Format WhatsApp phone numbers for HubSpot and Flowella

If you store WhatsApp numbers in HubSpot for Flowella workflows, consistent formatting prevents failed sends. This page explains the format to use, which formats Flowella accepts, which HubSpot property Flowella reads, and how to clean a spreadsheet of numbers before you import it.

Use E.164 format

Store all WhatsApp phone numbers in E.164 format, the international standard for phone numbers:

A plus sign +
Country code (no leading zero)
Full national number (without the leading trunk 0)

Examples:

UK landline: +442079460958
UK mobile: +447700900123

Avoid spaces, brackets, and hyphens. HubSpot displays formatting nicely in the UI, but clean E.164 values are the most reliable for integrations, including Flowella.

Formats Flowella accepts

When a workflow action sends a message, Flowella converts the stored number to E.164. It ignores spaces, hyphens and brackets, but it needs the country code.

Stored value	What Flowella does
`+44 7700 900123`	Sends to `+447700900123`
`+447700900123`	Sends to `+447700900123`
`0044 7700 900123`	Reads `00` as the international prefix and sends to `+447700900123`
`447700900123`	Reads the number as starting with a country code and sends to `+447700900123`
`07700 900123`	Fails with `CONTACT_PHONE_INVALID`, because there is no country code

Flowella reads a number without + or 00 as if it starts with a country code. A national number can then match the wrong country. For example, the US number (202) 555-0123 stored without +1 is read as an Egyptian number starting +20. Always include the country code.

Which HubSpot property holds the WhatsApp number?

HubSpot has a dedicated WhatsApp phone number property, hs_whatsapp_phone_number. Flowella uses it first, before the generic Mobile phone number (mobilephone) and Phone number (phone) properties.

Scenario	What Flowella reads or writes
Inbound message from someone who isn’t in HubSpot yet	Flowella creates a HubSpot contact with the WhatsApp number in `hs_whatsapp_phone_number`. The generic `phone` property is left empty. This needs the CRM contacts (auto-create on new WhatsApp chat) capability.
Inbound message from a contact who already exists	Flowella searches `hs_whatsapp_phone_number` first, then `mobilephone`, then `phone`. When it matches a contact, it writes the WhatsApp number to `hs_whatsapp_phone_number` if that property is empty or holds a different number.
Send WhatsApp Template or Send WhatsApp Message in a HubSpot workflow	Flowella uses the phone property you map in the action. If that property is empty on the contact, it tries `hs_whatsapp_phone_number`, then `mobilephone`, then `phone`.
Send WhatsApp Reply in a HubSpot workflow	The action has no phone field. Flowella always tries `hs_whatsapp_phone_number`, then `mobilephone`, then `phone`.

If none of these properties holds a number, the action fails with CONTACT_PHONE_MISSING. If the number can’t be read, it fails with CONTACT_PHONE_INVALID. See Error codes.

Map hs_whatsapp_phone_number in your workflow actions. If your existing contacts have their WhatsApp number in phone or mobilephone, copy it across to hs_whatsapp_phone_number with a HubSpot workflow or import. Flowella falls back to the other properties, but the dedicated property makes it clear which number is used for WhatsApp.

Verify a number is valid in HubSpot

When you click into a phone field on a contact record (for example, Mobile phone number), HubSpot shows a status under the input. You want it to show Validated. If it does not show Validated:

Check the number starts with + and the correct country code
Check there is no leading 0 after the country code (for example, +4407… is wrong; use +447…)
Use HubSpot’s Remove number formatting option if you pasted a messy value, then re-save

Check which property actually holds the WhatsApp-enabled number before you map it in a workflow action. A contact’s Phone number is often a landline, while their WhatsApp number may be in Mobile phone number or hs_whatsapp_phone_number.

CSV and Excel import tips

Excel will “help” by removing the + sign or converting long numbers into scientific notation. Prevent this before you import:

Format the phone column as Text (Home → Number format → Text), then paste values
Or prefix values with an apostrophe in Excel: '+447700900123. The apostrophe forces text handling and won’t appear in the imported data
In CSV files, wrap values in quotes: "+447700900123"

Don’t import numbers with spaces or brackets. HubSpot can often normalise formatting, but clean E.164 values give the most consistent results.

Excel formula: clean phone numbers to E.164

If you have a spreadsheet full of phone numbers in various formats, the formula below will clean them into E.164 format, ready for HubSpot import. It handles all common input formats, including:

Local numbers with a leading 0 (e.g. 07700 900123)
Numbers with + and country code (e.g. +44 7700 900123)
International dialling prefix 00 (e.g. 0044 7700 900123)
The +44(0)7... format
Hyphens, dots, brackets, and other punctuation
Numbers that already have the country code but no + (e.g. 447700900123)

This formula requires Excel 365 or Google Sheets. It uses LET, TEXTJOIN, and SEQUENCE, which are not available in older Excel versions.

How to use the formula

Copy the formula below
Paste it into any cell in your spreadsheet
Change A2 to point to your first phone number cell
Change "44" to your country code (see the reference table below)
Change 10 to the expected mobile number length for your country
Press Enter, then drag down to apply to all rows

The formula

=LET(
  cell, A2,
  country_code, "44",
  nsn_len, 10,
  raw, TRIM(cell&""),
  clean, SUBSTITUTE(raw,"(0)",""),
  digits, TEXTJOIN("",,IFERROR(MID(clean,SEQUENCE(LEN(clean)),1)*1,"")),
  has_plus, ISNUMBER(FIND("+",raw)),
  has_00, LEFT(digits,2)="00",
  p, LEN(country_code),
  starts_cc, AND(LEFT(digits,p)=country_code, LEN(digits)=p+nsn_len),
  nsn, IF(has_plus, digits,
    IF(has_00, MID(digits,3,999),
    IF(starts_cc, MID(digits,p+1,999),
    IF(LEFT(digits,1)="0", MID(digits,2,999), digits)))),
  intl, IF(has_plus, "+"&digits,
    IF(has_00, "+"&MID(digits,3,999),
    IF(starts_cc, "+"&digits,
    "+"&country_code&nsn))),
  is_domestic, AND(NOT(has_plus), NOT(has_00), NOT(starts_cc)),
  IF(raw="","",
  IF(digits="","REVIEW (not a number): "&raw,
  IF(AND(is_domestic, LEN(nsn)<nsn_len),"REVIEW (number too short): "&raw,
  IF(AND(is_domestic, LEN(nsn)>nsn_len),"REVIEW (number too long): "&raw,
  intl))))
)

What the three config variables mean

Variable	What to change
`cell`	The cell containing the raw phone number. Change it to match your column (e.g. `G2`)
`country_code`	The default country code for domestic numbers (e.g. `"44"` for UK, `"1"` for US)
`nsn_len`	The expected length of the national subscriber number for mobile numbers in your country (e.g. `10` for UK and US)

How the formula works

The formula takes four different paths depending on what it finds in the input:

Has + in the original: already international. Strip to digits and prepend +
Starts with 00: international dialling prefix. Strip the 00 and prepend +
Starts with the country code AND digit count matches: bare international (e.g. 447700900123). Prepend +
Everything else: domestic number. Strip the leading 0 and prepend + plus the country code

Before any of this, the formula removes (0) from the raw input, so +44(0)7700 900123 is handled cleanly.

Invalid number output

Numbers that don’t pass validation return a clear message so you can filter and fix them:

Output	Meaning
`REVIEW (not a number): hello world`	No digits found at all
`REVIEW (number too short): 07700`	Not enough digits for a valid number
`REVIEW (number too long): 077009001234`	Too many digits, possibly a double prefix

Length validation only applies to domestic numbers (those without + or 00). Numbers that already have an international prefix are passed through as-is, since the formula cannot know the NSN length for every country.

Country code reference

Country	Country code	NSN length (mobile)	Notes
United Kingdom	44	10
United States / Canada	1	10	All NANP countries share cc=1
France	33	9
Germany	49	11	Mobile only; landlines vary
Spain	34	9
Italy	39	10	Mobiles keep leading 3
Portugal	351	9
Netherlands	31	9
Ireland	353	9
Greece	30	10
Poland	48	9
Switzerland	41	9
Turkey	90	10
India	91	10
Australia	61	9
Japan	81	10
China	86	11
UAE	971	9
Saudi Arabia	966	9
South Africa	27	9
Brazil	55	11	Mobile with 9th digit
Singapore	65	8
Hong Kong	852	8

The NSN length values above are for mobile numbers. For WhatsApp use, mobile-only lengths are correct. If you’re processing a mix of mobile and landline numbers, be aware that some countries (especially Germany) have variable-length landlines.

Quick troubleshooting checklist

If your Flowella workflow actions are failing with CONTACT_PHONE_MISSING or CONTACT_PHONE_INVALID, work through this checklist:

Confirm the HubSpot property contains a value in E.164 format (starts with +)
Confirm the field shows Validated status in HubSpot
Make sure the number includes the country code and has no leading 0 after it
Make sure your workflow action points at the property that actually holds the WhatsApp-enabled number, ideally hs_whatsapp_phone_number
If the mapped property is empty, check the fallback properties in the order Flowella reads them: hs_whatsapp_phone_number, mobilephone, phone

Connect HubSpot

Connect your HubSpot account and check your capabilities.

Workflow actions

Pick the right phone property when configuring Send WhatsApp Template.

HubSpot sync failures

Phone-format issues are the most common cause of failed sends.

Messages not delivered

Diagnose individual sends that don’t reach the recipient.

Get Started

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Troubleshooting

Changelog

Format WhatsApp phone numbers for HubSpot and Flowella

Use E.164 format

Formats Flowella accepts

Which HubSpot property holds the WhatsApp number?

Verify a number is valid in HubSpot

CSV and Excel import tips

Excel formula: clean phone numbers to E.164

How to use the formula

The formula

What the three config variables mean

How the formula works

Invalid number output

Country code reference

Quick troubleshooting checklist

Connect HubSpot

Workflow actions

HubSpot sync failures

Messages not delivered

​Use E.164 format

​Formats Flowella accepts

​Which HubSpot property holds the WhatsApp number?

​Verify a number is valid in HubSpot

​CSV and Excel import tips

​Excel formula: clean phone numbers to E.164

​How to use the formula

​The formula

​What the three config variables mean

​How the formula works

​Invalid number output

​Country code reference

​Quick troubleshooting checklist

​Related

Connect HubSpot

Workflow actions

HubSpot sync failures

Messages not delivered

Use E.164 format

Formats Flowella accepts

Which HubSpot property holds the WhatsApp number?

Verify a number is valid in HubSpot

CSV and Excel import tips

Excel formula: clean phone numbers to E.164

How to use the formula

The formula

What the three config variables mean

How the formula works

Invalid number output

Country code reference

Quick troubleshooting checklist

Related