CRM & outreachUpdated 20 Aug 20265 min

WhatsApp templates, approvals and cost

Submit a WhatsApp template to Meta from inside Finocket, watch the real approval come back, and set a monthly spend limit using your own per-message rates. Finocket never guesses an approval or a price.

WhatsApp has one rule that shapes everything else: you may write freely to someone for 24 hours after they message you, and outside that window you may only send a template that Meta has approved. The WhatsApp templates screen is where you get those approvals, and where you tell Finocket what Meta charges you so it can keep an eye on the bill.

WhatsApp templates with Meta's real approval status and per-message cost (desktop view)
WhatsApp templates with Meta's real approval status and per-message cost

Submit a template and watch it get approved

Create the template in Campaigns with the channel set to WhatsApp, then open the WhatsApp templates screen and tap Submit to Meta. Finocket hands it over, records that Meta is reviewing it, and shows the exact time it last asked.

Reviews usually finish within a day. Tap Refresh status to ask again. Meta can answer in five ways, and the screen tells you what each one means for you:

  • Approved: ready to send, including to people who haven't messaged you recently.
  • Waiting on Meta: submitted, no answer yet.
  • Rejected: Meta's own reason is shown word for word. Edit the wording and submit again.
  • Paused: Meta paused it after negative feedback from recipients. It cannot send until Meta lifts the pause.
  • Disabled: Meta removed it. Create a replacement.

Every one of those states came from Meta. Finocket never marks a template approved on its own, and a template you haven't submitted says “not submitted” rather than pretending to be in a queue.

Write the body the way WhatsApp wants it

WhatsApp only accepts numbered placeholders, such as {{1}} and {{2}}, not named ones. If your body contains something like {{first_name}}, Finocket refuses the submission and lists the tokens to change. It doesn't renumber them for you, so you know exactly what went to Meta's reviewers.

You need your own WhatsApp connection

Templates are approved by Meta, not by Finocket, so this screen needs your workspace's own WhatsApp Business connection (Meta Cloud API or 360dialog), set up on Outreach sending, which Settings → Connected keys links to. Selling channels is a different screen and has never carried WhatsApp. Until one is connected the screen says so plainly and submits nothing.

Sending inside the 24-hour window still works without any of this: when a customer messages you, you can reply from the app for the next 24 hours.

What WhatsApp costs, and a limit you set

Meta charges per message, and the price depends on the kind of conversation: marketing, utility (order updates and reminders), authentication (one-time passcodes) or service (your replies inside a conversation the customer started).

Finocket does not guess those prices. They differ by country, by category, by provider and by whatever you negotiated, and Meta has re-cut them more than once. Copy the numbers from your own Meta or provider rate card into the cost panel, and from then on every WhatsApp send is costed and added up for the month.

Set a monthly limit and Finocket holds back any send that would take you past it. That refusal is recorded in your message log as blocked, with the reason, the same way a consent block is recorded. Nothing is dropped silently, and blocked messages cost nothing so they never count towards the month.

If you haven't entered rates, nothing is held back: Finocket won't block your messaging over a price it doesn't know.

Delivered, read, and what that changes

When WhatsApp tells Finocket that a message was delivered or read, that now flows all the way through to your message log and to the Engagement report. A WhatsApp read receipt is the most trustworthy engagement signal in the product. Unlike an email open, it cannot be triggered by a privacy proxy or a company mail scanner. If your contacts read WhatsApp and ignore email, the heatmap will now show you that.

Consent still decides

An approved template is permission from Meta, not from your customer. Every WhatsApp message still goes through the same consent checkpoint as everything else: someone who replied STOP is not messaged, whatever the template says. See Outreach and consent for how that works.

Does this work offline?

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I just send any WhatsApp message I like?

WhatsApp's own rule: you may write freely for 24 hours after a customer messages you, and outside that window only a template Meta has approved may go out. Finocket enforces the rule rather than letting you find out from a failed send.

Do I need my own WhatsApp Business account?

For template approvals, yes. Meta approves templates against your WhatsApp Business account, so connect Meta Cloud API or 360dialog on the Outreach sending screen, which Settings → Connected keys links to. Selling channels is a different screen and has never carried WhatsApp. Replying inside the 24-hour window works without it.

How long does Meta take to approve a template?

Usually under a day. Tap Refresh status to ask again; the screen shows the exact time it last checked, because an approval Meta can pause at any moment is only true as of when you asked.

Meta rejected my template. What now?

The screen shows Meta's reason word for word. Marketing wording in a utility template is the usual cause. Edit the body and submit again.

Why doesn't Finocket already know what Meta charges me?

Because it genuinely doesn't. Meta's per-message prices differ by country, by conversation category, by provider and by whatever you negotiated, and they have been re-cut more than once. A pre-filled figure on a screen that looks like a bill would be a made-up number, so you copy in your own rate card instead.

What happens when a send would go over my monthly limit?

It is blocked and recorded in your message log with the reason, exactly like a consent block. Nothing is dropped silently. Blocked messages cost nothing, so they never count towards the month.

What if I haven't entered any rates?

Nothing is held back. Finocket will not stop your messaging over a price it doesn't know; the limit only applies to message kinds you have priced.

Are WhatsApp read receipts more reliable than email opens?

Yes, and that's why they're treated differently. An email open can be fabricated by Apple Mail Privacy Protection or a company mail scanner. Nothing fabricates a WhatsApp read receipt, so it appears in the Engagement report without the 'unverified' hedge email opens carry.

Does an approved template mean I can message anyone?

No. An approval is permission from Meta, not from your customer. Every WhatsApp message still passes the same consent checkpoint, so someone who replied STOP is not messaged whatever the template says.

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