Connect and use WhatsApp
How to connect your own WhatsApp business number and send shift details, cancellations and reminders via WhatsApp as well – with prices, consent, replies in the history and costs charged to your credit.
Many staff and customers read WhatsApp faster than e-mail. That is why you can send selected notifications via WhatsApp as well – for example “New shift tomorrow 7:00” or the reminder before the event to the customer. E-mail, bell, push and SMS keep working exactly as before; WhatsApp is only added on top.
The message comes from your own WhatsApp business number. Univents connects your Meta account for this; the access token stays on the server where nobody in the team can see it.
What you need
- The “Messaging” add-on from the Core plan (€29 per month).
- Credit: Every WhatsApp message is charged to the same credit as the AI. You can see the balance under Billing.
- A WhatsApp business number (Meta business account). The number must not be in use in the regular WhatsApp app at the same time.
Until the WhatsApp connection is enabled for Univents, the page shows a note. In that state you cannot connect yet – nothing is sent until the connection is in place.
Connect WhatsApp
- Open Integrations and choose the WhatsApp card in the Messaging category.
- Click Connect WhatsApp. Meta's window opens: sign in there, pick your business account and number, and confirm.
- The page then shows your number and the status Connected.
- Turn on Turn WhatsApp sending on.
- Under Triggers turn on what should also go out via WhatsApp. When turning one on, a window shows the price per message; it only applies after Turn on.
Only owners of the workspace may connect, disconnect and switch. Everyone else sees the page and the history but cannot change anything.
Which triggers exist
| Trigger | Who gets the message | When |
|---|---|---|
| Shift assigned | the assigned staff member | as soon as the shift is assigned |
| Shift cancelled | all staff on the shift | when the shift is deleted |
| Shift reminder | all staff on the shift | at the same time as the reminder e-mail |
| Reminder before the event (customer) | the main contact of the event | together with the reminder e-mail; never after a declined quote |
Automatic messages always go out as an approved template – Meta requires that as soon as you message someone on your own initiative. The text is therefore fixed and short: trigger, date, link.
What it costs
| Kind | Price per message |
|---|---|
| Service (shift, reminder) | €0.10 |
| Marketing | €0.22 |
You only send marketing to contacts who have explicitly consented to WhatsApp marketing. Without consent the message is not sent.
If the credit is not sufficient, nothing is sent – no costs arise and the history shows the reason. You set a monthly limit the same way as for the SMS channel; it applies to both channels together.
Replies from customers
When someone replies to your WhatsApp message, the message appears in the contact's history, and the staff member who last wrote to that contact gets a bell. If nobody is assigned yet, the bell goes to the owner.
If someone writes STOP (or “stopp”, “abmelden”, “abbestellen”), WhatsApp consent is revoked immediately. After that no WhatsApp messages go to that number – not even service messages.
Disconnect
Under Integrations → WhatsApp you can disconnect at any time. Sending stops immediately and the access token is deleted. Triggers and history stay; reconnect to send again.
Good to know
- The history shows every WhatsApp message with its status (sent, delivered, read, failed) and cost – exactly like the SMS channel.
- If Meta rejects a message (for example because the number is unreachable), it appears as “failed” with a reason in the history. Nothing is charged in that case.
- Anyone who should no longer receive WhatsApp messages can be controlled through consent on the contact.