FAQ Questions, answered.
What businesses ask us before and after they start with Sonar: numbers, the WhatsApp Business app, prices and Meta's fees, templates, the API, POPIA and support.
Numbers and going live.
Should we connect the number we already have, or get a new one?
If customers already message you on a number in the WhatsApp Business app, connect that one. It keeps working on your phone, and every chat shows in Sonar too. A new number leaves your app untouched, but customers won't recognise it, and someone has to watch Sonar for replies.
What kind of number can we use?
Any number, mobile or landline, that can receive a 6-digit code by SMS or a phone call. It can be one you already use in the WhatsApp Business app. If it's on ordinary WhatsApp, move it to the WhatsApp Business app first, or delete that WhatsApp account. Keep the SIM active with a little airtime: WhatsApp can ask for a new code later, and networks recycle numbers that go unused. More on choosing a number.
Can Sonar give us a number?
Yes. A South African number costs R119 once, with no monthly fee. It takes WhatsApp's code once and can't receive another, so if WhatsApp ever asks to verify it again it's gone. That's fine for a test number. For your main number, use a SIM you own.
Do we need Meta Business Verification first?
No. An unverified business can connect and send straight away within Meta's starting limits: up to 2 numbers, up to 250 templates per WhatsApp account, and messages to up to 250 different people a day who haven't messaged you first. Verifying your business in Meta Business Suite lifts those limits. It's Meta's check, not ours.
Why can we only message 250 people a day?
It's Meta's limit for a new business portfolio, shared by all its numbers: 250 different people in a rolling 24 hours, counting only messages that start a conversation. Replies to people who messaged you don't count. Verifying your business, or reaching 2,000 different people with well-rated templates in 30 days, raises it to 2,000, and Meta then raises it to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited by itself as you keep sending messages people want.
How quickly can we send our first message?
Usually the same day. Signing up and connecting a number take a few minutes each. Then you add a card in Meta for its message charges, and a template needs Meta's approval, which usually takes minutes and at most 24 hours. Replies to people who message you need no template.
Can we have a test number and a live number?
Yes. Starter includes 2 numbers and each has its own API key. Each number sits in its own WhatsApp account, so it needs its own card in Meta and its own templates; the Templates page can copy a template from one number to the other.
Is there a limit on contacts?
Not on a paid plan. The free trial includes 50 contacts and 250 messages.
If we change our number, can we still message our contacts?
Yes. Your contacts and their opt-ins belong to your Sonar account, not to a number, so you can message them from the new one. Templates belong to a WhatsApp account, so a number in a new account needs its templates again.
We use another WhatsApp provider today. Can we move?
Yes. Tell us which provider you use before you connect. If your number's WhatsApp account still has that provider's access or billing on it, Meta won't let Sonar send from it, so that needs removing first, and we'll take you through it. Chat history in the old tool stays there. Comparing providers.
We're an agency. Can we run Sonar for our clients?
Yes. Each client signs up in its own name and invites you as an admin, so the WhatsApp account stays in the client's own Meta business. You switch between clients from one login. See Partners and connecting a client's number.
The WhatsApp Business app.
Can we keep using the WhatsApp Business app on our phone?
Yes. Connect the number you use in the app and it keeps working on your phone. Replies you type in the app show in Sonar, and messages sent from Sonar show in the app. It's the same conversation, so customers don't get anything twice. Open the app at least every two weeks, or Meta disconnects the number.
What changes in the app once it's connected?
Broadcast lists become read-only, and disappearing messages, view once, live location and WhatsApp for Windows stop working. Calls, your catalogue, and editing and deleting messages keep working.
What happens to our chat history?
When you connect, Meta asks whether to share it. Say yes and up to 6 months of one-to-one chats come into Sonar, with photos and files from the last 14 days. Group chats stay in the app.
Our staff use WhatsApp on their own numbers. Can they connect too?
Yes. Each moves their number to the WhatsApp Business app on the same phone, then connects it. In Sonar these can be agent numbers at R499 a month each, with AI replies included. A business needs Meta verification for more than 2 numbers.
Does it work with South African +27 numbers?
Yes. +27 numbers connect with the WhatsApp Business app through Meta's own sign-up, on the official WhatsApp Cloud API. The full guide.
Plans and billing.
Is the API included in every plan?
Yes. The API and webhooks come with every plan, the free trial too, with no extra fee. Developer docs.
Is there a contract or a setup fee?
No. Plans are month to month, with no setup fee, onboarding fee or notice period.
How do we pay, and is our card charged automatically?
You pay a month at a time from the day you choose a plan. Each month we email a link to pay the renewal; it isn't taken from your card by itself. If a renewal isn't paid within 7 days, the account moves to the Free plan and keeps your numbers, contacts and chats.
Do we get VAT invoices?
Yes. Every payment gets a numbered tax invoice in rand, and our prices include 15% VAT. Add your company's details under Plan & billing and they appear on the invoice.
Do we have to set anything up again when the trial ends?
No. Choosing a plan upgrades the same account, so your number, templates, contacts and chats all stay.
Is a broadcast charged per send or per person?
Per person: a broadcast to 500 people is 500 messages. Your plan's fee is the same whether you send or not, and its included messages cover Sonar's side.
What happens when we go past our plan's messages?
Each extra message is charged from your Sonar balance at the extra-message prices on the pricing page. If the balance can't cover the next one, broadcasts and automations pause until you top up or upgrade, the API answers 402, and replies to customers keep working.
Are there any other charges?
An extra WhatsApp number is R499 a month. There's no charge per template, per conversation, or for the API or webhooks. Meta charges for the messages themselves (see below).
How do we cancel?
Tell us, or just don't pay the next renewal: the plan runs until the month you've paid for ends, then the account moves to the Free plan with its data kept. To give the number back to the WhatsApp Business app on its own, remove it under WhatsApp numbers, and in the app go to Settings, Account, Business Platform and tap Disconnect. We delete the whole account on request.
What WhatsApp charges.
Who bills WhatsApp's message charges? Do you add a mark-up?
Meta bills them, in US dollars, to a card you add to your own WhatsApp account. They never pass through Sonar and we add no mark-up. The rates, in rand, are on the pricing page.
Do the messages in our plan cover Meta's charge?
No. A plan's included messages cover Sonar. Meta's per-message charge is separate and goes to Meta.
Are replies to customers free?
Each number gets 1,000 free replies a month; after that, replies cost Meta's utility rate. Messages customers send you are free, and so are messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app. What changed on 1 October 2026.
Templates.
How long does template approval take?
Meta reviews every template, usually within minutes and at most 24 hours. Create them on the Templates page, with a live preview, or through the API. Sonar emails you when Meta approves or rejects one.
Meta rejected our template, or approved it as marketing. Why?
When a utility template reads like marketing, Meta approves it as marketing, which costs more per message. Tie the message to something the person already has with you, like their order, booking or job, and leave out offers. Sonar shows Meta's reason in plain words on the Templates page with what to change, and you can ask Meta for a review in WhatsApp Manager.
What if Meta moves a template to marketing later?
Meta checks approved templates again from time to time. Sonar emails you when Meta gives notice, usually 24 hours ahead, and again when it moves, and tells your system through the template.updated webhook. From then on, Meta charges that template at its marketing rate, and Sonar won't send it to people who opted out of marketing.
How many templates can we have?
Sonar has no limit. Meta allows 250 per WhatsApp account until your business is verified, and up to 6,000 once it's verified with an approved display name.
Can templates have fill-ins, link buttons, codes and images?
Yes: fill-ins like a name or date, a link button whose end changes per message, a copy-code button, quick-reply buttons, an image or PDF at the top, and carousels of cards.
How do opt-outs work?
When someone replies STOP or taps an unsubscribe button, Sonar records it, and marketing messages stop going to them, from broadcasts, flows and the API alike. Order and booking updates your system sends still reach them.
The API and webhooks.
Do we get a message ID straight away?
Yes. The send answers with WhatsApp's message ID as soon as Meta accepts it. Delivered, read and failed follow on your webhook, and a failure carries Meta's code and reason.
Does WhatsApp tell us when someone has blocked us?
No. WhatsApp keeps that private, so a message to someone who blocked you stays at sent and never reaches delivered.
How do we make sure a retry doesn't send a message twice?
Give each send your own reference. A repeat with the same one within 24 hours gets the first answer and sends nothing. How it works.
What are the rate limits, and what time zone are times in?
Sonar doesn't throttle your calls. WhatsApp allows about 1 message every 6 seconds to the same person, and up to 80 messages a second per number (20 for a number on the WhatsApp Business app). All times are UTC.
We run software for many businesses. Can our customers connect their own numbers?
Yes, with the partner API: each of your customers connects their number from inside your product, with no Sonar login. See Partners.
The AI Agent and Copilot.
Which plans include AI?
The AI Agent, which answers customers by itself, comes with Plus (R1,499 a month) and every plan above it, with 5,000 Standard replies a month included on Plus (15,000 on Growth, 100,000 on Scale), then R0.10 each if you choose to keep going, or roughly R0.25 to R0.40 a reply on Advanced replies and R0.50 to R0.80 on Extreme replies for VIP chats, depending on the conversation. To try it, Starter includes 100 AI drafts a month in Copilot, which you check and send yourself. The AI Agent.
Can we switch AI off for some chats or numbers?
Yes. Each number can answer by itself, only draft replies for a person to check, or have AI off, and you can exclude any contact. With AI off on a number, its chats aren't sent for AI replies.
Privacy and your data.
Do you sign an operator agreement?
Yes. Our POPIA section 21 operator agreement is at /operator-agreement. You accept it when you sign up, and you can sign it in Sonar under My account.
Where is our data kept, and for how long?
On our server in Cape Town, with backups in Johannesburg kept for up to 6 months. Files sent in chats are deleted after 12 months, and our technical copy of WhatsApp's notifications after 90 days. Messages and contacts stay while your account is open, and we delete the account on request. Privacy policy.
How does Sonar help with POPIA consent?
It records each contact's opt-in and opt-out with when and how, stops marketing to people who opt out, and keeps the record POPIA asks for. POPIA and WhatsApp marketing.
Getting help.
How do we reach you, and when do you answer?
Email support@whats-hub.co.za, message us on WhatsApp on +27 72 214 8371, or, on a paid plan, open a ticket under Help & support in Sonar. We answer on weekdays from 8:00 to 17:00 South African time, usually within one working day.
Is there a status page?
Yes, at status.whats-hub.co.za. It shows whether Sonar is working, checked every minute from a separate server, with uptime, past outages and when Sonar was last updated.
Our number shows as connected but no messages arrive. What should we do?
Press Test incoming messages under WhatsApp numbers and send the number a message from your phone. If it doesn't arrive, tell us. For a number on the WhatsApp Business app, don't press Fix connection unless we ask: it starts Meta's sign-up again. Sonar also lets you know when a number that usually gets messages goes quiet.