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Connect your WhatsApp

Chatty runs on a new number used only for bookings. Connecting it takes about five minutes, and you do it yourself from the launch path in the portal.

Before you start

You will need:

  • A new number for bookings. Any South African SIM or eSIM, on any network, that has never been on WhatsApp — or whose WhatsApp account has been deleted. It can't be the number you use on your own WhatsApp, and it can't be connected to another WhatsApp provider.
  • The phone that number rings on, nearby. WhatsApp checks the number with a code.
  • A Facebook login. It is how WhatsApp knows your business. Chatty never sees your Facebook password.

Your old WhatsApp number stays yours. Once you're live, the launch kit gives you an away message and a QR poster that send your customers to the new number.

Connect the number

  1. In the portal, open Connect your booking number and enter the new number. Chatty checks it before anything opens: that it's a South African number, that it isn't your own mobile, and that it isn't already connected.
  2. Press Connect with Facebook. A window from Meta opens: log in, choose or create your business, and enter the new number again.
  3. WhatsApp sends a six-digit code to the new number, by SMS or a voice call — you choose. Enter it in Meta's window.
  4. Close the window when it says you're done. Chatty takes it from there: it fills in your WhatsApp profile, builds your booking form and asks WhatsApp to approve your business name and reminder messages.

Add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager

WhatsApp charges a small amount for reminders, review requests and other messages it bills, and Meta bills your business directly — separately from Chatty's plan. So your WhatsApp account needs its own payment method:

  1. Open WhatsApp Manager (the link is on your go-live list in Chatty).
  2. Go to Payment settings and add a debit or credit card.
  3. Back in Chatty, press Check again on the go-live list.

Booking confirmations sent straight after a customer books are free. Chatty reminds you before your first reminder goes out, and tells you straight away if WhatsApp ever refuses a message for want of a payment method.

Troubleshooting

The code didn't arrive

Wait a minute, then ask for it again — or switch to a voice call. The phone needs signal. The code comes from WhatsApp, not from Chatty.

"This number is already registered"

The number has a WhatsApp account. Delete that account in WhatsApp on the phone (Settings → Account → Delete account), wait a few minutes, then connect again — or use a different new number.

The window closed before it finished

Start again from Connect your booking number. Nothing half-connected is kept, and you won't be charged for trying.

If you're stuck, press Do it with us on any step and someone from Chatty will WhatsApp you.