Overview
Cloud Pacific was contracted to setup and configure WhatsApp to Salesforce for a Service Cloud implementation.
WhatsApp Messenger is an instant messaging application for smartphones, owned by Meta. The application allows sending and receiving messages, images, videos, audios, audio recordings (voice memos), documents, locations, contacts, and gifs, via the Internet.
While configuring WhatsApp with Salesforce, we found minimal resources and guidance on the steps needed to complete this task which resorted to submitting a Salesforce Support Case in order to resolve. Although Salesforce was able to help guide us through the setup, the overall process took significantly longer due to the lack of information and resources available outside of them.
Given our experience, we decided to share our findings and solution to expedite this process in the future for developers tasked with similar initiatives.
Setup and Configuration
Prerequisites
In order to activate the WhatsApp channel in Salesforce the following requirement must be met:
Digital Engagement must be enabled in your org. However, Digital Engagement is an add-on Salesforce product that comes at an additional cost and must be purchased before WhatsApp can be configured with your Salesforce org.
Facebook Business Manager Account creation:
Go to business.facebook.com/create and select Create Account.
Enter your name and confirm your identity with Facebook login credentials.
Follow the prompts to create your business account.
WhatsApp Business Manager Account creation:
Login to the Facebook Business Manager. If your business has not used Facebook Business Manager, sign up as described above and add the necessary people to Facebook Business Manager.
Complete the business profile in Facebook Business Manager. The Business Solution Provider (BSP) can proceed to create your WhatsApp Business account and the certificate will be available for download.
Your BSP will request your Facebook Business Manager ID via email to create your WhatsApp Business account. To find your ID in Facebook Business Manager, you can:
Click Business Settings.
Click Business Info. Your Business ID can be found below Business Manager Account Name. Remember that your Business Manager ID isn't the same as your Facebook Page ID
Enable Messaging in your Salesforce org:
In Salesforce Setup, search “Messaging Settings” in the Quick Find box type and select.
Toggle on the Messaging option seen in the image below.
Information Gathering
In order to configure the WhatsApp channel, an email must be sent to ‘WhatsAppEnablement@salesforce.com’ with the subject “WhatsApp Number Setup” and include the following information:
Salesforce org ID:
If the channel is being created within a sandbox environment, both the sandbox and production Org ID should be provided to ensure Digital Engagements has been enabled.
Facebook Business Manager ID:
Go to ‘https://business.facebook.com’ and log in to the account.
Navigate to Facebook Business Manager | Business Settings | Business Info. Find the Business Manager ID at the top of the page.
The name associated with the Facebook Business Manager ID.
The phone number you want to use for WhatsApp, plus:
The name and email address who will validate ownership of the phone number.
The company name to display within WhatsApp.
Whether the phone number is a landline or a mobile phone.
Whether the number is already registered with a WhatsApp Business Account for another business service provider.
Optionally, additional details can be provided for your WhatsApp company record:
Company description (max 138 characters)
Logo, either as a URL or as a file (.png or .jpeg, at least 640x640 pixels)
Website URL
Once the email is sent and received, the WhatsApp Enablement Team will send a request to the WhatsApp Business Manager to approve WhatsApp for Salesforce to act as BSP.
BSP Approval
Once the request for approval has been sent to the WhatsApp Business Manager, the request can be found in both the WhatsApp Business Manager Account or in the email inbox associated with the account.
In order to approve the request, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the ‘Requests’ section in your WhatsApp Business Account ‘Business Settings’.
Click ‘Requests’.
In the Received tab, find the request from your BSP and click Approve.
After the request is approved in the WhatsApp Business Manager, the phone number provided will be automatically sent for approval within Salesforce.
Phone Number Verification
Once the phone number is approved by Salesforce, a WhatsApp enablement agent will email times of availability to schedule a 15 minute phone number verification meeting.
The following steps will be taken during the call:
The WhatsApp enablement agent will send a code to the selected phone number.
The code will be sent by either a SMS message or a voice call.
The personnel with ownership of the phone number will receive and provide the code to the agent.
The agent will confirm or deny the validation of the phone number.
Please note, once verification is completed and the number is activated in the WhatsApp Business API through Salesforce, the number can no longer be in the WhatsApp mobile or desktop app, it will only be available as a Salesforce channel.
Confirming WhatsApp Configuration
Once verification is complete, complete the following steps to ensure the messaging channel is now available in your Salesforce org:
In Salesforce Setup, search “Messaging Settings” in the Quick Find box type and select.
Select the reload button on the top right of the ‘Channels’ component.
Confirm that the WhatsApp channel is available and active.
Transfer to New Environment
If this functionality was first tested in a sandbox environment and the same phone number will be used for a new environment, the following information will need to be sent to WhatsAppEnablement@salesforce.com:
Phone number
Current Salesforce Org ID
New Salesforce Org or Destination Org ID
Once the migration is complete, a WhatsApp enablement agent will send an email to confirm the transfer.
User Permissions
In order to grant users access to modify the channel details, complete the following steps:
Navigate to Setup and select ‘Users’
Locate the user that will need access modify the channel
Select the User and scroll down to the list called “Permission Set License Assignments”
Click Edit Assignments
Select the checkbox next to the license called “Messaging User” and click Save.
