Call Your Customers
What is it?
Your team can call a customer on WhatsApp straight from their chat in Waplify. WhatsApp only lets a business call a customer who has allowed calls from that business, so Waplify helps you ask first. You can also send a Call us button, so the customer calls you instead (free for both of you).
How to use it
Call a customer
- Open the customer's chat.
- Click the phone icon in the chat header ("Call on WhatsApp"). In the Android app, tap the phone icon at the top of the chat.
- Waplify checks with WhatsApp whether the customer allows calls from you.
- If they do, the call starts. You see "Calling...", then "Ringing...", then the call time once they pick up.
- If they don't yet, you're offered a way to ask (next section).
If the customer doesn't pick up, you see "No answer". If they decline, you see "The customer declined the call".
The phone icon appears only in chats on a number with calling switched on.
Ask the customer to allow calls
What you send depends on whether the 24-hour chat window is open (the customer has messaged you in the last 24 hours).
The window is open
- Click the phone icon. Waplify shows "(name) has not allowed calls yet".
- Check the message, which is "May we call you on WhatsApp?" by default. You can change it.
- Click Send request.
The window is closed
WhatsApp only allows an approved template here.
- Click the phone icon, then Choose template.
- Pick an approved template that asks to allow calls.
To create one: go to Templates > New template, choose Marketing or Utility, then Calling permissions request. Write your message; the header can only be text or nothing, and there are no buttons. WhatsApp adds Allow and Don't allow under your message. Submit it for approval like any template. This option shows only for numbers with calling on.
What the customer sees and chooses
The customer sees your message and can choose Allow calls (any time), Temporarily allow calls (for 7 days) or Not now. WhatsApp sets these choices; you can't change them. Their answer appears in the chat: "Allowed calls", "Allowed calls for 7 days" or "Did not allow calls". Once they allow, call them from the phone icon.
A customer can change their choice at any time in your business profile on WhatsApp.
Send a "Call us" button
When you'd rather the customer calls you:
- In the chat, click the phone icon in the message toolbar ("Ask to call").
- Check the message: "Tap the button below to call us on WhatsApp." by default.
- Click Send call button. The customer gets your message with a Call us button.
When they tap it, the call rings for you first if you're available. This only works while the 24-hour window is open, and the button works for 60 minutes after you send it.
WhatsApp's rules for calling customers
- Permission comes first. You can only call customers who allowed calls. Once they have, you can call them even when the 24-hour chat window is closed, until the permission ends (after 7 days for "temporarily", or when they change it).
- Asking is limited to once a day and twice a week for the same customer.
- Four unanswered calls in a row remove the customer's permission. After two in a row, Waplify asks "Call again?" before you call.
- There is a daily limit on calls to the same customer. Waplify tells you when you've reached it.
- Calls you make cost money. WhatsApp charges your WhatsApp Business account per minute for the time the customer is on the call (about ₹0.39 a minute in India today, in 6-second steps). Calls customers make to you are free.
- Unanswered calls count against your number. Too many, and WhatsApp can pause calling on your number for 7 days.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "This customer has not allowed calls yet. Ask them first." | Send a request or a permission template. |
| "You can ask once a day. Try again tomorrow." / "You can ask twice a week. Try again in a few days." | WhatsApp's request limit. Wait, or send a Call us button if the chat window is open. |
| "You have reached WhatsApp's limit of calls to this customer for today." | Try again tomorrow. |
| "This customer cannot take WhatsApp calls. Their app may be out of date." | Ask the customer to update WhatsApp. |
| "Add a payment method to your WhatsApp account in Meta Business Settings to make calls." | Add a payment method in Meta Business Settings. |
| "WhatsApp has paused calling on this number for low quality. Try again when the pause ends." | Wait for the pause to end (up to 7 days). Answer more calls and turn on voicemail to avoid it. |
| "The customer has not messaged you in the last 24 hours, so you cannot ask them yet." | Use a permission template instead. |
Tips & best practices
- Ask at a good moment, for example when the customer asks something that's quicker to explain by voice. A well-timed request gets more "Allow".
- Write a request that says why you'll call: "Can we call you to confirm your delivery address?" works better than a plain "May we call you?".
- Prefer the Call us button when the customer is chatting with you right now: it's free for both of you.
- Don't keep calling a customer who doesn't pick up. Four misses in a row cost you their permission.
Frequently asked questions
Can I call any customer from Waplify? Only customers who allowed calls from your business. That's a WhatsApp rule.
The customer allowed calls last week but now I can't call them. Why? They probably chose "Temporarily allow calls", which lasts 7 days. Ask again, or send a Call us button while the chat window is open.
Can I call a customer whose chat window is closed? Yes, if they've already allowed calls. If they haven't, ask with an approved call permission template.
Who pays for the call? For calls you make, WhatsApp charges your WhatsApp Business account per minute. Calls customers make, including through the Call us button, are free.
Can I call from the Android app? Yes. Open the customer's chat and tap the phone icon at the top. It works the same way as the website.