Help · WhatsApp

How my WhatsApp gets connected and the difference between the two ways

#The two ways

Your WhatsApp can be connected in two ways, and both are valid. Which one suits you depends on how much you sell and how much you care about not depending on a phone that has to stay on.

#Scanning a code

It works just like WhatsApp Web: you go to your account settings, a code appears on the screen, you scan it with the phone that has your WhatsApp, and that's it. You're serving customers within minutes.

It's how almost everyone starts. There's no paperwork, no documents to submit and it costs nothing beyond the plan.

What you need to know before choosing it: the phone keeps the session open and has to stay that way. If you log out from the phone, if the battery is dead for a long time or if you change devices, you have to scan the code again. It's a minute of work, but in the meantime the agent isn't serving anyone.

#The official connection

It's registering your number with WhatsApp as a business number.

What you gain: it doesn't depend on any phone being on. The agent keeps serving customers even if the phone is off, lost or replaced. It's what operations that can't afford downtime use.

What it costs: there's a process. WhatsApp asks for documentation about your business and approval isn't immediate, so it's not something you'll sort out the same afternoon you decide to use it.

And something we'd rather tell you now than on your first bill: on this path WhatsApp charges per conversation, according to its own price list. That charge is WhatsApp's, not ours; we don't add anything on top. At low volume you barely notice it; at high volume it's worth keeping in mind.

There's a variant of this option that lets you keep using WhatsApp from your phone as always, while the agent serves customers over the official connection. If that matters to you, say so and we'll look into it.

#Which one suits you

If you're just starting out or want to see how this works, the code. It's done today and doesn't commit you to anything.

If WhatsApp is the channel where most of your sales come in, and having it stop answering for a while costs you money, the official connection.

Most people start with the code and move to the official one when the volume justifies it. That's a perfectly normal path.

#Can I switch later?

Yes, and it's worth knowing how it works before deciding.

The same number can't be on both options at the same time. To move from the code to the official connection, you have to release the number from one to register it on the other, and that means closing the WhatsApp account for that number on the phone. Your old conversations stay on the phone; they don't carry over.

It's not complicated, but it's not just pressing a button either. When the time comes, we'll walk you through it step by step.

#Can I use the number I already have?

Yes, and that's what we recommend: it's the number your customers already have saved.

If you'd rather keep automated customer service separate from your personal line, you can also use a new number. It's a matter of preference and how you work.

Yes, if you turn it on. By default the agent takes the order by chatting. If you prefer, it can send the customer a personal link to your menu, with photos, so they put their order together there; the customer sends it back to the chat and confirms it there. You choose this per location, and it comes turned off: nothing changes until you turn it on.

#Will my customers notice?

They write to the same number as always, from their usual WhatsApp. On the other end, the agent answers instead of a person, and when needed it hands the conversation to you.

They don't have to install anything or do anything differently.