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Connect your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)

Connect your own WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) to CaptainBook.

Written by Luca Lattanzio

Connect your own WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) to CaptainBook to send booking notifications directly to your customers on WhatsApp.

This includes notifications such as:

  • Booking confirmations

  • Booking reminders

  • Reschedules

  • Cancellations

  • Waitlist notifications

  • Document or signature requests

Messages are sent from your own WhatsApp number and Meta account, so your business is the sender.

This guide has two parts:

Part A: Set up your WhatsApp Business Account in Meta and collect the credentials CaptainBook needs.

Part B: Connect your account to CaptainBook, configure the webhook, sync your templates and enable WhatsApp notifications.

Time needed: approximately 15–20 minutes.

Before you start

You need:

  • A Meta Business Manager / Business Portfolio with a verified business

  • A phone number you can dedicate to WhatsApp

  • Access to the Facebook account that manages your business

If WhatsApp does not appear under your CaptainBook account menu, contact our team so we can enable it for your account.

Part A: Get your credentials from Meta

By the end of this section, you will have four values:

  • System User Token

  • Phone Number ID

  • WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID)

  • Meta App Secret

The Verify token is different. CaptainBook generates this for you later in Part B.

1. Open Meta for Developers

Go to:

developers.facebook.com

2. Log in

Click Login in the top-right corner and sign in with the Facebook account that manages your business.

3. Create a new app

Go to:

developers.facebook.com/apps

Click Create App.

4. Enter your app details

Enter:

  • App name: choose something easy to recognise, for example My Business WhatsApp

  • App contact email: use an email address you regularly monitor

Click Next.

5. Select the WhatsApp use case

Choose:

Connect with customers through WhatsApp

Then click Next.

6. Select your Business Portfolio

Choose the Business Portfolio you want to connect to the app.

This should be the verified Meta business that owns your WhatsApp account.

Click Next.

7. Review the requirements

Meta will show any additional requirements that apply to the app.

Review them and click Next.

8. Create the app

Review the information and click Create app.

Meta may ask you to confirm your Facebook password.

Your Meta app is now created.

Create a System User and token

CaptainBook needs a System User Token to securely send WhatsApp messages through your Meta account.

9. Open Business Settings

Go to:

business.facebook.com

Open Business settings.
Under Users, select System users.

10. Create a System User

Click Add.

Give the System User a clear name, for example:

CaptainBook WABA

Set its role to Admin, then create the user.

11. Assign your app

Select the System User you just created.

Open the three-dot menu and choose Assign assets.

12. Select your app

Choose Apps from the available asset types.

Find the Meta app you created earlier and select it.

13. Give the System User full access

Enable Manage app / Full access.

Then click Assign assets.

14. Refresh Business Settings

Refresh the page.

Your app should now appear under the System User's Assigned assets with Full access.

15. Generate a token

Select the System User and click Generate token.

16. Select your app

Choose the Meta app you created and click Next.

17. Set the token expiry

Choose Never so CaptainBook does not lose access when a temporary token expires.

Click Next.

18. Select the WhatsApp permissions

Enable only:

  • whatsapp_business_management

  • whatsapp_business_messaging

Then click Generate token.

19. Copy your System User Token

Meta will display your token.

Copy it immediately and store it somewhere secure.

Meta only displays the token once.

Treat your System User Token like a password. Anyone with access to it may be able to send messages through your WhatsApp Business Account.

If you lose it, repeat the previous steps to generate a new one.

Find your Phone Number ID and WABA ID

20. Open your WhatsApp phone numbers

Open WhatsApp Manager → Phone numbers.

If your number is already configured, select it.

If you need to add a number, click Add phone number.

21. Add a WhatsApp Business number if needed

If you're adding a new number, choose:

Link a WhatsApp Business account

Then complete Meta's registration process.

Register and verify the phone number directly inside Meta. CaptainBook does not ask for your WhatsApp two-step verification PIN.

22. Copy your Phone Number ID

Once the number is configured, copy the Phone Number ID displayed in WhatsApp Manager.

Save it together with your System User Token.

23. Copy your WABA ID

Go to:

Business settings → Accounts → WhatsApp accounts

Select the WhatsApp account you want to use.

Copy its WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID).

24. Copy your Meta App Secret

Open your Meta app and go to:

App settings → Basic → App secret → Show

Confirm your Facebook password if requested, then copy the App Secret.

CaptainBook uses the App Secret to verify that webhook events genuinely came from Meta.

Treat your App Secret like a password.

You should now have:

  • WABA ID

  • Phone Number ID

  • System User Token

  • Meta App Secret

You can now connect Meta to CaptainBook.

Part B: Connect WhatsApp to CaptainBook

1. Open WhatsApp settings

In CaptainBook, open your Account menu and select WhatsApp.

The page contains two sections:

  1. Set up webhooks in Meta

  2. Enter your connection details

2. Copy the webhook details from CaptainBook

Under Step 1: Set up webhooks in Meta, CaptainBook displays:

  • Callback URL

  • Verify token

Click Copy next to each value.

Keep this CaptainBook page open while you configure Meta.

3. Configure the webhook in Meta

Return to your Meta app and go to:

WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhooks

Then:

  1. Paste the Callback URL shown in CaptainBook.

  2. Paste the Verify token shown in CaptainBook.

  3. Click Verify and save.

  4. Subscribe to:

    • messages

    • message_template_status_update

Webhooks allow CaptainBook to receive events from Meta, including opt-outs, delivery information and template status updates.

4. Enter your connection details in CaptainBook

Return to CaptainBook.

Under Step 2: Enter your connection details, enter:

WABA ID
Use the WhatsApp Business Account ID you copied from Meta.

Phone Number ID
Use the Phone Number ID you copied from WhatsApp Manager.

System User Token
Use the token you generated for your Meta System User.

Meta App Secret
Use your Meta app's App Secret.

Display name
Optional. This is the brand name shown at the beginning of your messages. If you leave it blank, CaptainBook uses your organisation name.

Click Connect.

CaptainBook verifies that:

  • Your token can access the phone number

  • Your IDs are valid

  • The phone number is registered

  • Your Meta app is subscribed to the WABA webhooks

If something is incorrect, CaptainBook will show an error and the connection will not be saved.

CaptainBook never asks for your WhatsApp two-factor authentication PIN.

5. Wait for your message templates to be approved

Once the connection is successful, CaptainBook automatically submits its WhatsApp message templates to Meta.

These include notifications such as:

  • Booking confirmation

  • Booking reminder

  • Booking rescheduled

  • Booking cancelled

  • Document or action reminder

  • Connection test

Templates are submitted in the languages supported by your account.

Their status will initially appear as Pending and change to Approved once Meta accepts them.

You can use Re-sync templates if you need CaptainBook to submit them again.

If the template for a customer's language is not yet approved, the customer can continue receiving the notification through your other enabled channels.

6. Send yourself a test message

Before enabling WhatsApp for customers, send yourself a test.

Under Send test message:

  1. Enter your phone number in international format, for example +15551234567.

  2. Click Send test.

You should receive CaptainBook's connection test message on WhatsApp.

If you receive it, your connection is working.

7. Enable WhatsApp for customer notifications

Connecting your WABA does not automatically enable WhatsApp for every notification.

You choose which notifications use it.

Open an experience and go to Notification preferences.

Enable the WhatsApp channel for the notifications you want to send.

For example:

  • Booking confirmation

  • Booking reminder

  • Booking rescheduled

  • Booking cancelled

  • Waitlist spot available

  • Action required / document reminder

8. Enable WhatsApp for staff notifications

You can also receive CaptainBook notifications through WhatsApp.

Open:

Account menu → Notification Settings

Enable WhatsApp for the notifications you want.

Your WhatsApp Business Account is now connected and ready to use.

Manage your WhatsApp Business connection

Open:

Account menu → WhatsApp

You can:

  • Pause sends without disconnecting the account

  • Resume sends

  • Re-sync templates with Meta

  • Disconnect your WhatsApp Business Account

The connection page also displays information such as your Meta quality rating and recent sending activity.

Good to know

WhatsApp is an additional notification channel

Your existing email and SMS configuration remains available.

Templates require Meta approval

WhatsApp notifications can only be sent when the corresponding template has been approved by Meta.

Customer opt-outs are handled automatically

With the webhook correctly configured, CaptainBook can process WhatsApp opt-out events such as a customer replying STOP.

SMS and WhatsApp are mutually exclusive for the same notification

If a notification was configured to use SMS and you enable WhatsApp for it, WhatsApp becomes the messaging channel for that notification.

Troubleshooting

"Could not verify this WhatsApp number"

Check that:

  • Your WABA ID is correct

  • Your Phone Number ID is correct

  • Your System User Token has the required permissions

  • The phone number has been registered in Meta

My template is still Pending

Template approval is controlled by Meta.

Wait for Meta to review it. You can also use Re-sync templates if necessary.

A specific notification isn't arriving on WhatsApp

Check that:

  • WhatsApp is enabled for that notification

  • The customer has a phone number

  • The template for the customer's language is approved

  • Your WABA connection is active

I lost my System User Token

Generate a new token in Meta and reconnect your account.

"Your Meta app is not subscribed to this WhatsApp Business Account's webhooks yet"

Return to:

Meta app → WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhooks

Make sure you:

  1. Entered the Callback URL from CaptainBook

  2. Entered the Verify token from CaptainBook

  3. Clicked Verify and save

  4. Subscribed to the required webhook fields

Then return to CaptainBook and click Connect again.

Opt-outs or template statuses are not updating

Check that your Meta webhook is subscribed to:

  • messages

  • message_template_status_update

Also confirm that the Callback URL and Verify token match the values currently shown in CaptainBook.

I don't see the WhatsApp option in Notification preferences

For accounts that use their own WhatsApp sender, the WhatsApp option becomes available once a WhatsApp Business Account or personal WhatsApp sender has been connected.

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