Connect your WhatsApp number

The Front Desk receives and answers WhatsApp messages through your organisation's own WhatsApp Business account in Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API. You connect the number once, on the Front desk channels page, and Kluvan checks each step before the number goes live. Meta bills you directly for its messages.

Before you start

• The Inbox app must be part of your plan, or included in your trial.
• You need to be the owner to connect or disconnect a number. Managers can see the page.
• In Meta Business Manager you need: a Meta app of type Business with the WhatsApp product, your number added to its WhatsApp Business account, a permanent access token (from a System User with WhatsApp messaging and management permissions), and the app's secret.

Steps

1. Open Settings → Front desk channels: press Ctrl+K, type "channels" and pick Front desk channels.
2. Under Connect a WhatsApp number, choose Paste the Cloud API details from Meta and select Start.
3. Fill in the Phone number ID, the WhatsApp Business account ID, the Access token, the App secret and, if you like, the Number customers see.
4. Select Save and check. The step Number reserved for your organisation gets a tick.
5. Select Copy next to Webhook URL and paste it in your Meta app under WhatsApp → Configuration as the callback URL. Do the same with the Verify token, and subscribe the webhook to messages.
6. Select Check with Meta. When Meta confirms the number, Meta confirmed the number gets a tick.
7. From your own phone, send any message to the number. A message to the number reached Kluvan gets a tick.
8. Select Send the test reply. Your phone receives a short delivery test, and A test reply was delivered gets a tick.
9. Select Switch on. The channel card shows Active.

After it is switched on

The channel card shows the number, the Provider, the Status, the Connection (Working, Failing or Not checked yet) and your WhatsApp templates with their state (Approved, Paused, Rejected…).

• Check the connection asks Meta again and shows what it confirms.
• Sync templates reads your approved message templates from Meta. The Front Desk uses them only for messages outside WhatsApp's 24-hour window, such as order updates.
• Disconnect stops the Front Desk on this number. Choose what happens to the number: Keep it ready to move to another provider or Keep using it with my own WhatsApp service, tick that you understand your provider's charges continue, and confirm. Conversations and their history stay.

Good to know

• Sign in with Meta is coming soon. A one-click connection through Meta (Embedded Signup) is built and appears as Sign in with Meta once Kluvan's own Meta app is approved. Until then, paste the details as above.
• One number, one organisation. A number already connected to another organisation is refused (fd_number_taken). For now an organisation connects one WhatsApp number.
• Not ready yet. Until every step has its tick, the channel shows Not ready yet and the Front Desk sends nothing on it except the delivery test (fd_channel_not_ready). Stop with Cancel this connection and start again at any time.
• Replies from the WhatsApp Business app. Meta does not yet tell Kluvan reliably when you answer from the WhatsApp Business app on the same number. Take the conversation over in the Front Desk before you answer from the app.
• Your credentials are stored encrypted for your organisation only and are never shown again.
• Every message from Meta is checked against your app secret. Repeats are dropped, and delivery states (Sent, Delivered, Read) never go backwards.
• Providers. Only WhatsApp through Meta's Cloud API can be connected; the Providers table lists the others as Not available.
• The older form. Connect WhatsApp in Front desk settings still works and connects the number directly; the number then appears on the channels page with the note that it was connected earlier.
• Next: choose how the Front Desk answers.