Read and reply to clients in the WhatsApp inbox

The WhatsApp inbox keeps every message your clients send to your shop's WhatsApp number, so you can read and answer them without opening WhatsApp on a phone. Conversations are listed with the most recent activity first.

It also records what happened when a client replied to a reminder. A client can confirm or cancel an appointment just by answering the reminder they received, and the inbox shows that message and whether an action was applied.

Free-text replies follow WhatsApp's own rule: you can write freely only during the 24 hours after the client's last message. This is the service window. After it closes, you can only send one approved follow-up template, and that send is metered.

1. A connected WhatsApp sender. Without one the inbox says WhatsApp is not connected yet and offers Set up WhatsApp. See the article on connecting your WhatsApp number. Appointment messages work on every band from the shared sender, so replies to reminders can arrive even before you connect your own number.
2. Permission to use the inbox. Owners can read and reply. A staff member needs permission to read, and a separate permission to reply, set up by the owner under roles and policies. Without read permission the inbox does not open for them.
3. Messaging credits if you plan to send the follow-up template, since it uses one credit. Free-text replies inside the window do not use credits.

Read conversations

1. In the sidebar, under Diary, open WhatsApp inbox.
2. Pick a conversation in the list. Each one shows the client, or the phone number if the number does not match a client of your company, and either Reply (window open) or The 24-hour reply window is closed.
3. The thread shows the client's messages and yours. Under a client message you may see Applied, which means the reminder reply was applied to the appointment, or a short reason when it was not.

Reply while the window is open

1. Write your message in the reply box and press Send.
2. Your message appears in the thread. It does not use messaging credits.

Contact a client after the window closes

1. Open the conversation. The reply box is disabled and shows The 24-hour reply window is closed.
2. Press Send follow-up template. This sends the approved follow-up message and uses one messaging credit. If you have no credits left, the send is refused.

Replies to reminders

You do not need to do anything. When a client answers a reminder with a confirm or cancel (words or the reminder's button), Zelun applies it to that one appointment automatically and stores the message in the inbox.

• Free reply: your text arrives in the same WhatsApp chat, from your sender.
• Follow-up template: a pre-approved message from your shop, not your own wording.
• Confirm: the appointment is confirmed as if you had confirmed it yourself.
• Cancel: the appointment is cancelled by the same rules as cancelling from the booking page, including your late-cancel window and any consequence it has.
• Anything unclear, or a request to change the time: nothing changes and the client gets a reply with the link to manage their booking (or to your booking page). Zelun never picks a new time by itself.
• Replying to a reminder only ever affects the appointment named in that reminder, even if the client has several.

• Trying to write after 24 hours. The reply box locks. Use the follow-up template, or wait for the client to write again.
• Expecting staff to see the inbox automatically. They need permission to read, and another to reply.
• Looking for conversations before WhatsApp is connected. The inbox shows how to set it up. After connecting, it says conversations appear once a client writes.
• Expecting every message to appear. A message from a number that matches clients of more than one company on the shared sender, with no reminder to tie it to, is not stored for anyone.
• Sending the follow-up with no credits. It is refused until you have credits.

Read how to connect your own WhatsApp number, and the articles on reminders and on what messaging includes.