“Connect WhatsApp” means three different things. Whether it takes a minute or a week of paperwork depends on which one you actually need.
1. Send a client a text from your own WhatsApp
Needed: nothing.
In the appointment card press “Notify the client” and choose WhatsApp. A chat with the client opens in your WhatsApp with the “You're booked” text already filled in. You send it yourself, from your own number.
The window the CRM offers right after creating an appointment works the same way. Details: “Notify the client about a booking”.
That's enough for most salons that already talk to clients in WhatsApp.
2. Client conversations in Chats
Needed: WhatsApp Business Cloud API from Meta and the Salon or Network plan.
The client writes to the salon's number, the message appears in Chats, and the administrator replies from the CRM. The conversation is linked to the client card by phone number.
Worth knowing before you start:
- This isn't the WhatsApp Business app from the app store. You need a separate business account at Meta and an app in Meta for Developers.
- A separate number. It must not be registered in personal WhatsApp or the WhatsApp Business app. If the salon already chats with clients from a number in the app, that number has to be released for the API.
- Business verification at Meta: documents, address, website. Usually a few days to a week.
- Meta charges. API messages are paid at Meta's rates, billed by Meta, not by us.
- The 24-hour window. Free-form replies are allowed within a day after the client's last message. Writing first or later is only possible with a template Meta approved in advance.
In the CRM: “Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp” — the number (Phone Number ID), token and App Secret.
3. Team notifications in WhatsApp
Needed: the same WhatsApp Business API, plus the “WhatsApp notifications” module.
A specialist gets a WhatsApp message about a new booking, a reschedule or a cancellation, like in Telegram. Rules decide who gets what: the appointment's specialist, a role, the task's watchers.
The same limit applies — the 24-hour window. If a staff member hasn't written to the salon's number for a while, the message can only go as a Meta-approved template.
That's why for team notifications we recommend Telegram: the BeeSection bot is free, has no windows or templates, and connects in a minute from your profile. See “CRM notifications in Telegram”.
What to choose
| Task | Solution |
|---|---|
| Send the client “You're booked” | “Notify the client” button → WhatsApp |
| Automatic reminder a day before | Telegram bot, email or SMS via a provider |
| All client conversations in the CRM | WhatsApp Business Cloud API |
| Notifications for specialists | BeeSection Telegram bot |
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