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Getting Started

Quick Start Guide

Get your WhatsApp Business account connected and send your first message in under 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • A Meta Business Manager account (business.facebook.com)
  • A WhatsApp Business API-enabled phone number — this cannot be a number currently used in the regular WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app
  • Your MotherBot account — sign up at the registration page

Step 1 — Create your Organization

1

Sign up or log in

Go to /auth/signup and create your account. During onboarding you name your organization and choose a subscription plan.
2

Complete your profile

Fill in your business name and timezone. These settings configure analytics defaults and campaign scheduling behaviour.

Step 2 — Connect WhatsApp Business API

1

Get your API credentials from Meta

In Meta Business Manager, go to WhatsApp → API Setup. Copy your:
  • Phone Number ID
  • WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID)
  • Permanent Access Token (generate one in System Users or from the API Setup page)
2

Add the account in MotherBot

In your dashboard go to Settings → WhatsApp Accounts → Add Account. Paste your Phone Number ID, WABA ID, and Access Token. Click Connect MotherBot validates the credentials immediately.
3

Configure the webhook in Meta

After connecting, MotherBot shows your unique webhook URL and verify token. In Meta Business Manager go to Configuration → Webhooks, enter these values, and subscribe to the messages field.
4

Verify the connection

Send a WhatsApp message to your Business number from a personal phone. It should appear in Dashboard → Messages within a few seconds.

Warning

WhatsApp Business API cannot send messages to users who haven't messaged you in the last 24 hours unless you use an approved Template. See the Templates docs for details.

Step 3 — Import your contacts

1

Prepare a CSV

Create a CSV with at least a phone column. Optional columns: name, email, tags, and any custom field columns you've defined.
phone,name,email,tags
+12125551234,John Smith,john@acme.com,"vip,enterprise"
+447911123456,Emma Jones,emma@co.uk,"trial"
2

Import

Go to Contacts → Import CSV and upload your file. MotherBot deduplicates by phone number — existing contacts are updated, not duplicated.

Step 4 — Send your first message

1

Navigate to Messages

Open Dashboard → Messages. Click New Conversation and enter a contact's number in international format (e.g. +12125551234).
2

Choose a template or reply

For a new contact (no 24h session open), select an approved template. If you recently received a message from them, you can type a free-form reply directly.
3

Send

Your message is delivered via the WhatsApp Business API. The status updates to Delivered (two grey ticks) and then Read (two blue ticks) as the recipient interacts.

Step 5 — Invite your team

  • Go to Settings → Staff Members → Invite.
  • Enter the team member's email and assign a role: Admin or Agent.
  • They receive an invitation email and can log in immediately.
  • Agents can access Messages, Contacts, and Live Chat. Admins have full access including Settings.
  • Admins can restrict specific permissions per staff member for fine-grained control.

Step 6 — Define custom contact fields

If your business needs to track extra data per contact (company name, account tier, invoice number, etc.):
  • Go to Contacts → Custom Fields.
  • Define labels for up to 10 fields (cf1–cf10).
  • These fields appear in the Add/Edit contact forms and CSV import/export.
  • Use them as campaign template variables or in chatbot messages automatically.

Tip

You can connect multiple WhatsApp numbers under one organization — useful for different departments or regions. Each number gets its own inbox and can have separate chatbots and campaigns.

Next

Campaigns