WhatsApp

WhatsApp is how many customers prefer to communicate, so PaidFast puts it to work for billing. WhatsApp sending is a Starter feature.

#Sending over WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a sending channel alongside email. You can deliver:

• Invoices with a secure payment link.
• Quotations for the customer to review and approve.
• Receipts after a payment clears.
• Statements, with the PDF attached.
• Automated reminders for invoices due today or overdue, and for quotations waiting on a reply.

The customer receives the message on the WhatsApp number in their customer record (or their phone number if no WhatsApp number is set), so keep numbers accurate and in full international format, for example +254712345678.

If a customer has no WhatsApp or phone number saved, the WhatsApp send fails with "No WhatsApp or phone number saved for this customer." It never falls back to your own business number.

#Customers messaging you

Customers can message your PaidFast WhatsApp number to help themselves:

Message	What happens
BALANCE	Shows what they owe you.
STATEMENT	Sends their statement.
PAY or PAY ALL	Pays open invoices in the chat (see below).
QUOTE …	Requests a quotation, for example QUOTE 100 roofing sheets.
APPROVE <quotation number>	Approves a quotation you sent.
CHAT	Sends a link to chat with you on your own WhatsApp.
HI, HELLO or HELP	Shows what they can do. A verified customer is greeted by name.

When a request is finished (a balance shown, a statement sent, a code confirmed), PaidFast follows up with "Anything else? Choose an option below." and the options menu.

Anything else a customer writes gets an automatic reply with a link to chat with you on your business WhatsApp (your Support Phone): "Chat with Shod: wa.me/…". Messages to the PaidFast number aren't read by anyone, so this points them to you.

A number PaidFast doesn't know (not one of your customers, not a business's support phone) gets a short welcome instead of a menu: "Hi Mary 👋 Welcome to PaidFast: invoices, quotes and payments on WhatsApp. Which describes you?" with I run a business and I pay a business. I run a business starts signing up on WhatsApp (or links to the website sign-up). I pay a business explains how to use the link in their invoice, or to connect the number with VERIFY <account code>. If their first message is a command (for example balance or invoice), the welcome starts with a line saying what's needed first ("To check your balance, this number first needs to be connected to your account."). STOP is respected: PaidFast confirms it won't message them. Typing "create an account", "sign up", "register my business" and similar goes straight to signing up.

If your invoice and quotation templates have the optional Chat with us quick-reply button, tapping it sends the same link.

#Paying in the chat

PAY (or Pay an invoice in the menu) lists the customer's open invoices, with Pay all at the top. After they pick, PaidFast asks how they'd like to pay, and offers only what you've set up:

• Pay online (when you've connected Pesapal): a Pay now button that opens the invoice's secure pay page, where they pay by card or mobile money through Pesapal.
• Paybill or bank (when you've written payment instructions in Settings → Payments → Manual / bank transfer): your details, with the invoice number filled in (or the customer's account code for several invoices), then I've paid.
• I've already paid: PaidFast asks how they paid, the payment code or reference, and the date (Today, Yesterday or another date), shows a summary, and Submit sends it to you to confirm: it appears as an approval under the notifications bell. Their receipt follows once you approve it. See Paying by manual payment and When a customer says they've paid.
• Pay a different amount: they type how much (up to what's owed), and the choices show again for that amount.

If none of these are set up, PaidFast tells the customer how to reach you instead. Reply CANCEL at any step to stop.

#Verifying customer numbers

Before PaidFast shares balances, statements or payment links, it checks that the number really belongs to the customer:

• Customer has an email on file: PaidFast emails them a 6-digit code and they reply with it on WhatsApp. The code lasts 10 minutes. After 5 wrong codes, verification is locked for an hour.
• Customer has no email: they reply VERIFY <account code> (the code printed on their invoices and statements, for example VERIFY ABC-C0001). The number then appears as Pending WhatsApp on the customer in Customers, and you choose Approve or Reject.

Once verified, the customer isn't asked again. Each verification is recorded in the activity log.

#Commands from your support phone

Your team can run commands from the Support Phone set in Settings → Organization. Only that number is treated as staff. Reply HELP and tap an option, or type one of these:

Type	What happens
quote, quote acme or quote +254712345678	Create a quote step by step
invoice or invoice acme	Create an invoice step by step
A shared contact	Tap Quote or Invoice to create one for that person
send invoice acme or send invoice INV-000123	Send a draft or unpaid invoice
send statement acme	Send a customer their statement
remind acme or remind all	Send a payment reminder
balance acme	Check what a customer owes (changes nothing)

You never need account codes: type part of a customer's name, their account code or their phone number. A clear match is used straight away; a typo gets "Did you mean…?"; several matches come as a list to tap.

#Creating an invoice

1. Customer. Type invoice, then the customer. If nobody matches, tap Add new customer. PaidFast asks for their full name (what you searched may be only part of it, so Use "…" keeps it as typed), then their phone number or email, which is needed to send the invoice. If the full name is already one of your customers, that customer is used.

2. Items. Type an item from your price list: it's searched the same way as customers, and PaidFast asks how many. Or type the item and price, e.g. 2 x Website design @ 25000 or Rush fee 12000: the name is still checked against your price list (a clear match is used at your price; a close one gets "Did you mean…?", or reply KEEP to add it as typed), and PaidFast asks for the VAT if it doesn't know it. An item that isn't in the price list can be added to it (price, VAT, quantity). Type several items on separate lines to add them at once.

3. Summary. Tap Done to see the customer, items, VAT, total and due date. Type due 30 Nov or note Thank you to change them. Then tap:

   • Send to customer to finalize the invoice and send it by WhatsApp and email,
   • Send to me to finalize it and get the PDF and pay link here, to forward to the customer from your own WhatsApp. If the customer has an email, it's emailed to them too. PaidFast doesn't WhatsApp them.
   • Save draft to finish it later in PaidFast.

   Reply CANCEL at any step to stop; nothing is saved.

#Creating a quote

The same steps as an invoice: type quote (or quote acme, or quote and their phone number), choose the customer and add the items. After Done, choose how long the quote is valid: 7, 14 or 30 days, or type a date like 30 Nov. On the summary, type valid 30 Nov to change it, then tap Send to customer, Send to me or Save draft.

A phone number that isn't a customer yet: tap Add new customer and PaidFast asks for their name.

#Quoting someone you're chatting with

When you're agreeing a deal with someone on your own WhatsApp:

1. In that chat, tap their name, then Share contact, and share it with the PaidFast number.
2. PaidFast replies "Create for Jane (+254…)?" Tap Quote or Invoice. If the number belongs to a saved customer, that customer is used; otherwise Jane is added as a new customer with her name and number.
3. Add the items and finish as usual. Send to me gives you the PDF and link to forward to Jane in your own chat.

Sharing a contact while PaidFast asks "Which customer?" picks that person.

#When a customer requests a quote

When a customer sends QUOTE … (or taps Request a quote), PaidFast emails your support email and messages your support phone: "Quote request QRF-… · Jane (CUST-000009) asked Acme for a quotation on WhatsApp. Request: …" with Create quotation, which opens a new quotation with the customer and request filled in. WhatsApp only delivers this message if your support phone has messaged PaidFast in the last 24 hours, so the email is the one to rely on. Open requests also show on your Overview.

#When a quote is approved

When the customer approves a quote (on the link or by replying APPROVE), PaidFast messages your support phone: "Jane approved QUO-000012 (KES 34,800.00)" with Create invoice and Not now. Create invoice shows the invoice summary with the quote's items, so you can send it to the customer, send it to yourself, or save a draft. The quote is marked converted once the invoice is saved or sent.

The older one-line format (customer:Acme Retail; item:Design; qty:1; price:12000; tax:16) still works and lands on the same summary. An unfinished invoice is dropped after 15 minutes without a reply.

#Statements, reminders and sending an invoice

Each one finds the customer, shows what will go out, and waits for you to tap Send (or reply SEND):

• Statement: shows the closing balance, then sends the statement with its PDF.
• Reminder: shows what the customer owes and which invoice the reminder is for. A customer who owes nothing isn't reminded. remind all shows how many customers owe you and the total, and you confirm by typing REMIND and that number, e.g. REMIND 12.
• Send invoice: lists the customer's drafts and unpaid invoices. A draft is finalized before it's sent.

#A number that is both your business and a customer

If the support phone is also a customer's number (for example, you buy from your own business to test), PaidFast asks once which role you're using: As business or As customer. It then remembers, and the greeting, the menu and the commands follow that role. QUOTE creates a quote as the business, and requests one as the customer.

• Type SWITCH, or tap Switch to customer / Switch to business in the menu, to change role.
• A command for the other role (for example BALANCE while acting as the business) asks "Switch to … to do this?" before doing anything. Tap Switch to change role and carry on, or Stay.
• Numbers with only one role never see any of this.

#Welcome message

When a business is set up with a Support Phone (or changes it), PaidFast sends that phone a WhatsApp welcome with the PaidFast picture at the top: "Hi Ronald, welcome to PaidFast! … Tap Get started to see what you can do." Tapping Get started (or just replying Hi) confirms the phone with the emailed code (below), then shows the options. It's sent once per number.

#First use: confirm with an emailed code

The first time the support phone sends a command, and again every 90 days, PaidFast emails a 6-digit code to the email address the business registered with. Reply with that code on WhatsApp to continue. The code lasts 10 minutes, and after 5 wrong codes the phone is locked for an hour.

Replying Hi, Hello or HELP from a support phone that isn't confirmed yet sends the emailed code; the staff options appear once it's entered. After that, Hi or Hello greets you by name. (If the number is also one of your customers' numbers, it shows the general menu instead, where you choose the role.)

Once verified, Settings → Organization shows "WhatsApp staff access: verified on … for +254…" under the support phone. Click Remove access if the phone is lost or changes hands; the next command will need a new code. Changing the support phone number also requires a new code.

#Nothing reaches a customer without your confirmation

Everything that messages a customer ends on a confirm step: Send to customer or Send to me on the invoice or quote summary, or Send on a statement, reminder or invoice. Reply CANCEL at any step to stop; nothing is sent.

#Signing up on WhatsApp

A new business can create its PaidFast account entirely in WhatsApp. Send Sign up (or tap I run a business after saying Hi, or Create business account in the menu) to the PaidFast number. PaidFast then:

1. Asks you to agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.
2. Asks for the business name and the country (Kenya or Uganda). The country sets the currency.
3. Asks for the owner's name, offering your WhatsApp profile name.
4. Asks for your email and sends a 6-digit code to it. Reply with the code. You can ask for up to 3 codes, and the code lasts 10 minutes.

The business is then ready, with the free Starter trial if it's available. The number you signed up from becomes its Support Phone, already confirmed, so commands such as INVOICE work straight away. The last message includes a link to set a password for the dashboard.

• A number that already runs a business is told so, and can't sign up again.
• An email that already has a business: after the code, the owner can tap Link this number to make it that business's support phone. No new account is created. Only the owner's email can do this.
• Reply CANCEL at any step to stop. An unfinished sign-up expires after 30 minutes, and each number can start 3 sign-ups a day.

#Requirements

• The Starter plan.
• Accurate customer phone numbers for delivery.
• For staff commands: a Support Phone in Settings, and access to the business's registered email for the code.

#Troubleshooting

• Customer didn't receive a WhatsApp? Confirm the number on the customer record is correct and in full international format.
• WhatsApp option missing? WhatsApp sending is on the Starter plan. On Free, send by email.
• Didn't get the staff code? It goes to the email the business signed up with, not the Support Email. Check spam, then send the command again for a new code.
• "Too many wrong codes"? Wait an hour and try again.
• "Your unfinished invoice timed out"? Nothing was saved. Type invoice to start again.
• A customer says they can't see their balance? Check Customers for a Pending WhatsApp number waiting for your approval.