple bot flow with the bot builder. |
| Chat Assignment (Assign Group) | Enable this option to route all your WhatsApp conversations to specific groups in your account. For example, you can route all conversations related to orders to the “Procurement Team''. Note: If your number is connected to a bot, the conversation will be assigned to the specified group after the bot initiates agent transfer. For details on creating and assigning groups, see Organizing your team using agent groups. |
| Resolution (Send CSAT surveys) | Enable this option to automatically trigger surveys to customers after a conversation is resolved. For more details, see CSAT surveys. |
| Threading interval | Enter the time interval after which you want to start a new conversation thread on WhatsApp with customers. You can set the interval in days, hours, and minutes. With the threading logic, you can decide if a new conversation should be created based on the incoming customer message. Based on the interval, you can either continue from the last conversation or start a new conversation. For more details, see Threading logic. |
Advanced Configurations | |
| WhatsApp catalog | Create WhatsApp catalogs on your Meta Business Account and link them to your WhatsApp Business Account. Once you create catalogs, you can integrate them with bots to offer a seamless shopping experience to your customers directly within WhatsApp. For more details, see Setting up WhatsApp Catalog. |
| Assignment Rules | Auto assign conversations to agents based on predefined rules, events, filters and keywords. For example, you may have multiple support teams distributed across different regions or have different support teams to handle specific queries. With Assignment Rules, you can redirect your customer to the right team. For more details, see Assignment Rules. |
| Advanced Automations | Create automation to workflows to automate and simplify daily tasks and enable agents to quickly finish repetitive tasks. |
Editing your WhatsApp profile details
Add profile details for your WhatsApp Business profile to boost your brand visibility and help customers easily connect with your business. For example, you can add a logo, craft a clear caption, and add a detailed description for your business to establish your brand value.
To add profile details:
- On the WhatsApp page, click on the Edit profile icon next to the WhatsApp number.
- Add the description, address, email, Website URL, and upload a profile picture, and click Save.
Note: You can upload an image of the size 640X640, not exceeding 5MB.
FAQs
My Meta/Facebook Business Manager Account is not verified. Can I still connect WhatsApp to my account?
Yes. You can still enable WhatsApp API integration with an unverified Meta/Facebook Business Manager Account. But limited to 250 Templates/24 Hours and other limitations.What are the advantages of having a verified Meta/Facebook Business Manager Account?
Only Verified Meta Business Manager Accounts are eligible for WhatsApp verified accounts badge.
After verification completes, you can send business-initiated conversations to 1K unique customers and use increased limits based on WhatsApp’s messaging limits upgrade requirements. For more information about the requirements for messaging limits, see Messaging Limits.
I am unable to complete the setup. I'm getting the message -"Error integrating number".
The display of the number you are trying to connect has its display name rejected. You can retry with a new display name. If this is not the case or if this issue persists, please get in touch with us at support@freshchat.com.
Once your display name is approved, please go through the same onboarding process again, and your number will be connected. For information on changing your display name, see How to change your display name.My Display name got rejected. What are the next steps?
If your display name is rejected, try editing the display name by clicking on the name, and the edit option will pop up.
If the display name still gets rejected, reach us at support@freshchat.com, and we will assist you with the next steps. For information on changing your display name, see How to change your display name.
My WhatsApp Business Account got rejected. How can I overturn the rejection?
All WhatsApp accounts undergoes an approval process once you connect them. If your brand is rejected, please check the WhatsApp commerce policy to see if you violated any of the policies mentioned.
If your business does not violate any guidelines, kindly email us at support@freshchat.com with a brief explanation of why your brand doesn't violate any policies.I received an error message stating that the number is already associated with a WhatsApp account. How do I proceed further?
This error occurs in mainly two scenarios.You have an active WhatsApp account on the mobile device - To connect with the chat account, you need to delete the WhatsApp account from the app.
Navigate to the WhatsApp app > Settings > Account > Delete my account.
Note: You will not be able to use WhatsApp on your phone after integration, and your previous conversation history/contacts are not migrated to Freshchat.Your WhatsApp number is connected to another provider - In this case, please reach out to us at support@freshchat.com, and we will assist you with migrating your number to Freshworks.
How to add additional numbers to my account? Are there any extra charges?
You can add multiple numbers to your chat active account, for trial instance we can add only one number, and there are no extra charges for adding additional numbers. WhatsApp charges you only based on your usage.What if I have integrated using Toll-Free, Virtual, or landline numbers?
You can use the “Receive via Call” option to complete the verification. Please ensure the automated answering machine is disabled until the verification process is completed.
Please go through the same process as you did with the first number to add multiple numbers.What are the message types supported on WhatsApp with Freshchat/CSS?
For the complete list of supported message types, see Overview of WhatsApp Business Integration.
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