Start with the free app
The WhatsApp Business app is free to download and WhatsApp describes it as made for small businesses. It provides for one phone number. That is enough for most salons and clinics where one person at the desk answers the phone.
The tools WhatsApp names on its small-business page are what you need for bookings: a business profile (description, address, website), greeting and away messages, quick replies, labels and lists, and notes about customers.
A booking set-up in five steps (our advice)
- Fill in the business profile: what you offer, your address, your hours.
- Write a greeting message that tells people how to book, for example "Thank you for messaging. To book, send the service, your preferred day and time."
- Write an away message for the hours you are closed, with the time you will reply.
- Save quick replies for the questions you answer every day: prices you are happy to share, address, directions, what to bring.
- Use labels such as "asked for slot", "booked" and "to confirm", so nobody falls through the cracks.
The rules that matter
WhatsApp's business messaging policy says businesses may contact people only if the person gave their number and opted in. Reply to people who message you, and ask clearly before sending anything else, such as reminders. Honour every request to stop and every block.
The policy also describes a 24-hour customer service window: replies are allowed within it, and it resets with each message from the customer. Outside the window only approved message templates may be sent, which is a feature of the Business Platform, not the free app.
When to move to the Business Platform
If two or more people need to answer from the same number, or you want automatic confirmations and reminders that link to your booking system, you need the Business Platform. WhatsApp says it needs developer help, from your own team or a Business Messaging Partner. If you automate replies, the policy asks for a clear way to reach a person.
Reveaxa's WhatsApp features run on the Business Platform. They are in beta and need a set-up step for each business.
Until then, the free app is a perfectly good start. A busy salon can run for months on a greeting, an away message and a handful of quick replies, as long as someone checks the labels at the end of each day and confirms the next day's slots with customers who have already messaged.
Set up the greeting, the away message and three quick replies today.
How this post was made: an AI drafted it from the official pages listed under Sources, every figure was checked against those pages, and the Reveaxa team approved it before it was published. Our own advice is marked as such. If a source changes, we update the post and its date.
Reveaxa guide reference: RVX-B-whatsapp-bookings-salon-clinic