WhatsApp templates (WABA)

A template is a message that Meta has approved in advance. It is the only kind of message a WhatsApp Business API (WABA) number may send to a customer who has not written to you in the last 24 hours. This page covers writing one in WASync, what happens at Meta, and every place you can send it from.

What a template is, and when you need one

WhatsApp gives a business a 24-hour customer service window. It opens when the customer writes to you and stays open for 24 hours after their last message.

• Inside the window you can send any free-form text, file or voice note.
• Outside the window (the customer never wrote, or wrote more than 24 hours ago) only an approved template goes out. When the customer replies, the window opens again for 24 hours.

In WASync Chat, a closed window shows the banner Conversation paused — send a template to re-engage with a Pick a template button, and a chip in the chat header shows how much of the window is left.

Every template has one of three categories, which Meta uses for review and for billing:

Template messages are billed by Meta per template message, by category (marketing, utility, authentication). Utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour customer service window are free. The charge goes to the payment method on your Meta account, not through WASync. Creating or submitting a template costs nothing.

Requirements

• A WABA number connected to WASync, on the WABA plan. See Connection types for how it differs from a QR-paired number.
• To manage templates: an administrator, or a staff member with write access to WhatsApp numbers & templates (Staff access matrix). Reading the list needs read access.
• To send them: access to the number in Connections → Staff, like any message.

Create a template

Open the WASync app in Bitrix24, go to Connections, open the … menu of the WABA number and choose Message templates. The list shows each template with its language, category, status and, for rejected ones, Meta's reason. Click + New template.

There is no draft: the list mirrors what Meta has, so a template exists in WASync only once it is submitted.

After you submit

The template appears in the list as Pending. Meta reviews it: typically a few minutes, sometimes a few hours, and occasionally up to a day. WASync receives Meta's verdict automatically and updates the status. Resync from Meta pulls the live state if you want to check at once.

✕ on a card deletes the template, and also deletes it at Meta.

The default file of a media template

A template with an image, video or PDF header needs that file at every send. Meta keeps its copy only for review, so WASync keeps the sample you uploaded as the template's default file. For a template that was approved before this, or created in Meta, use Set default image (or video, document) on its card; Change and Remove are there too. Without a default, whoever sends picks the file each time.

Templates created in Meta

Templates you built in WhatsApp Manager are not in WASync until you click Resync from Meta in the template list. Resync imports them with their buttons and header, refreshes every status, and marks a template as Deleted when it no longer exists at Meta. It is safe to run any time.

Send a template

All three ways below send only Approved templates, only from a WABA number, and refuse a contact who has asked to stop receiving messages. If a customer replies with a stop request, WASync marks them as opted out; an administrator can clear the opt-out when the person asks to be contacted again.

From the chat

In the WASync tab of a lead, deal or Smart Process item, and in WASync Chat, click the template icon next to the message box (Send a Meta-approved template). When the 24-hour window is closed, the Pick a template button in the banner opens the same list.

1. Search by name, language or text, and pick a template.
2. Fill in every variable. The first one is pre-filled with the contact's first name when it is known; edit it as needed. The preview shows the finished message.
3. If the template has a media header, choose the file: the template's default file (preselected when it has one) or upload another. Send stays disabled until a file is chosen.
4. Optionally tick Also ask permission for a WhatsApp call after sending (hidden when the template already asks for call permission).
5. Click Send. The message appears in the conversation and in the record's timeline, with the finished text.

From Bitrix24 automation rules

Open the lead, deal or Smart Process stage → Automation rules → Add automation and pick Send WhatsApp Template (WABA) in the WASync group. It runs for every record that reaches that stage, one record at a time.

• WABA Connection: the number that sends.
• Template: only approved templates of that number are listed.
• Variables: one row per {{n}}. Click ⋯ to open Insert Field and choose CRM fields, or type text. A row can combine several fields and fixed text. Fields are read from the record the rule runs on.
• Header image / video / document: for a media template, choose File or link (upload a file, or paste a link or a field that holds one) or Template's example (the default file kept by WASync).

The recipient is the record's client phone. A deal without a contact yet is re-checked in the background before WASync gives up.

When something stops a send, the reason is written to the record's timeline instead of failing silently: a variable that resolved to empty, a template that is no longer approved, a missing header file, an opted-out contact, or a license problem. Empty variables stop the send because Meta rejects empty parameters.

After installing or updating WASync, reload the automation page once: Bitrix24 caches robot definitions until the page is reloaded.

From Chat Flows

In the flow editor, a Message step has a section called WhatsApp Business template (window closed). Choose the number, an approved template, fill each variable (a CRM field like {{NAME}} or fixed text) and, for a media template, the header file.

The template is used only when the number is a WABA number and the 24-hour window is closed, for example the first message to a customer who never wrote. If the window is open, the step sends the normal text. If the window is closed and the step has no template, it fails with On a WhatsApp Business number the first message must use an approved template. Files attached to the step are not sent with a template. An empty variable is replaced with a dash instead of stopping the step. If Meta answers with a temporary error, the step retries once before it fails.

What is not included: bulk campaigns

WASync has no bulk or broadcast campaign module: you cannot upload a list and send a template to everyone. What it does is send one template per CRM record when an automation rule runs. To message a segment, put those leads or deals in a stage (or move them there) and let the Send WhatsApp Template (WABA) rule run on that stage.

Stay within Meta's limits

• Each number has a messaging limit that depends on its quality tier (the Connections page shows the tier Meta assigned, for example 1,000 customers per 24 hours). Sends above it fail.
• Message only people who expect to hear from you. Each block or report lowers the quality rating; a lower rating lowers the limit, and a template with poor feedback can be paused.
• Say who you are in the first line and tell people how to stop. Respect a stop: WASync blocks templates to opted-out contacts.
• When Meta restricts or limits the number, the Connections page and the Templates window show a banner (Meta has blocked sending on this number or Meta has limited sending on this number) with what to do and a link to Meta Account Quality.

Troubleshooting

Related

• Connection types: QR-paired numbers and WABA numbers.
• Bring a number from another provider: move an existing WABA number to WASync.
• Smart Processes (SPA) in WASync: the template robot runs on Smart Process automation rules too.