Help center › Text messages

WhatsApp Business in your CRM

WhatsApp works through the same Twilio account as texts, so messages sit on each contact's timeline beside their emails.

1. Get a WhatsApp sender

1. In Twilio, open Messaging → Senders → WhatsApp senders and follow the steps. Meta checks your business, which usually takes a few days.
2. Use a number that is not already on personal WhatsApp. A Twilio number works.

2. Connect it

1. In your CRM, open Texts and choose WhatsApp (through Twilio).
2. Paste your Account SID and Auth Token from the Twilio Console, and your WhatsApp number.
3. Press Save.
4. Copy the reply address shown, then in Twilio open Messaging → Senders → WhatsApp senders, click your sender, and paste it under A message comes in on HTTP POST.

Sending

Open a contact, choose the ⌨ Text tab in the box at the bottom and press Send text. Their replies land on the same timeline and on the Texts page, marked WhatsApp.

Bringing in an old WhatsApp chat

Already talked to someone on WhatsApp? You can bring that conversation in, even before the live connection is set up:

1. In WhatsApp, open the chat and choose More → Export chat → Without media. Send the .txt file to yourself.
2. In the CRM, open that contact, open the WhatsApp history tile, and under Bring in a WhatsApp chat choose the file and press Read the file.
3. Say which name in the chat is the contact - we guess for you - and press Bring them in.

The messages land on their timeline marked WhatsApp, with their real dates. Import the same chat twice and only the new messages are added.

Meta's 24-hour rule

You can write freely for 24 hours after someone's last message. After that, WhatsApp only allows a template you had approved in advance. If you try, the CRM says so plainly rather than showing an error code. Templates are set up in Twilio under Content Template Builder.

Updated October 16, 2026. Still stuck? Email mail@swiftagentsites.com.