Take orders on WhatsApp
Send each finished order to your WhatsApp number, and understand the step your customer has to complete.
Quick Answer
How do I receive Neartail orders on WhatsApp?
Create the form from the WhatsApp form page, then open the submit settings, go to On submit, choose Submit response to WhatsApp, and enter your number with its country code. After submitting, customers are taken to WhatsApp with their order written out, and must press send. The order is saved in Neartail either way.
Your customers still order on the form, so totals are calculated and nothing gets mistyped. WhatsApp is where the conversation continues.
How it works
The customer fills in the form
They choose products and see the total, as on any order form.
They submit
The order is saved in Neartail straight away.
WhatsApp opens with their order written out
On a computer, they first scan a QR code, or continue directly if WhatsApp is installed.
They press send
Only then do you receive the message.
A saved order may have no WhatsApp message
Neartail can't send the message for your customer. If someone closes WhatsApp without pressing send, you'll have the order in Neartail and nothing in your chat. Check your Orders board too, not just WhatsApp.
Set it up
Start from the WhatsApp form page
Open the WhatsApp creator and choose how you want to start: Connect your Google Forms to WhatsApp, Convert your menu to a WhatsApp form, or Enter your form name.
The WhatsApp option appears on forms created this way. It didn't appear on a form we created by another route.
Open the submit settings
In the editor, scroll to the end and select the gear beside After page 1. Open On submit.
Choose Submit response to WhatsApp
The other way there is the dropdown in the Submit block, which has a Submit to WhatsApp option.
Enter your number
Under Route to this number, enter it with its country code, for example +1 650 354 2345.
Choose Save
The Submit block now shows Submit to WhatsApp and your number.
Customize the message
Customize WhatsApp message starts with your form's name and ${TEXTSUMMARY(true)}, which writes out the order. Keep that placeholder, or the message won't include what was ordered.
Send orders to different numbers
Select Dynamic routing to take the receiving number from a form field, for example a different number for each branch. Make sure every value that field can have is a number you monitor.
What customers see
On a phone, submitting takes them to WhatsApp, where they press send.
On a computer, they see a QR code to scan with their phone. If WhatsApp is installed on that computer, a link continues there instead.
Tell customers on the form that they need to press send. You can also add this to the form's description or the last section.
Keep your orders organized
WhatsApp is good for the conversation, but your Neartail order is the record to work from:
- Match the chat to the order by name, phone, or order number.
- If a customer asks for a change in chat, edit the order so your reports stay correct.
- Use Sales by product and Pick & pack to prepare, rather than reading through chats.
If you want to invite customers to order
To send people a link to the form, use Share → WhatsApp instead.