Reply to WhatsApp conversations in the Flowella inbox

The inbox is where your team reads and answers WhatsApp messages. You can send free-form replies during the 24-hour window, which opens each time the customer messages you. After it closes, you reply with a Smart reply or an approved template.

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Opening the inbox

1. In the left navigation, select Inbox.
2. If your organisation has more than one WhatsApp number, pick the number under Meta channels in the account menu at the top right. Each number has its own conversations. See Switching channels.

In a desktop-width window, the conversation list is on the left and the open conversation is on the right. Select the contact’s name in the thread header to open the contact panel, which holds the assignee, tags and internal notes. To share the work with your team, see Assign, tag and add notes to WhatsApp inbox conversations.

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Conversation list

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Tabs

A conversation with activity that nobody has opened yet shows a green unread badge. Opening it marks it as seen for everyone in your organisation, not only for you. When you open the inbox, Flowella selects the first conversation in the list. It stays unread until you click or type in it.

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What each conversation shows

• The contact’s WhatsApp profile name. If there isn’t one, you see their HubSpot name or their phone number.
• A preview of the latest message. Your own messages start with their delivery ticks. Media shows an icon and a label such as Photo, Voice message or Document.
• The time of the latest message: the time for today, Yesterday, the weekday within the past week, then the date (dd/mm/yyyy).
• An unread badge, and up to three tags.

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Search

Type in Search name or phone… to filter the tab you’re on. Search matches the contact’s WhatsApp or HubSpot name, or any part of their phone number. It doesn’t search message text, so to find a closed conversation, switch to Closed first.

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Closing and reopening a conversation

Close a conversation when it’s resolved, so it leaves All and Pending.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Select the ⋮ menu in the thread header.
3. Select Mark closed.

The conversation moves to Closed. Closing is internal: the customer isn’t told, and you can still message them. To reopen a conversation, open it from Closed, select ⋮, then Mark open. It returns to All, and also to Pending if the customer’s message is the latest. To close several conversations at once, use the Bulk menu. See Act on several conversations at once.

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Reading a conversation

• Customer messages are on the left and yours are on the right, grouped by day.
• Templates appear as cards with their header, body, footer and buttons, plus the template name and language.
• Scroll up to load older messages.
• Right-click a message to copy its text. WhatsApp doesn’t let you edit or delete a message after it’s sent.

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Delivery ticks on your messages

WhatsApp reports what happens to each message you send:

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Flow responses

When a contact submits a WhatsApp Flow, the thread shows a card with Response sent. The card’s title is the text of the Flow button the contact tapped, or Flow response. When the answers are available, they’re listed in the card. Select View response to open Full view. It shows the form name, the Path the contact took through the Flow’s screens, and each question with the contact’s answer. If the submission has no answers, Full view says “No answers were returned with this submission”.

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The 24-hour customer service window

WhatsApp lets you send free-form messages only during the customer service window: the 24 hours after the customer’s latest message. Each new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours. Outside the window you must send an approved template. See Meta’s customer service window rules. Flowella switches the composer for you. This flowchart shows what you can send in each case.

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Live countdown in the thread header

The countdown under the contact’s name shows how long the window has left:

• Window 22h 34m in green while more than an hour is left.
• Minutes and seconds in amber during the last hour, for example Window 34m 12s.
• Window closed in red once 24 hours have passed, or if the customer has never messaged you.

Hover over the countdown to see when the window closes, for example Closes 14:05. When the window closes, or the customer writes again, the composer switches without a page reload.

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Replying while the window is open

Type in Type a message… and press Enter to send. Press Shift+Enter for a new line. A message can be up to 4,096 characters. Next to the text box you’ll find:

• An emoji button that opens the emoji picker.
• A template button that opens the Send WhatsApp template dialog (see Send template tab).
• A microphone button, shown while the text box is empty. Hold it to record a voice message, release to send, or drag away to cancel.

You can’t attach files from the inbox.

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Replying after the window closes

When the window has closed, a banner above the composer says “Window closed. This will be sent as a Customer Care template message.” The banner has a Re-engage button, and the composer has two tabs: Reply and Send template. The first time you open a closed conversation, a short explainer appears, titled “This conversation window is closed”. Select Got it to dismiss it. It won’t appear again for that organisation on the same browser.

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Reply tab (Smart reply)

Use Reply to send your own words after the window has closed. Flowella places your text inside the Service smart reply template, an approved template that WhatsApp allows outside the window.

1. Select the Reply tab.
2. Type your message.
3. Press Enter, or select the send button.

The Service template fills its variables like this:

• Reply always uses the Service template. You can’t choose the Update or Offer template here.
• Smart replies are sent in English only.
• The customer receives a template message, priced in the template’s category: Utility for Service, unless Meta recategorises it. See Pricing and message categories.

If the Service template isn’t ready, the composer says “Smart Reply template is not approved yet” and you can’t use Reply or Re-engage. This happens while Meta is reviewing it, if someone turned it off, or if Meta paused it. Use Send template instead, and check the template under Smart replies.

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One-tap Re-engage on a closed window

Select Re-engage in the banner to send the Service template straight away, without typing anything. Flowella fills {{3}} with a standard follow-up line that invites the customer to reply. The button shows Re-engaging… while it sends. Use Re-engage when you want to reopen the conversation and don’t need a custom message. When the customer replies, the window opens again.

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Send template tab

Use Send template to send a specific approved template. The same dialog opens from the template button while the window is open. In a new chat, it opens from Send a template to start this chat. If Choose template is greyed out, this number’s WhatsApp Business Account has no approved templates. Create one and get it approved in Templates.

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Starting a new conversation (New message)

To message someone who hasn’t written to you, start a new chat and send a template.

1. Select New message above the conversation list. On a phone, it’s the round button in the bottom-right corner.
2. Enter the Phone number, including the country code. You can also add a name in Contact name (optional).
3. Select Open conversation.
4. Select Send a template to start this chat, then follow the Send template tab steps.

The new chat stays out of the conversation list until its first message is sent. Flowella removes chats that never get a first message. Once the template is sent, the conversation appears under All. If the contact has opted out on this WhatsApp number, Flowella doesn’t open the chat and tells you why.

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Typing indicator and read receipts

Two different things tell people what’s happening in a conversation:

• Ticks on your messages come from WhatsApp. They show you whether the customer received and read your messages (see Delivery ticks on your messages).
• Read receipts and the typing indicator are signals Flowella sends to the customer. Owners and Admins control them in the Read receipts & typing panel on the Connection tab of Settings → WhatsApp (Meta). See Read receipts and typing.

Replies sent through the HubSpot custom channel don’t show a typing indicator. This includes replies from the HubSpot Customer Agent (HubSpot’s AI agent).

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Contacts who ask to stop (opt-outs)

If a contact asks you to stop messaging them, record an opt-out straight away. Opt-outs apply per WhatsApp number, so record it for the number the contact used.

1. If you have more than one WhatsApp number, check under Meta channels in the account menu that the number the contact messaged is selected.
2. In the left navigation, select Opt-outs.
3. Select Add opt-out.
4. Enter the Phone number with its country code. Add a Note (optional), for example how the contact asked.
5. Select Add opt-out.

Contacts who reply STOP, or a similar keyword, are opted out automatically. See Opt-outs for keywords and imports. Once a contact has opted out on a number, Flowella blocks inbox messages to them from that number. You see “This contact opted out on this WhatsApp number” instead.

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Failed message bubbles

When WhatsApp rejects a message after Flowella sends it, the message shows a red alert icon with a plain-English reason underneath. For codes that Flowella doesn’t translate, you see WhatsApp’s own wording, with the code in brackets.

• To look up a code and what to do about it, see Delivery errors.
• If the reason says the 24-hour window has closed (code 131047), send a Smart reply or a template.
• If a message failed without a reason, or you can’t tell why it didn’t arrive, see Messages not delivered.

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Troubleshooting

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Using the inbox on a phone or tablet

On narrower screens, the inbox shows one pane at a time:

• Tap a conversation to open it.
• To go back, tap the back arrow in the thread header, swipe in from the left edge, or use your device’s back gesture.
• New message is the round button in the bottom-right corner.
• To assign a conversation, use the ⋮ menu. Applying tags and bulk actions need a desktop-width window.
• Toggle theme and Send feedback are in the account menu.

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Installing Flowella as an app

You can install Flowella so it opens in its own window, straight into the inbox.

1. Open the account menu and select Install app.
2. Follow your device’s prompt:
   • Android (Chrome): confirm the install prompt.
   • iPhone or iPad: in Install Flowella, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, then open Flowella from your Home Screen.
   • Other browsers: follow the hint that appears, or use the browser menu’s install option.

Install app doesn’t appear when you’re already using the installed app.

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Working offline

If your device loses its connection, a strip at the top says “You’re offline. Some inbox and template actions need a connection.” It disappears when you’re back online.

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