What you are setting up
To use WhatsApp in GoDesk, your business needs a number on the WhatsApp Business Platform. This is Meta’s service for businesses that answer WhatsApp from software rather than from one phone. Your team then sees and answers those messages in the GoDesk inbox.
Three things sit behind it. A Meta Business portfolio, which is your business’s home at Meta. A WhatsApp Business Account inside that portfolio. And a phone number registered to that account, with a display name customers see.
Your business owns all three. You prepare the Meta side yourself, then hand over to GoDesk. GoDesk handles the technical setup and connects everything to your workspace so your team can work together on the messages.
Prepare these before you start
Your registered business name, exactly as it appears on your registration certificate, plus your physical address, website or active Facebook Page, and a business email address.
A personal Facebook account for the person who will be the administrator. Meta uses it to sign in. Use someone who will stay with the business, and plan a second administrator.
A phone number the business controls. A new number must be able to receive an SMS or a voice call. A number already on the WhatsApp Business app can stay on the app, a number on the personal WhatsApp app must be deleted or moved to the Business app first, and a number with another provider can be moved. The phone number guide explains each case.
A display name that matches your brand, a logo or profile photo, a short description of the business and your support hours.
The steps in order
Step 1: create or check your Meta Business portfolio. Step 2: start business verification with Meta (recommended, and needed later to grow). Step 3: choose and prepare your phone number, including updating the WhatsApp Business app if you are keeping it.
Step 4: choose your display name and get your logo and business description ready. Step 5: hand over to GoDesk by emailing help@godesk.co.ke.
Step 6: GoDesk completes the rest. It sets up the WhatsApp Business Account in your portfolio, registers your number, submits your display name to Meta, connects the number to your GoDesk workspace and helps you with your first templates. Step 7: GoDesk tests that messages flow both ways, and you go live.
Who does what
You: create and own the Meta Business portfolio, submit business verification, prepare and control the phone number, choose the display name and profile details, then hand over to GoDesk. During the setup you may be asked to approve access in Meta or to read out a code sent to your number at an agreed time.
Meta: reviews your business documents, your display name and every message template. Meta decides the outcome of each review, not GoDesk.
GoDesk: once you hand over, handles the whole technical process. That means the WhatsApp Business Account, number registration, display name submission, connection to your workspace, your first templates and testing.
Rough timings
Timings vary and depend on Meta’s reviews, so treat these as a guide only. Your own preparation can often be done in a day or two, apart from waiting for Meta’s reviews. Once you hand over, GoDesk agrees a time with you to register the number, and the code arrives within minutes.
After registration, display name and template reviews often finish within a day, but can take longer. Business verification commonly takes several working days, and longer if Meta asks for more documents.
You can usually start receiving and answering customer messages before business verification is finished. Verification matters when you want to message more customers or add more numbers.
Read the guides in this order
Create your Meta Business portfolio. Verify your business with Meta. Choose and prepare your phone number. Display name and business profile. Hand over to GoDesk to connect your number. Message templates and approval. The 24-hour window, limits and costs. If something goes wrong, the WhatsApp onboarding FAQ covers the common problems.
Need help?
If you are a GoDesk customer and get stuck at any step, email help@godesk.co.ke. Tell us your workspace name, the business number and what you see on screen. Never send passwords, verification codes or your two-step PIN by email.
New to GoDesk and planning WhatsApp for your business? Email hello@godesk.co.ke and we will talk you through the journey before you start.
← Back to the whatsapp onboarding journey