Apply via Twilio & Connecting to SleekFlow

Connect your own Twilio Official WhatsApp API to SleekFlow

Set up Official Account by Self Service

If you wish to connect the Official WhatsApp by yourself, you may follow this guide and apply via Twilio.

Twilio is an Official WhatsApp Business API provider that provides businesses with purchased virtual phone numbers and WhatsApp Official API accounts.

To connect Official WhatsApp Business API through Twilio to SleekFlow, you will first need to purchase a new virtual phone number with Twilio and submit an application for Official WhatsApp Business API for review. The whole process could take up to 2 weeks.

Step 1: Create a Twilio Account

First, you need to create a free Twilio account.

Please use a company email instead of your email (Gmail/Hotmail) for verification.

Please verify your account with Email and Phone Number for security purposes.

Please head to Messaging > Try it Out > Send a WhatsApp message. A message will be prompted, asking you to Activate your sandbox account.

Step 2: Apply for WhatsApp Business Account

Please go to Messaging > Senders > WhatsApp Senders. Click Sign up to request access to open up a new form.

You will direct to a page for filling in the application form. Please check the below guide for entering information.

Field

Note

First Name

First Name of company representative making the application.

Last Name

Last Name of company representative making the application.

Phone Number

Phone Number of company representative making the application (we recommend using your mobile number or a direct line).

Email Address

Email Address of company representative making the application.

Company Name

Only companies can apply for WhatsApp API accounts.

Company Website

E.g. https://sleekflow.io

Company HQ Country

Country where your companies primary operations are based.

Twilio Account SID

You can find your Twilio Account SID in your Twilio Dashboard.

Facebook Business Manager ID

WhatsApp Accounts are attached to Facebook Business Manager for authentication.

*Instruction to Find your Facebook Business ID

Facebook Business Verification

Choose "Yes" if you have done this before.

Check this article if you are not sure about the verification status. If not, please refer to our guide - Facebook Business Verification

Company Vertical

E.g. Technology.

Avoid Marketing, Media, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals as they will not process the application.

What is your use case?

We recommend applying with "Customer Support", you can always change your use case later on.

Which regions are you sending messages to?

E.g. Latin America, East Asia

How many messages are you sending every month to these regions?

We recommend applying with "100,000 to 1,000,000."

An estimate and won't have any effect on your billing.

Are you working with an ISV, SI or Third Party?

Select "No"

Assign approval to alternative Account SID

Just leave empty.

I understand Twilio can modify my SMS/Voice URL ,and that approval is only for the brand submitted

Confirm "YES"

Once you have submitted the form, the Twilio team will contact you to let you know that your account is approved. The WhatsApp Application takes typically up to 5-7 working days to get approved.

Once your Twilio WhatsApp Account has been approved, return to this page and move on with the integration.

Step 3: Create a Regulatory Bundle

Please skip this step and go directly to Step 4 if you are NOT from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong applicant has to submit a regulatory bundle that needs your BR certificate for review.

Go to Phone Numbers > Regulatory Compliance > Bundles. Click Create a Regulatory Bundle.

Please follow the instructions and fill in the required information, and upload your business supporting document for review.

Please choose your type of phone number.

Mobile: Can use WhatsApp and Send SMS National: Can use WhatsApp and divert calls to another number

For example, if you want to buy a mobile number later, then you will need to choose "Mobile" here.

You will then require to select the types of End-User to use the number, choose "Business".

Enter the required business information: Friendly Name, Business Name and Business Registration Number.

After submitting your regulatory bundle, you will receive an email confirming the process is complete.

Step 4: Buy a Phone Number

You will now need to add your credit card to choose and purchase your new number.

Go to Billing from your Twilio Account. Click "Upgrade Now."

Add your company and billing address and your payment method to pay for the Phone Number and WhatsApp Fee. Learn more about WhatsApp Pricing here.

For Example, for Hong Kong:‌

Template Message: charges 0.0555 USD/ message to talk to customers who have not contacted you in the last 24 hours.

Session Message: charges 0.005 USD/ message to talk to customer who replied to you in the last 24 hours.

Click "Upgrade Account", and you are good to go!

Now you can go to Phone Numbers - Buy a Phone Number to search for a number.

Click Buy to choose your preferred number.

You can select any numbers from any country available on Twilio.

Start with 3: Monthly rate at US$6 include Call forwarding service
Start with 6: Monthly rate at US$15 with SMS service (*No call forwarding)

Choose "Business" and select an approved regulatory bundle.

You have successfully purchased your business phone number!

Step 5: Create a Sender Profile

Go to Programmable Messaging > Senders > WhatsApp Senders by accessing the left menu.

Now you can create a sender profile, which is essentially WhatsApp Account.

Click the New WhatsApp Sender button to open the Profile Information Form.

This form is where you create your WhatsApp sender profile. This information will be public to anyone that talks to your WhatsApp number. Please see the below a guide to help you fill out the information:

Name

Note

Select a Number*

Here you can choose any number you purchased on your Twilio account that has SMS enabled.

Name*

Public name of company/organization, e.g. SleekFlow

Address

The public address of the company/organization or select from saved address.

Email

Official email of company/organization, e.g. [email protected]

Website

Official website address of company/organization, e.g. https://sleekflow.io

Link to Logo

Provide URL to logo in png or jpeg format, 640x640 at a minimum, with a solid background.

Check if the Profile is for a client

Do not select and leave it blank.

Adding WhatsApp Templates

If you wish to send outbound messages to the customers you have not talked to within the past 24 hours or any new customer, you'll have to use a template message under WhatsApp's rules. You can add it later once your sender profile is approved. For details, please see:

Add WhatsApp Templates on Twilio

Once you have received the final approval from Twilio, your account will be ready to be integrated to SleekFlow, where you can manage conversations.

Step 6: Connect to SleekFlow

You can manage all your channels on SleekFlow Platform > Channel. Click "Add" on the WhatsApp channel.

Select "I already have a Twilio Account" button to connect with SleekFlow via Twilio.

You will be asked for the Channel Name, Account SID, Auth Token and Phone Number.

Enter "Channel Name" for this specific Twilio WhatsApp Integration. This is necessary for your team to recognise this SMS Channel. For example, you could name it "APAC Ops" or "NY Support Team"

Account SID and Auth Token

Go to the Twilio dashboard. Copy the "Account SID" to paste in the form above.

Click "Show" to reveal the "Auth Token" and paste it in the form above.

Phone Number

Once you have entered Account SID and Auth Token to the form, please also enter the phone number that you just applied, together with the country code.

Webhook URL

You'll also have to set the Twilio Webhook configuration for the selected Phone Number.

Go to "Programmable Messaging" -> "Senders" -> "WhatsApp Senders" . Click "Edit Sender".

Click "Use webhooks" to configure this sender.

Change the webhook under "Webhook URL for incoming messages" to the Webhook to the link below.

https://api.sleekflow.io/whatsapp/twilio/webhook

Change the webhook under "Fallback URL for incoming messages" to the Webhook to the link below.

https://backup-api.sleekflow.io/whatsapp/twilio/webhook

Please also add the "Status callback URL" with the link below:

https://api.sleekflow.io/twilio/webhook/status

Click "Update WhatsApp Sender" and save the settings on Twilio.

Now go back to SleekFlow, make sure you added all information and click "Install" on the SleekFlow Form.

Congratulations! All future WhatsApp messages sent to the phone number will appear on the SleekFlow Platform. You can also send templated messages to keep your target updated.

If you have problems receiving messages, please contact our team to check all your settings.

Two Factor Authentication

Twilio requires you to do a Two Factor Authentication if you are a paying customer starting from October 12th 2020.

Press the notification at the top and it brings you to User Settings:

Select either "Once per computer" or "Every Login" and press "Update 2FA Settings" to proceed.

After selecting, you will be directed to a new page where it requires you to type in your personal phone number, then press "Send code via SMS".

You will then have to check your phone number for the message with the included code, type in the follow field and press "Verify".

Lastly, they will provide you with a Recovery code for you to access your account if there is an issue with the Two Factor Authentication.

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Last updated 1 year ago

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