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Setup guide · Pro

Let clients book you on WhatsApp

Clients message your business number, a friendly AI assistant answers with your dates and prices, and every new request comes to your own WhatsApp to Confirm or Decline.

At a glance

Time: about 30 minutes, then a wait while Meta reviews your messages, usually within a day.

Plan: Pro. If you’re in your trial, choose Pro under Settings → Business, “Your plan”. It switches on right away, and you’re first charged when the trial ends.

You’ll need:

  • a phone number for your business (see “Which number?” below);
  • WhatsApp on your own phone, on a different US number, for your booking alerts;
  • a Facebook login;
  • a debit or credit card for Meta, which bills you for some messages;
  • a computer, with your dashboard open.

Alerts come to your own WhatsApp, which has to be a different number from your business one.

We’ll set it up with you: email hello@pawservation.com.

Which number?

A new number just for bookings (recommended).

This works for everyone. Get a second line or an eSIM from your phone company, or a low-cost prepaid plan. The number only has to receive one text or phone call during setup. After that it lives with WhatsApp’s business service rather than in an app on your phone: the assistant answers there, and your alerts come to your own WhatsApp. Keep the line paid up so the number stays yours. Internet-only numbers, such as Google Voice, are often refused, so use a mobile line.

The number your clients already message.

If you already run your pet business on the WhatsApp Business app, you can try to keep that number: choose “Keep the number my clients already text”. You keep chatting with clients in the app as before, and the assistant answers there too. Update the app first, and open it at least every two weeks afterwards or WhatsApp disconnects it. If Meta’s window says your number can’t be connected this way, choose “Use a new number” instead.

Either way, your personal WhatsApp stays as it is and becomes the number your alerts go to.

Part 1: Connect your number

About 15 minutes.

  1. In your dashboard, open Settings → Services & Rates and scroll to the bottom, to the section headed “WhatsApp”.
  2. Press “Connect WhatsApp”. A new window opens.
  3. Choose “Use a new number” or “Keep the number my clients already text”.
  4. Sign in with Facebook when Meta asks. If you don’t have a business account with Meta yet, the window makes one for you.
  5. Type your business name as clients know it, then your business number.
  6. Type the code Meta sends to that number. If no text arrives, choose a phone call instead.
  7. If Meta asks you to choose a six-digit PIN, write it down somewhere safe. You’ll need it if you ever move the number.
  8. When the window says “Connected”, close it and go back to your dashboard.

What you’ll see: a Facebook sign-in, then a few of Meta’s own screens with your business name and number. Back in your dashboard, the WhatsApp section says Meta is reviewing your messages.

Part 2: While Meta reviews

About 10 minutes. You’ll make a connection key in your dashboard (it’s called an access token there) and paste it in.

  1. If the WhatsApp section asks for a payment method, add a card in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager, under its billing settings.
  2. Open Settings → Business → Access tokens in a second tab, type “WhatsApp” as the name, and press “Create token”.
  3. Press “Copy”. The key is shown only once.
  4. Back in the WhatsApp section, paste it into “Access token for booking by message” and press “Save token”.

Why a key? It lets booking by WhatsApp check your calendar and record requests when you’re not signed in. Make a separate key for card payments, so turning one off never stops the other.

Part 3: Switch it on

About 5 minutes, after Meta approves.

  1. Type your own WhatsApp number in “Admin number” and press “Send code”.
  2. Type the six-digit code WhatsApp sends you and press “Prove”.
  3. Press “Switch booking by message on”, read the sentence it shows, and press “Accept and switch on”.

Done, and sharing it

You’re done when the WhatsApp section says “Ready”. To try it out:

  1. Add a friend as a client in Clients, with their mobile number.
  2. The first time they message your business number, they’re emailed a code to reply with.
  3. After that, have them ask “Are you free next Saturday?” and watch the answer arrive.

Share it. The section shows your WhatsApp link and a QR code. Add a short greeting, put the link in your Instagram bio or on your website, and print the QR code for flyers.

What it costs

Replies to your clients’ messages are free. Meta charges a small fee for some messages your number sends first, such as your booking alerts, and bills your card directly (see Meta’s pricing). Pawservation adds nothing on top of Pro.

If something goes wrong

Meta says the number is already on WhatsApp. If it’s on the WhatsApp Business app, choose “Keep the number my clients already text”. Otherwise use a different number.

The code never arrives. Choose the phone-call option. Landlines and some numbers only get the call.

Meta won’t accept the number. It’s probably an internet-only number. Use a mobile line.

Alerts aren’t arriving. Check the WhatsApp section: alerts start after Meta approves your messages and you’ve proven your admin number.

It says the access token stopped working. Create a new key named “WhatsApp” and paste it in again.

Still stuck? Email hello@pawservation.com with your business name. A person reads it.

Turning it off. “Switch booking by message off” stops it straight away, and clients who message are pointed to your booking page. “Disconnect WhatsApp” removes Pawservation’s access to your number. Your booking page keeps working either way. The assistant has a daily allowance, and when it runs out clients are pointed to your booking page, which always works.

Next: take card payments.