WhatsApp

Zellbox integrates with WhatsApp Business so each customer has a thread you can read, reply to, and send template messages from. The inbound side is webhook-driven; outbound is real-time via Meta's Cloud API. Threads open as full popups from the WhatsApp button on each customer row — there is no Messages tab inside the inline customer detail, so the list stays visible behind the conversation. Unanswered inbounds also surface on the dashboard's Waiting for your reply card for operators with the WhatsApp-manager CRM role.

Sending a message

1. From the Customers list, click the WhatsApp button on the customer's row.
2. The chat popup opens.
3. Type into the composer at the bottom.
4. Click Send, or hit Enter.

The button is disabled if the customer has no mobile phone on file or hasn't been opted in (toggle opt-in on the customer's Consents tab once they've explicitly agreed).

Sending attachments

The paperclip on the composer opens the 3-source picker:

• From your computer — direct upload.
• From workspace documents… — pick from Documents.
• From this customer's documents… — pick from this customer's files.

Using a script

Scripts are pre-written snippets organised in a tree, useful when an operator wants to send a polished message without re-typing it every time. They support the same {{customer.firstName}} / {{event.startDate}} style placeholders as email templates.

1. In the composer, click Scripts.
2. Pick a snippet from the script tree.
3. The composer pre-fills with the resolved text (placeholders replaced with the customer's data). Edit if needed.
4. Click Send.

Scripts are managed under Templates → WhatsApp scripts.

Clearing a pending-reply state

When the customer's last inbound doesn't really need a reply (e.g. they just said "thanks, see you Tuesday"), click ✓ No reply needed at the top of the thread. The customer drops off the dashboard's pending-replies list.

The state auto-resets the next time the customer sends an inbound — the dashboard re-arms the row automatically.

How Meta's reply rules apply

The Dashboard's WhatsApp reply rules panel summarizes this:

• Inside the 24-hour customer-service window — any text, image, or document can be sent freely from the composer.
• Outside the window — only Meta-approved templates (and the scripts bound to them) can re-open the conversation. The composer prevents free-text sends in that state.
• Opt-in required — the customer must have toggled WhatsApp opt-in on their Consents tab before any outbound is allowed.

Approved templates

The Templates → WhatsApp templates page is a read-only mirror of every WhatsApp template approved (or pending / rejected) for your Meta account. It refreshes from Meta on a schedule, and admins can poke a manual refresh from the toolbar. The Meta connection itself is set up at the workspace level by Zellbox staff.