Message templates and workflow automation

Open Settings → Message templates, WhatsApp templates or Order workflow according to the channel.

Create and review a template

Edit supported localized text and variables, or submit a WhatsApp Utility template through the supported provider. Check approval, language and the positional variable contract before selection. Deleting a referenced template can be blocked even when its workflow stage is disabled.

Attach messages to workflow stages

Select an approved template on the intended stage and choose its supported timing. Stage-entry messages apply to future entries, not historical orders. Delivery reminders need saved delivery/courier data; satisfaction messages require recorded fulfillment. Read the selected trigger rather than assuming every reminder is sent the day before.

Assign the file to a notification

After approval, open Configure on the WhatsApp message, or Notify customer in Settings → Restaurant → Order workflow. Choose the photo/PDF model and then its fixed file from this restaurant’s library, or Receipt for this order for a PDF model. Save the page or workflow; Done only closes the general-message configuration panel. The workflow’s selected trigger and timing remain authoritative. Foody generates the receipt from the saved items and amounts for that order; it does not replace a tax invoice. Review the message and file previews before a manual send. Each message has one attachment, using activated direct Meta routing; these controls do not configure Twilio attachments.

Review a route-based delivery reminder

For an assigned delivery with a saved customer-window setting, reminders use the route arrival plus the configured duration, rather than the order’s broad scheduled slot. For example, arrival at 08:30 and 90 minutes produces 08:30–10:00. Configure it in Orders → Deliveries → allocation, beside the time at each stop, and review the manual or approved WhatsApp preview before sending. The same range supplies Twilio, Meta and stage reminders; existing template variables and J-1 eligibility remain in effect. Unconfigured historic routes keep the original saved slot. If the range cannot be verified, recalculate the route and reopen the reminder. A changed approved preview must be reviewed again before sending. Editing a template alone does not calculate a route or change its margin.

Choose how to send a reminder

Approved WhatsApp reminders can be previewed early, while manual buttons remain blocked until the day before delivery in the restaurant’s timezone. Orders → Deliveries → WhatsApp reminders reviews and confirms reminders across every route on the selected date; WhatsApp customer and Send this reminder handle one customer. Messages use the saved route’s calculated arrival window and assigned courier. Manual buttons use the global reminder template; automatic stages retain their explicitly configured template and timing in Order workflow. For day-before-only sending, select that timing on the intended stage, for example Ready. Opening a preview enables no trigger. A previously submitted, uncertain or failed reminder is never sent again by another mode, even if its text or provider changes. Changes before sending require a refreshed preview. Acceptance does not prove delivery; consult Customer messages on the order. Preview text represents the current calculation, not an earlier stored message.

Automatically retrieve the Meta template image

Prerequisite: an approved Utility template with a Photo header in the connected Meta account. In Settings → Communications → WhatsApp, open Configure for the message: Foody reloads the templates and automatically retrieves their Meta image. The preview displays the image above the text without uploading a file to Foody. An existing selection without a file also follows the Meta image. If you previously selected a local image, choose Image from Meta template under Photo, then Done and Save to use Meta’s image. Explicit local file selections are preserved. Refresh templates and connection reloads edits made in Meta. Satisfaction and workflow-stage previews also use this image; the order composer displays the actual attachment. The image must be a JPEG/PNG accessible from Meta, up to 5 MB. If retrieval fails, the preview offers Refresh and sending fails without a text-only fallback. Check the image in Meta if its link is unavailable. An image changed after a manual send was prepared requires a new preview before sending. Opening and refreshing never sends a message.