WhatsApp Business channel
Updated August 24, 2026
A WhatsApp Business channel connects one phone number from your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) to Pluspoint through Meta’s Cloud API. Customer messages arrive in the Inbox and agents reply from there. Campaigns can reach customers with approved message templates. Use it when you want WhatsApp on an official, business-verified number rather than a phone handset.
Before you start
- You need to be the account Owner, or belong to a team with full settings access.
- At least one Team with messaging access must exist — see Teams.
- You need admin permissions in the relevant Meta Business Manager account.
- You need a phone number that can receive a call or SMS for verification and is not already registered on another WhatsApp Business Account.
- Have your business details ready: name, category, website, email, address, logo and a short description.
- The account needs an active WhatsApp integration. See WhatsApp Business.
Where to find it
Settings (left sidebar, footer area) → Channels tab, or go to https://app.pluspoint.io/account-settings/channels.
Connect WhatsApp first
If WhatsApp Business is greyed out in the channel picker, start here.
- Go to Settings → Integrations, or https://app.pluspoint.io/account-settings/integrations.
- Select Add integration, choose WhatsApp, and select Connect.
- Complete Meta’s embedded signup in the pop-up. Create a new WhatsApp Business Account or pick an existing one, add and verify the phone number, and grant the requested permissions. Accept the WhatsApp Business Cloud API Terms of Service when prompted.
One Pluspoint account can hold several WhatsApp integrations, so you can connect more than one WABA.
Create the channel
- Select Add new channel.
- Choose WhatsApp Business and select Continue.
- Complete the form:
- Channel name — required.
- Phone number — required. The dropdown lists the numbers on your connected WhatsApp Business Accounts, minus any already bound to a channel. The number is fixed at creation — to use a different one, create another channel.
- Team — required. Only teams with messaging access are listed.
- Link this channel to a location or brand — optional.
- Select Done.
The channel is created ready to send and receive, tied to the integration whose WABA owns the number.
The 24-hour customer service window
WhatsApp only allows free-text business replies for a limited time after the customer’s last message.
- The window is 24 hours long, counted from the last incoming message or the last outgoing template message.
- Inside the window, agents type freely in the Inbox.
- Once the window has closed, only an approved template message can reopen the conversation. After the customer replies, free text works again.
Message templates
Templates for WhatsApp Business live in the template library under Campaigns, and Pluspoint syncs them from Meta every hour.
- You can send a template only if it is approved, not archived, and belongs to the same WhatsApp Business Account as the channel.
- Map every variable in a template before you send it, and supply the image for a template with a media header.
See Template library for how to manage them.
If the channel disconnects
- Deleting the WhatsApp integration sets every WhatsApp Business channel on that WABA to Disconnected. Channels on other WABAs are untouched.
- If Meta revokes the token, the integration is deactivated automatically and Pluspoint emails the account.
- Reconnecting the same WABA under Settings → Integrations returns those channels to working order automatically. You do not need to recreate them.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business greyed out in the channel picker | No active WhatsApp integration on the account. | Connect WhatsApp under Settings → Integrations. |
| Phone number dropdown is empty | Every number on your connected WABAs is already bound to a channel, or the signup did not finish. | Free up an existing channel, add another number in Meta, or reconnect and complete the signup. |
| ”WhatsApp phone number registration failed. Please ensure the number is verified and try again.” | The number is unverified or still registered on another WABA. | Verify or release the number in Meta Business Manager, then create the channel again. |
| You cannot type a free-text reply | The 24-hour window has closed. | Send an approved template; free text resumes after the customer replies. |
| A template is missing from the picker | It is unapproved, archived, or belongs to a different WABA. | Approve it in Meta and wait for the hourly sync, or choose a template from the channel’s own WABA. |
| Card shows Disconnected | The integration was deleted or its token was revoked. | Reconnect the WhatsApp integration for that WABA. |
| You need a different number on the same channel | The phone number is fixed once the channel exists. | Create a new channel for the other number. |