Connect WhatsApp: your Business number in the team inbox

What do you need to connect WhatsApp Business?

Two things: your own phone number and a Meta account. The number becomes your business WhatsApp number. If it is already in the WhatsApp Business app, it can simply keep working on the app while also running through stipt.

The connection runs through Meta's official signup flow, so you log in with your Meta account during setup. To send messages, Meta also requires a payment method at the WhatsApp account level in Meta Business Manager; without one, outgoing messages fail. In stipt an admin connects the channel, because the settings are for admins.

How do you connect WhatsApp to stipt?

In stipt, go to Settings > WhatsApp and click Connect WhatsApp. The window shows the connection method (Existing WhatsApp Business number) and asks you to name the channel, for example Sales line. You will see that name again in the inbox.

Click Start connecting. You then go through Meta's secure signup: log in with your Meta account and confirm the number you want to connect. Once that is done, the number appears in the channel list with the status Connected.

From that moment on, new WhatsApp messages arrive in stipt right away. You can rename or disconnect the channel later. The channel is also where you manage your WhatsApp profile: profile photo, description, email address, address and websites, in other words what a customer sees when they open your business details.

Can you keep using an existing WhatsApp Business app number?

Yes. A number from the WhatsApp Business app can stay on the app and work through stipt at the same time. You do not have to give up the app, and customers keep messaging the same number as always.

After connecting, your team answers the conversations from stipt while the app remains available. If you want to stop later, disconnect the channel under Settings > WhatsApp. From that moment, no new messages from that number arrive in stipt.

How do WhatsApp messages land in the shared inbox?

Every WhatsApp conversation arrives as a conversation in the stipt inbox, alongside your email. The inbox is shared: the whole team works from the same list, so nothing gets missed or answered twice.

A conversation that has not been handled yet is Open. When you send a reply, you choose whether that handles the conversation, keeps it open or sets a reminder. You can assign a conversation to a colleague or a team, and internal notes let you discuss inside the conversation without the customer seeing anything. Use @-mentions to alert a colleague.

If you only want to see WhatsApp, create your own view with WhatsApp as its channel, for example all WhatsApp conversations or just one specific number.

How do you build templates and submit them to Meta?

A template is a message that Meta has approved in advance. You need one to start a conversation or reach out outside the 24‑hour window.

You build templates in Studio, in the What dot writes group, under WhatsApp templates; that only works once a number is connected. Click New template and give it a name (lowercase letters, digits and underscores). Pick a category (Service for confirmations and updates, Marketing for promotions) and a language. Compose the message with an optional header, the required body, a footer and buttons. Variables such as the contact's first name are filled in automatically when sending.

Save it (status Draft) and click Submit to Meta. The status becomes In review and then Approved or Rejected. Only approved templates can be sent; editing an approved template resets it to Draft.

How does the 24‑hour window work in practice?

WhatsApp only allows you to message a customer freely for 24 hours after their last message. Within that window the conversation works like any other: type and send.

Once the window closes, you can only send an approved template or add an internal note. Sending a template reopens the window. stipt prefills the variables based on the contact, and you can adjust them before sending.

Templates can also be sent automatically when something happens in stipt, such as a status change, a quote being sent, an appointment reminder or a submitted form. You set that up with the lightning icon on the template: Add trigger opens the rule builder with the Send WhatsApp action already filled in. Every sent template is logged: in Studio, in the Logs group, WhatsApp activity shows per message whether it was sent, delivered, read or failed.

Can you connect multiple WhatsApp numbers?

Yes. Every connected number is its own channel in stipt. Want a separate number for sales and for service, or one number per branch? Connect each number through the same flow under Settings > WhatsApp.

Give each channel a clear name, so the team sees at a glance in the inbox which number a message came in on. All conversations land in the same shared inbox; with your own views per channel you can split them out if you like, for example a view that only shows the sales line.

A channel you no longer use can be disconnected. No new messages from that number will come in after that.