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WhatsApp updates from your till, booking app or store

Tell customers their order is ready, their booking is confirmed or their delivery is on its way, the moment it happens. Your other system tells Sonar, and Sonar sends the WhatsApp. No developer needed for most systems.

How it works

Sonar gives you a private web address for each kind of update, for example one for order ready and one for out for delivery. You paste the address into your other system, wherever it lets you send order or booking changes to a web address (often called a webhook). Each time that happens, your system tells Sonar, and Sonar sends the customer your approved WhatsApp template with their details filled in.

  • A laundry or dry cleaner: "Hi Thandi, your order 1042 is ready to collect."
  • A salon, clinic or studio: "Hi Sam, you're booked for Friday at 10:00."
  • A shop that delivers: "Hi Lee, your order is out for delivery today."

The message comes from your own WhatsApp number, so when customers reply, the chat lands in your Sonar inbox like any other.

What you need

What you need before you set up updates
ItemWhy
A WhatsApp number in SonarThe updates are sent from it. Any plan, including the free trial.
An approved update templateWhatsApp only lets businesses start a conversation with a template that Meta has approved. Updates use the Update (utility) category. See Write the update template.
A system that can call a web addressLook in your till, booking app or online store's settings for webhooks, notifications or integrations. Some systems only offer webhooks on certain plans. No webhooks at all? Tools such as Zapier or Make can watch your system and call the address for you.
Owner or admin accessUpdates are set up under Settings → Connected apps, which owners and admins can open.

Write the update template

In Sonar, go to Templates and create one with the category Update. Put a numbered blank wherever a detail goes, for example:

Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is ready to collect from {{3}}. Reply here if you have any questions.
  • Keep it about the order or booking. Meta moves templates with offers or promotions into marketing, and Sonar only sends update templates from your other systems. Marketing goes out in broadcasts, where Sonar checks consent first.
  • One template per kind of update reads better than one that tries to cover everything.
  • Meta reviews every template: usually within minutes for a verified business, and within a day otherwise. If it moves yours to marketing later, Sonar stops sending it and tells you why on the address.

Set it up in Sonar

  1. Go to Settings → Connected apps → Updates from your other systems.
  2. Name the address, for example Order ready, and press Make an address.
  3. Copy the address into your other system, on the order or booking change it should send. Keep it private: anyone who has it can send your customers this update.
  4. In your other system, make a test order or booking, using your own phone number. Sonar keeps that first call as an example and doesn't send anything yet.
  5. Back in Sonar, press Check again. The fields your system sent appear, with the values from your test.
  6. Choose the update template, the field with the customer's WhatsApp number, and the field that fills each blank: {{1}}, {{2}} and so on. Press Save.
  7. Make another test. The WhatsApp should arrive on your phone, and the address shows "Sent".

Your system sends something different later, such as a new field name? The address always shows the last call it received, so you can pick the new field and save again. To pause updates, press Switch off; to stop them for good, Delete the address.

Phone numbers

Sonar reads numbers the way most systems store them: +27 82 123 4567, 0027821234567 or a local 082 123 4567. A local number is taken to be in the same country as the WhatsApp number sending the update. Spaces, brackets and dashes don't matter.

When an update isn't sent

Each address shows its last call and what happened. An update isn't sent when:

  • The customer opted out of your WhatsApp messages, for example by replying STOP.
  • A field was empty, so the template would have had a blank in it.
  • There was no usable phone number in the field you chose.
  • The template isn't an update any more, because Meta moved it to marketing.
  • The address is switched off, or your plan's messages and balance have run out.

What it costs

Each update is one message: it counts towards the messages in your Sonar plan, and Meta charges its update (utility) rate, paid to Meta from your card. See WhatsApp pricing in South Africa for the rates and a calculator.

For your developer

  • Send a POST with a JSON body or a form, or a GET with the details in the address, for example ?phone=0821234567&name=Thandi&order=1042. Nested JSON works: the fields show up as customer.phone, items.0.name and so on.
  • Sonar always replies 200 with {"ok": true, "status": "sent", "detail": "..."}. status is sent, kept (kept as the example, not set up yet), skipped (they opted out), not_sent (the detail says why) or off. Because it's always a 200, your system won't retry a message that shouldn't go.
  • Building something bigger, or want delivery updates and replies sent back to your system? See Settings → Connected apps → Your own system (webhook) and the API docs under Settings → Advanced.

Need a hand?

Tell us which till, booking app or store you use: email support@whats-hub.co.za and we'll help you set it up.

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