WhatsApp Business Integration

Connect your WhatsApp Business account to PBX.IM and handle WhatsApp conversations directly from your Inbox. Billing is based on usage.

Current limitations: broadcast campaigns, automated bots, and WhatsApp status updates are not supported in this phase. Templates approved in Meta Business Manager are synced into PBX.IM and can be assigned to inboxes for use.

Table of Contents

1. Access WhatsApp Settings
2. Prerequisites
3. Connecting Your Account
4. Connected Account Overview
5. Managing Phone Numbers
6. Message Routing
7. Syncing Numbers
8. WhatsApp Templates
9. Disconnecting
10. Number Statuses

Access WhatsApp Settings

Log into PBX.IM Dashboard → Go to Settings → Select Channels → Click the WhatsApp tab

The WhatsApp tab is only visible if the WhatsApp Business integration feature is enabled for your account. Contact your administrator if you do not see this tab.

Prerequisites

Before connecting, make sure you have:

Connecting Your Account

If no WhatsApp Business account is connected, you will see a card prompting you to connect.

1. Click Connect WhatsApp Business.
2. A modal appears listing the prerequisites and explaining that you will be redirected to WhatsApp Business Manager.
3. Click Continue to begin the OAuth flow.
4. A popup window opens with the Meta/WhatsApp login page.
5. Follow the Meta prompts to authorize PBX.IM to access your WhatsApp Business account.
6. Once authorization completes, the popup closes automatically and your account appears on the WhatsApp tab.

Allow popups for the PBX.IM domain. The connection flow opens in a popup window and will fail if popups are blocked.

Do not close the main PBX.IM tab while the authorization popup is open. You will be warned if you try to navigate away.

Connected Account Overview

Once connected, the WhatsApp tab displays the Connected WhatsApp Business Accounts section with:

Managing Phone Numbers

Below the account info, a WhatsApp business numbers table lists all phone numbers associated with your WhatsApp Business Account:

Message Routing

Each WhatsApp number can be routed to either a Personal Inbox (individual user) or a Team Inbox (chat queue). Use the Linked Inbox dropdown in the numbers table to assign routing.

Meta restricts replies to within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After this window, freeform replies are disabled. Template-based messaging will be available in a future update. This is a Meta policy, not a PBX.IM limitation.

To change routing:

1. Find the phone number in the table.
2. Click the Linked Inbox dropdown.
3. Select a user (Personal Inbox) or a queue (Team Inbox).
4. The change saves automatically.

Supported Media Types

WhatsApp conversations support text, images, PDFs, and voice notes. You can send and receive all of these directly from the Inbox. Received voice notes can be played back inline without downloading.

Syncing Numbers

If you add or remove phone numbers in your Meta Business Manager, click the Sync Numbers button to refresh the list in PBX.IM. This fetches the latest phone numbers and their statuses from Meta.

WhatsApp Templates

The WhatsApp Templates section, shown below the numbers table, lists message templates that have been approved by Meta on your WhatsApp Business Account. Templates are required to start conversations outside the 24-hour customer service window and to send pre-approved messaging at scale.

Templates are created and submitted for approval in Meta Business Manager, not in PBX.IM. Once Meta approves a template, sync it into PBX.IM to make it available to your team.

Categories

The templates list is split into two tabs that match the categories Meta supports for messaging:

Only templates in the Approved status from Meta appear in the list. Pending, Rejected, Paused, Disabled, and Removed templates are hidden until they reach an approved state.

Sync Templates

Click Sync Templates in the top right of the section to pull the latest templates from Meta. The button shows a spinning icon while syncing, and the Last sync timestamp below it updates when the sync completes.

The Sync Templates button is disabled until a WhatsApp Business account is connected.

Searching Templates

Use the search box above the template list to filter by template name, body text, or category. The search ignores underscores and is case-insensitive.

Template Preview

Click a template in the list to see a preview on the right side of the panel. The preview renders the template the way it will appear in WhatsApp — header, body, footer, and any buttons (URL, phone number, quick reply, copy code, voice call, OTP).

Variables in the template body are shown as {{1}}, {{2}}, or as named parameters (e.g., {{order_id}}) — these are filled in at send time.

Assigning Inboxes to a Template

Each template can be limited to specific inboxes so that only the right team sees and can use it.

1. Open a template in the list.
2. Under Assigned Inboxes, click + Add inboxes.
3. Pick one or more Personal Inboxes (individual users) and/or Team Inboxes (chat queues).
4. Assignments save automatically when you close the picker.

To unassign an inbox, click the × on its badge in the Assigned Inboxes section.

A template with no assigned inboxes is not restricted by inbox scoping in this release. Assigning inboxes is a way to keep templates organized when multiple teams share the WhatsApp Business account.

Disconnecting

To disconnect your WhatsApp Business account:

1. Click the Disconnect button next to the account name.
2. Confirm the action in the dialog that appears.
3. Once disconnected, all WhatsApp numbers and routing settings are removed.

Disconnecting removes the integration from PBX.IM. It does not affect your Meta Business Account or WhatsApp Business profile. You can reconnect at any time.

Notifications and Reporting

WhatsApp messages follow the same notification rules as SMS: desktop alerts when you're logged in, email alerts when offline. Activity appears in your existing Inbox reports and usage logs alongside SMS charges.

Number Statuses