WhatsApp Notifications

What are WhatsApp notifications?

WhatsApp notifications let you send automatic messages to your senders and recipients when an order’s status changes. For example, you can automatically notify the recipient when their package is “On the way” or “Ready for delivery.”

How does it work?

1. You set up your WhatsApp Business account from the Integrations section
2. You turn on notifications for the order statuses you want
3. Every time an order changes to that status, the system automatically sends a WhatsApp message to the sender, the recipient, or both

Prerequisites

• A WhatsApp Business account (not the personal app)
• A verified phone number on your WhatsApp Business account
• WhatsApp credits available on your Sistrack account (1 credit = 1 message)

Initial setup

Step 1: Connect your account

1. Go to Integrations > WhatsApp in the side menu
2. Click Set up WhatsApp
3. Follow Meta’s Embedded Signup process:
   • Log in with your Facebook/Meta account
   • Select your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
   • Authorize the required permissions
4. Once the connection is complete, the system automatically:
   • Sets up your phone number
   • Syncs your WhatsApp Business contacts
   • Creates the required message templates on your account (instant approval)

Step 2: Buy credits

1. Go to Integrations > WhatsApp > Credits
2. Select the credit package you need
3. Complete the purchase
4. Your balance will update immediately

Step 3: Turn on notifications by status

1. Go to Settings > Order statuses (Custom Steps)
2. Edit the status where you want to send notifications
3. In the Notifications section, turn on:
   • WhatsApp to sender — Notifies the person shipping the package
   • WhatsApp to recipient — Notifies the person receiving the package
4. (Optional) Select a specific message template for this status, or leave it on “Use default template”
5. Save your changes

How are messages sent?

• Messages are sent automatically when an order changes to the configured status
• A message template pre-approved by Meta/WhatsApp is used
• The message includes: recipient’s name, tracking code, and a button to view order details
• Messages are sent from your WhatsApp Business number, not from Sistrack

Recipient location confirmation

Besides notifying about the status change, you can ask the recipient to confirm their location before dispatch — so the courier goes straight to the correct spot instead of relying only on the written address.

How it works

1. The recipient gets a WhatsApp message with two buttons: Confirm location and My address is correct.
2. If they tap Confirm location, WhatsApp asks them to share their current location (the same native location-sharing box used in any chat). Once shared, the pin is saved on the order.
3. If they tap My address is correct, the confirmation is logged without coordinates — it still tells you the recipient checked and validated the details.
4. If they don’t reply, the shipment carries on as normal — it’s an enhancement, not a requirement.

This feature doesn’t depend on the WhatsApp Bot. It works even with the auto-responder off, because it’s part of automatic status-based notifications.

How to turn it on

1. Go to Settings > Order statuses (Custom Steps).
2. Edit the status where you want to request confirmation.
3. In the form’s WhatsApp section, turn on “Ask recipient for location”.
4. Save your changes.

Recommendation: turn it on at the step immediately before dispatch (for example, “Preparing shipment”). Asking too far in advance lowers the response rate — the recipient doesn’t have the shipment in mind yet.

Why a recipient might not get the template again

If the same recipient already confirmed their location before (same address, different order), Sistrack doesn’t ask again — it automatically reuses the pin they already shared. Also, the same number won’t receive more than one confirmation message per week, no matter how many new orders come in during that period. This avoids overwhelming the recipient with the same question over and over.

What the courier gets out of it

When the recipient shares their pin, the courier app navigates straight to that exact location — without depending on the written address being correctly interpreted by the map.

Message Templates

Templates are messages pre-approved by Meta used to send automatic notifications. Sistrack includes a library of ready-to-use logistics templates.

My Templates

Under Integrations > WhatsApp > Templates tab > My Templates you can see the templates you have enabled:

• Status: Approved (green), Pending (yellow), Rejected (red), Failed (red)
• Default: The template marked with a star is used by default
• Preview: Hover over a template to see what the message looks like
• Test: Click the send icon to receive a test message on your phone (doesn’t use credits)
• Delete: You can remove rejected or failed templates from your list
• Retry: You can resubmit a template that was rejected

Rejected vs. Failed: “Rejected” means Meta reviewed the template and didn’t approve it (for example, the text doesn’t meet their policies). “Failed” means the creation request couldn’t be completed (for example, a button with a disallowed format). In both cases you’ll see the reason below the template’s name — use it to understand what to fix before trying again.

Template Library

In the Library tab you’ll find Meta-pre-approved templates organized by category:

• Shipment Confirmation — “Your order has been shipped”
• Delivery Update — “Your order is on the way”
• Delivery Confirmation — “Your order was delivered”
• Failed Delivery — “We couldn’t complete the delivery”
• Return Confirmation — “We received your return”
• Order Confirmation — “Your order has been confirmed”
• Order Pickup — “Your order is ready for pickup”

To add a template:

1. Browse the categories in the side menu
2. Check the message preview (WhatsApp style)
3. Click Provision
4. The template will be available within seconds (pre-approved by Meta)

Selecting a template by status

When you edit an order status and turn on WhatsApp notifications, you can choose which template to use. You’ll see a preview of the message when you select a template.

Credits

• Every message sent uses 1 credit
• You can check your current balance under Integrations > WhatsApp > Credits
• If you don’t have enough credits, notifications won’t be sent (orders keep working normally)
• You’ll get an alert when your balance is low

Message history

Under Integrations > WhatsApp > Messages you can see:

• All messages sent
• Each message’s status (sent, delivered, read, failed)
• The recipient’s phone number
• The order associated with each message

Inbox

The inbox lets you see all conversations with your customers in one place, similar to WhatsApp on your phone.

How to access it

1. Go to Integrations > WhatsApp
2. Click the Inbox tab in the top menu

What you can see

• Left panel: List of all conversations, sorted by most recent
• Right panel: Messages from the selected conversation, in WhatsApp-style bubbles
• Incoming messages (left, white background): Messages your customers send you
• Outgoing messages (right, green background): Messages sent by the system or by you

Replying to customers

You can reply directly to your customers from the inbox:

1. Select a conversation
2. Type your message in the text field at the bottom
3. Press Enter or the send button

Important — 24-hour window:

• You can only reply with free-form text within the 24 hours following the customer’s last message
• After 24 hours, the window closes and you can only send pre-approved templates
• This is a Meta/WhatsApp Business policy, not a Sistrack limitation
• The window’s remaining time is shown at the top of the conversation

Each reply uses 1 credit.

“WhatsApp by the numbers” panel

On the Integrations > WhatsApp Dashboard you’ll find a card summarizing the month: shipments created via chat, exact locations received via confirmation, confirmed addresses, automatically reused locations, the location-confirmation response rate, automatic bot replies, and linked customers. It’s a quick way to see how much value the channel is bringing without having to check each section separately.

Coexistence Mode

This integration works in coexistence mode, which means:

• You can keep using the WhatsApp Business app to chat manually with your customers
• Sistrack’s automatic messages are sent separately and don’t interfere with your conversations
• Both use the same phone number

Unsubscribing a contact

If a customer doesn’t want to receive WhatsApp notifications, there are two ways to unsubscribe them:

Option 1: The customer unsubscribes themselves

The customer can send any of these words to your WhatsApp number:

• “unsubscribe”, “stop”, “cancel”, “opt out”

The system automatically:

1. Marks the contact as “doesn’t want to receive WhatsApp”
2. Sends them a confirmation message: “You’ve been unsubscribed…”
3. Won’t send them any more automatic notifications

If the customer wants to re-subscribe, they can send “subscribe”, “activate”, or “start”.

Option 2: You unsubscribe them manually

1. Go to Senders or Recipients
2. Edit the contact
3. Below the phone field, check the box “Don’t send WhatsApp notifications”
4. Save your changes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I customize the message that’s sent?

Messages use templates pre-approved by Meta. The template includes the recipient’s name, the tracking code, and a button to view details. It’s not possible to modify the template’s content directly, since it requires Meta’s approval. However, you can select different templates for different order statuses.

Are templates created automatically?

Yes. When you connect your WhatsApp account, Sistrack automatically creates a shipment confirmation template using Meta’s template library. These templates are pre-approved and available instantly.

What happens if the recipient doesn’t have WhatsApp?

The message won’t be delivered and will be marked as “failed” in the history. The credit isn’t charged if the message can’t be delivered.

Can I send messages to international numbers?

Yes, as long as the number is in the correct international format. The system automatically normalizes numbers based on the country configured on your account (for example, +34 for Spain, +52 for Mexico, +57 for Colombia).

Which order statuses send notifications?

Only intermediate statuses (custom steps) can send notifications. The system’s default statuses (“In transit” and “Delivered”) don’t trigger WhatsApp notifications. Neither do the first or last custom status.

Do I need to be logged in for messages to be sent?

No. Messages are sent automatically in the background. You don’t need to have the app open or be logged into Sistrack.

Where can I see how many credits I have left?

Under Integrations > WhatsApp > Credits you can see your current balance, purchase history, and usage.

Can I reply to my customers from Sistrack?

Yes. From the Inbox you can reply directly to any customer who sent you a message in the last 24 hours. Each reply uses 1 credit.

What happens if a customer wants to stop receiving notifications?

The customer can send the word “unsubscribe” or “stop” to your WhatsApp number and will be automatically unsubscribed. You can also unsubscribe them manually from the contact’s edit screen.

Can I preview what a message looks like before enabling it?

Yes. Under Templates > My Templates, click the send icon next to an approved template. You’ll receive a test message on your own phone without using credits.

How many templates can I have?

You can provision as many templates as you need from the library. Each category has several options with different message styles.

What does “Window closed” mean in the inbox?

It means more than 24 hours have passed since the customer’s last message. This is a Meta/WhatsApp rule, not Sistrack’s. You can only send pre-approved templates when the window is closed.

I turned on location confirmation but my recipients aren’t getting the message

Check that the status where you enabled it is really the one your orders use right before dispatch — the message is only sent when an order reaches that status. Also keep in mind that the same recipient number won’t get more than one request per week, so if they already got one recently on another order, they won’t get a new one until that period has passed.

I also want my customers to be able to create shipments by writing to me on WhatsApp. Is that possible?

Yes — that’s the WhatsApp Bot, a mode complementary to notifications. It works on the same WhatsApp Business number you already have connected. See WhatsApp Bot.