WhatsApp Notification System: Automatic Updates From Your Own Software
When something happens in your system (a booking, a payment, a dispatch, a token being called), your customer hears about it on WhatsApp within seconds, using an approved template and with every delivery tracked.
- Triggered by events in your own software
- Approved templates, opt-in respected
- Every message tracked from sent to read
payment.receivedpayment_confirmationWe have received your payment of ₹2,450 for order #10482. Thank you, Arjun.
order.dispatchedorder_updateYour order #10482 has been dispatched and should reach you by Fri 11 Dec.
appointment.in_24happointment_reminderReminder: appointment with Dr. Rao tomorrow at 11:00 am.
Fictional examples
Which event sends which message, and when
A notification system is a map from things that happen in your software to messages customers actually want. Here is a typical one.
| Event in your software | Template | When it is sent | Buttons |
|---|---|---|---|
| booking.created | booking_confirmation | Within seconds | Reschedule · Cancel |
| appointment.in_24h | appointment_reminder | 24 hours and 2 hours before | Confirm · Reschedule |
| payment.received | payment_confirmation | When the payment clears | Download receipt |
| order.dispatched | order_update | When the courier scans it | Track order |
| queue.position_changed | position_changed | At set thresholds, not every change | Check position |
| queue.token_called | token_called | The moment the token is called | None |
| user.signed_up | signup_confirmation | On signup | Open the app |
| payment.due_in_3d | payment_reminder | 3 days before the due date | Pay now |
Event and template names are illustrative; yours are named after your own system.
From an event in your software to a delivered message
Your application only has to say what happened. The notification service decides who is told, in which language, with which template, and when.
- 01
Your software emits an event
An API call, queue message or webhook
- 02
Notification service receives it
Validated and given an ID
- 03
Opt-in and preferences checked
Language, quiet hours, consent
- 04
Template and variables chosen
Filled from the event data
- 05
Send queue
Paced, retried, de-duplicated
- 06
WhatsApp Cloud API
Delivered to the customer
- 07
Status comes back
Sent · delivered · read · failed
POST /api/notify // your software calls this when something happens
{
"event": "order.dispatched",
"customer": { "id": "C-2291", "phone": "91…" },
"data": { "order": "10482", "eta": "Fri 11 Dec", "track_url": "https://…" }
}
→ 202 Accepted
{ "notification_id": "ntf_8f2c…", "status": "queued" }One small, stable call. Everything WhatsApp-specific stays inside the service.
Three kinds of template, three sets of rules
Every template belongs to a category. The category decides what it may say, who it may go to and what it costs, so we choose it before we write a word.
Utility
Messages about something the customer has asked for or is part of: confirmations, reminders, order and payment updates, queue updates.
Your token is A-104 at Central Branch.
The category most notification systems live in.
Authentication
One-time passcodes for login or verification, in WhatsApp’s required format.
482916 is your verification code. It expires in 10 minutes.
Has its own format and rules.
Marketing
Offers, announcements and re-engagement. Needs clear opt-in and stricter handling.
Hi Priya, your next visit is on us this week.
Usually the highest-priced category.
How we write templates that get approved and get read
- One purpose per template, so the category is obvious
- Specific variables (token, time, branch), never “update available”
- Short enough to read on a lock screen
- A button for the next action where there is one
- Reviewed against WhatsApp’s guidelines before submission, with a plan for rejections
What stops a notification system from being flaky
Sending one WhatsApp message is easy. Sending the right one exactly once, on time, thousands of times, is the engineering.
Queued, not fired and forgotten
Every notification goes through a queue, so a spike in events never loses a message or slows your main application.
Scheduled reminders
“24 hours before” and “2 hours before” are scheduled jobs that move with the appointment if it is rescheduled.
Never twice, never lost
Each notification has an ID, so a retried event cannot send a duplicate, and a failed send is retried with back-off.
Delivery tracking
Sent, delivered, read and failed statuses come back from WhatsApp and are stored against the notification.
Opt-in and preferences
Only customers who have opted in are messaged, language is respected, and “stop” is honoured everywhere.
Failure handling
Invalid numbers, expired windows and paused templates raise an alert, with an optional fallback to SMS or e-mail.
Pacing and quiet hours
Bulk sends are paced to protect your quality rating, and non-urgent messages respect the hours you set.
An audit trail
Who was told what, when, from which event and with which template version, searchable by customer.
See exactly what was sent, and what happened to it
A notification log is part of a typical build, so your team can answer “did the customer get it?” in seconds.
Notification log · fictional data
| Time | Event | Customer | Template | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:41:07 | queue.token_called | A-104 · Meera N. | token_called | Read |
| 10:40:52 | payment.received | #10482 · Arjun K. | payment_confirmation | Delivered |
| 10:38:19 | order.dispatched | #10475 · Priya S. | order_update | Delivered |
| 10:35:03 | appointment.in_24h | Dr. Rao · 11:00 | appointment_reminder | Failed |
| 10:34:48 | booking.created | Kiran P. | booking_confirmation | Sent |
WhatsApp notification systems: your questions answered
Do customers have to opt in to receive WhatsApp notifications?
Yes. WhatsApp requires a business to have the customer’s permission before messaging them. We build opt-in into your signup, booking or checkout flow, store when and where it was given, and honour “stop” requests everywhere.
Can notifications be sent in more than one language?
Yes. A template is written and approved once per language, and the system picks the right one from the customer’s saved preference.
What happens if a message cannot be delivered?
The status comes back from WhatsApp with a reason, such as a number that is not on WhatsApp or a customer who has not opted in. It is logged, retried where retrying makes sense, and can fall back to SMS or e-mail if you want that.
Can notifications be sent from our website, app or ERP?
Yes. Anything that can make an HTTP request or publish an event can trigger a notification, so the same service can serve your website, mobile app, ERP and internal tools.
How quickly are notifications sent?
Normally within seconds of the event. The exact time depends on queueing, WhatsApp’s own throughput and whether the customer’s phone is reachable, and bulk sends are paced on purpose.
Can we send promotional broadcasts too?
Yes, to customers who opted in, using approved marketing templates, with pacing and unsubscribe handling. We also advise restraint: poor engagement lowers your quality rating, which can limit how many customers you can reach.
Do you build the dashboard to see what was sent?
Yes. A notification log, delivery statistics and a place to manage templates are part of a typical build, and they can sit inside your existing admin area.
Tell us what should happen, and we will make it send itself
List the events in your software that customers should hear about. We will map them to templates, timing and a delivery log.
Keep exploring
WhatsApp is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc. Stack Bridge Labs is an independent software company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by WhatsApp or Meta. Conversations, names, numbers and templates shown on this page are fictional examples.