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Switching to WhatsApp Business — step by step
This page is the checklist for moving from WhatsApp free (linked device) to WhatsApp Business (Meta’s official API). Read the WhatsApp Business reference for the background on costs, templates and the 24-hour window; this page only tells you what to do, in which order.
Plan for about an hour of your own time, spread over one or two days: most of the waiting is Meta approving your templates.
Your phone keeps working
You do not lose WhatsApp on your phone. Meta’s coexistence path connects the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app: the app keeps working, your chat history stays, and messages sent from Quick Release show up in the app as well. Only a number on personal WhatsApp cannot be used.
Before you start
A. Ask Quick Release to enable WhatsApp Business for you
WhatsApp Business is rolled out operator by operator. Until it is enabled for your operation, Settings → WhatsApp shows the familiar linked-device screen and nothing else. Send a short email or WhatsApp to Quick Release to enable it; there is nothing to install on your side.
B. Prepare your Meta side (once, about 20 minutes)
These three things live in your own Meta account — Quick Release cannot do them for you.
| # | What | Where | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | A Meta business account (Business Portfolio) in your company’s name. If you advertise on Facebook or Instagram you already have one. | business.facebook.com → Settings → Business info | Company name, address and VAT number are filled in |
| B2 | A payment method on that account. Meta invoices the paid messages directly to you. | Meta Business Suite → Billing | A card or SEPA mandate is listed |
| B3 | Decide which phone number you will use (see below) | — | You know which number, and you have the phone with the WhatsApp Business app at hand |
Which number?
- Your current WhatsApp Business app number (recommended). This is the coexistence path: the app keeps working on your phone. You will scan a QR code with the app during the Meta signup, exactly like linking WhatsApp Web.
- A fresh number. The number lives on the API only; there is no app on a phone. Choose this if you want a dedicated sending number.
- A number that is on personal WhatsApp cannot be used. Move it to the WhatsApp Business app first (WhatsApp offers this in Settings → Account), or take a fresh number.
Business verification (Meta asks for a company document) is not required to start, but it lifts your daily messaging limit and clears the “pending” label on your display name. Start it early under Business settings → Security centre.
C. Tidy your message templates (10 minutes)
Your existing wordings under Settings → WhatsApp/SMS templates are submitted to Meta for approval as they are. Meta rejects wordings that are empty, contain only a link, or use variables that do not exist. Open each template, check every language you maintain, and remove test wordings.
The switch in Quick Release
Everything below happens in Settings → WhatsApp. As soon as WhatsApp Business is enabled for you, the top of the card shows the WhatsApp channel chooser with two options: WhatsApp free and WhatsApp Business. Selecting an option only shows its details; nothing switches until you complete the steps below. Your messages keep going out over WhatsApp free the whole time.
Step 1 — Connect with Meta (5 minutes)
- Select WhatsApp Business in the channel chooser and click connect with Meta.
- A Meta window opens. Log in with the account that owns your Business Portfolio (B1).
- Follow Meta’s guided signup: choose the portfolio, confirm your business details and your display name (the name customers see; keep it identical to your company name).
- When Meta asks for the number, pick “Use the number of my WhatsApp Business app” and scan the QR code with the app on your phone. For a fresh number, enter it and type the verification code Meta sends by SMS or call.
- Close the window when Meta says it is done. Quick Release now shows WhatsApp Business account connected and Phone number registered with a green tick, and the provisioning step list appears.
If you close the window early, nothing has changed: click connect with Meta again.
Step 2 — Confirm your payment method (2 minutes)
The step Payment method added in Meta Business Suite stays open until you confirm it yourself. Click open Meta billing, check that the payment method from B2 is attached to the WhatsApp account you just created, then click I added my payment method in Quick Release.
Without a payment method, paid template messages are refused by Meta and fall back to SMS; the settings screen warns you when that happens.
Step 3 — Wait for template approval (minutes to a day)
Quick Release has already submitted every wording of every template type, in every language, to Meta. The step Message templates approved by Meta lists them with their status:
| Status | What to do |
|---|---|
| approved | Nothing. |
| waiting for Meta approval | Wait. Most approvals arrive within the hour, some take a day. |
| wording needs a fix | Quick Release found a problem before sending it to Meta (empty text, unknown variable). Open the template, fix the language shown, save. |
| rejected by Meta | Meta’s reason is shown on the row. Adjust the wording, save, and it is resubmitted automatically. Click message templates at Meta for the full reasoning. |
Two extra templates for the personal flight page link and the flight suggestions are prepared by Quick Release with a fixed wording; they need no action from you.
Step 4 — Activate (1 minute)
When the four steps are green, click activate WhatsApp Business and confirm. From that moment every WhatsApp message goes out over the official API. The card now reads WhatsApp Business active and shows your messaging limit and the number of templates in use.
The linked-device connection is no longer used. You do not need to unlink anything on your phone; the coexistence pairing you made in step 1 replaces it.
What is different from day one
- Replies within 24 hours are free and unchanged. When a customer has messaged you in the last 24 hours, you type what you like and it is sent as-is.
- Outside that window, the approved template is sent. The send dialog shows how many recipients are outside the window. If you edited the text, those recipients still receive the approved wording; the dialog warns you in amber. The conversation shows exactly what was sent.
- The 1:1 conversation screen shows the window state before you type. When it is closed, you pick a template instead of typing free text.
- Every message reports sent and delivered. Failed messages still fall back to SMS when SMS fallback is on.
- Your phone app mirrors everything. Messages sent from Quick Release appear in the WhatsApp Business app, and messages you answer from the app appear in Quick Release.
- Costs appear on the Subscription page as an indicative estimate. The real invoice comes from Meta on your own account.
First-day checks
- Send yourself a reminder from a test booking and check it arrives on your phone.
- Answer it from your phone and check the reply shows up in the booking’s conversation in Quick Release.
- Open Settings → WhatsApp the next morning and check that no template turned rejected and the payment step is still green.
Switching back to WhatsApp free
Select WhatsApp free in the channel chooser and click switch back to WhatsApp free. Your number is released from the Meta API. Then scan the QR code with the WhatsApp Business app, exactly like before. SMS fallback covers the minutes in between. Meta’s block risk on the free channel applies again.
Your Meta account, number and approved templates are remembered, so switching to WhatsApp Business a second time only needs steps 1 and 4.
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