Words you'll see in this manual

WhatsApp business messaging has a vocabulary, and most of it is Meta's rather than ours. Here is all of it in plain English. Nothing else in this manual assumes you have read this page, but everything is easier if you have.

The account structure

Business portfolio (also "Meta Business Manager", "business account") Meta's container for everything your business owns on their platforms — Pages, Instagram accounts, ad accounts and your WhatsApp Business Account. You either have one already or create one while connecting your number.

WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) The WhatsApp-specific box inside your business portfolio. Your phone numbers and message templates live in it. You will see the abbreviation "WABA" in Meta's own screens.

Sender number (also "business phone number", "phone number") A phone number registered for business messaging. One account can have several. Each has its own templates, its own daily limit and its own quality rating.

Display name The business name customers see above the chat. Meta approves it, and it must relate to your actual business.

Coexistence Connecting a number that is already on the WhatsApp Business App so it works in Wap2b and stays usable in the app on your phone. The alternative is a fresh number, which moves entirely into Wap2b.

Payment method What Meta requires on your account before it will carry your messages. Wap2b sets it up for you automatically through our messaging partner, so you never add a card to Meta. In Meta Business Manager it shows under Payment method, naming our partner rather than your business — which is correct. You are billed only by Wap2b, from your prepaid balance.

The messaging rules

Template (also "message template", "HSM") A message written in advance and approved by Meta. You need one to start a conversation. Templates can contain blanks — see variables.

Template category Every template is one of three: Marketing (offers, launches, anything promotional), Utility (order updates, appointment reminders, things the customer is expecting) or Authentication (one-time passcodes). The category decides both the rules and the price.

Variable (also "placeholder", "parameter") A blank in a template, written as {{1}}, {{2}} and so on, filled in per recipient when you send. "Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped."

Session message (also "free-form message", "service message") An ordinary typed message, with no template and no approval. You can only send one inside an open 24-hour window.

The 24-hour window (also "service window", "customer service window") Starts when a customer messages you. For 24 hours you can reply with anything you like. When it closes, you are back to templates only. See The 24-hour window.

Conversation Meta's unit of business messaging. Opening one is what triggers the template charge — your replies inside it are not charged again.

Incoming message A message a customer sends you on WhatsApp. Charged per message at a small flat rate, so five messages in a row is five charges. Instagram works the other way round: DMs you receive are free and the ones you send are charged.

Opt-in Permission from a customer to be messaged. Required by Meta, and Wap2b only broadcasts to contacts marked as opted in. See Who you're allowed to message.

Messaging limit (also "tier", "messaging tier") How many conversations a number may start in a rolling 24 hours. New numbers begin low and the limit rises as you send consistently and your business verifies.

Quality rating Meta's running score for a number, driven mostly by how customers react — blocks and "report" taps push it down. A low rating cuts your messaging limit.

Money

Balance Your prepaid credit. Messages are charged against it as they are sent.

Balance validity Your balance is good for 12 months from your last top-up. Adding funds resets the clock; spending does not. See When your balance expires.

All-inclusive pricing One per-message price covering everything — Meta's fee and ours together. Nothing is added at the end.

Billing currency The currency your balance, prices and invoices are in. Chosen at signup from fourteen, and permanent. Minimum and maximum top-ups differ by currency — see Add funds.

GST For Indian accounts, 18% tax added on top of a top-up. The base amount is credited to your balance; the tax is not spendable.

GSTIN Your business's GST registration number. Supply it before paying and the tax invoice is issued in your business's name.

Wap2b's own features

Broadcast Sending one approved template to many contacts at once.

Chatbox The shared inbox where incoming conversations land.

Group and subgroup How contacts are organised. A subgroup sits inside a group, so you can message "all customers" or narrow to "customers, Mumbai".

Flow A small form your customer fills in without leaving WhatsApp. You build a flow; your customer fills in a form.

AI Assistant An assistant that answers incoming messages for you, using documents you supply as its knowledge base.

Ice-breaker A tappable suggested question shown the first time a customer opens the chat.

Technical terms

E.164 The international phone number format: country code then the number, no spaces, brackets or leading zeros. +919154091982.

API A way for your own software to talk to Wap2b directly instead of a person clicking buttons. Only relevant if you are writing code — see Using the API and webhooks.

Webhook Wap2b calling your system when something happens, so you find out without having to ask repeatedly.