Connect and operate WhatsApp

Open Settings → WhatsApp. Select the supported connection/billing mode before entering credentials.

Connect a sender

Use Foody-managed connection or the restaurant’s personal Twilio account if offered. A personal sender must already be registered and online with approved Utility templates belonging to the same account. Enter secrets only in the protected form. A failed verification preserves the prior configuration; switching billing modes requires disconnecting first.

Use a gated Meta coexistence connection

Direct Meta coexistence is a controlled pilot and disabled by default. Connecting alone does not switch message routing; activate the intended provider explicitly after verification. The existing Business app remains available. Do not assume fallback to Twilio if a Meta send fails.

Read message history

In the order’s communication panel inspect sent, delivered, read, failed and blocked-before-send records. A blocked automation is not proof of delivery. For a reviewed courier reminder use its explicit action only when eligible. Unknown provider outcomes are not automatically replayed; investigate before another send.

Create a model with a photo or PDF

In Settings → Communications → WhatsApp, a user with settings-edit permission can open Create a model. Choose the notification type, language and a new name, then Message attachment: Photo or PDF document. Upload a JPEG/PNG up to 5 MB for a photo, or a PDF up to 10 MB for a fixed document. For each order’s own receipt, choose PDF document then Document to send → Receipt for this order. The server uses a fictional sample document for Meta approval. Review the text and submit. Wait for Utility approval before assigning the model to a notification. Creation in Foody prepares the approval sample; for a model edited directly in Meta, see image synchronization below.

Manage files and check sends

Files are available to authorized restaurant users through attachment configuration, without a public storage link. Preview file opens an authenticated preview. Delete file requires confirmation and refuses files referenced by a notification, saved stage or pending message. Replace the file in those settings and save first. The library allows 40 files and 100 MB per restaurant. If upload or deletion is unconfirmed, refresh the list before retrying. If transfer to Meta fails, Foody does not send the text alone or switch to Twilio. In the order → Customer messages, check the attachment filename recorded with the attempt and the status returned by WhatsApp; Read depends on WhatsApp’s return.

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.

Send WhatsApp messages for one or several orders

Prerequisites: permission to manage orders. Sending from Foody requires an already configured, active business number and approved model. Creating or editing models still requires settings access.

1. In order details, click Send a WhatsApp message beneath the customer’s contact details or in Actions. For several orders, select list rows and click the same button. Selection covers only the displayed page, up to 25 orders; changing filters, date, page or restaurant clears it.
2. Choose WhatsApp Business to send from Foody, or WhatsApp app to prepare editable text and send it yourself.
3. With Business, choose Order confirmation, Delivery reminder or Satisfaction after an order. Foody uses the configured approved global model, including its actual language and attachment. This panel cannot send free text through the API or choose an arbitrary library model. Select each recipient to check the phone, sender and exact content. Click an attachment’s filename to preview it.
4. Only ready previews can be sent. Missing details, reminders that are not due and previous attempts stay visible. Reminders retain their sending-date policy and need the saved delivery window and assigned courier; satisfaction requires a completed delivery or pickup order and active configuration. Click Send message or Send N messages. For multiple selected orders, confirm the eligible count. Each order produces a separate message; one customer with several orders may receive several messages.
5. In the app channel, choose confirmation, delivery information or receipt link. Language starts with the customer’s language, falling back to the restaurant’s language. Each draft and language can be edited. Open WhatsApp opens only the selected conversation; send inside WhatsApp, then return to select the next recipient. Foody reports only WhatsApp opened, without claiming sending or delivery. Discarding edited text requires confirmation.

Result and recovery: Business statuses distinguish acceptance from delivery and reading when reported by the provider. Refresh checks the original attempt without resending it. A lost response remains unconfirmed and is never replayed automatically. If an order or model changes, remaining sends stop: refresh and review again. Correct missing saved details or configuration, then refresh unavailable previews. Allow pop-ups if the app does not open. Customer messages retains tracked history. Workflow automations keep their configured models and triggers; opening this panel does not activate or change them.

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.

Choose the customer WhatsApp recipient

If the customer uses a different WhatsApp number, open Clients → their profile, select Use for WhatsApp under Phone numbers and save. That number is used by Meta and Twilio messages and by WhatsApp app handoffs from the order, including link and document sharing. The order phone remains its contact and SMS-verification number. Check the preview recipient; changing the WhatsApp selection requires a new reviewed preview before an API send. Saving the customer profile sends no test message.