Product
BookingsNewClasses, appointments and packs on one calendarSales and moneyNewCheckout, invoices and what came in todayClientsNewEvery client's history, forms and visitsEmail marketingNewNewsletters and automations that bring clients backAI AgentAnswers and books on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat and emailLeadsNewEvery enquiry on one board, with the next step and when it's dueTasksNewYour team's to-dos, made for you when leads and bookings changeSocialNewPlan and publish your postsReportsNewSales, bookings and clients at a glanceAI AutomationsWorkflows that run themselves, without losing qualityAI-Powered CreativeSenior creative, faster, with AI in the loop
Performance
Google AdsSearch, PMax and YouTube, priced by the workMeta AdsFacebook and Instagram with creative that keeps winningDigital AdsMeta, Google and TikTok campaigns that convertSocial Media CreativeReels, carousels and content for every platformKOL ManagementInfluencer strategy and execution, end to endSEOOrganic growth that compounds month over month
Creative and brand
Video and Media ProductionBrand films, reels and content at speedBranding and StrategyPositioning, messaging, identity and guidelinesEmail CreationEmails people open, read and buy fromWeb DevelopmentWebsites and landing pages built to sellApp DevelopmentMVP to store-ready, fixed price and date
Try it now
doTask ChatbotTalk to the AI AgentAsk it anything about doTask — it answers from our own pages and hands over to a person when it should.Open the chat →Book a demo
Email

WhatsApp reminders and messages in automations

Send an approved WhatsApp template as a step: appointment reminders two days and one day before, from your own booking system or Google Sheet.

Zack Lam
Authored by Zack LamFounder, doTask
A woman reading a message on her phone at a table
WhatsApp
Read it in the appThe same article opens from Help inside app.dotask.io, beside the screen it describes.

An automation can send a WhatsApp template as one of its steps, beside or instead of emails. Open an automation, press + and choose Send a WhatsApp template, pick one of your approved templates, and say what fills each {{1}}, {{2}}: plain text, with {{first_name}}, {{brand}} or any field your system sends with the event as {{data.service}}, {{data.date}} or {{data.time}}. The preview shows it with sample values.

  1. Settings → WhatsApp: create a Utility template for the reminder (for example “Hi {{1}}, a reminder of your {{2}} on {{3}}. Reply to change it.”) and wait for Meta to approve it.
  2. Email → Automations → New automation → the starter “Appointment reminder from your own system (WhatsApp)”.
  3. Open each WhatsApp step and choose the template; fill the variables. Change the waits (2 days and 1 day before starts_at) if you want other times.
  4. Switch on. Your system or sheet sends appointment.created with the customer’s phone and data.starts_at, and appointment.cancelled with the same ref when it is cancelled.

Your own system sends one call per appointment (Settings → Developers → dotaskAPI, POST /v1/api/events): the phone in E.164 (+60123456789) is enough, no email needed, with whatsapp_opt_in true when the customer agreed to WhatsApp messages, a ref (your appointment number) and data with starts_at (an ISO date and time, such as 2026-10-23T15:00:00+08:00) plus anything the message needs (service, date, time, location). A Google Sheet can send it from Apps Script with UrlFetchApp when a row is added. Moved an appointment? Send appointment.created again with the same ref and the new starts_at: the reminders are worked out again from the new time, never sent twice. Any field you send, such as data.staff, can fill a template variable.

Who gets it

  • Anyone who sent STOP, on any of your numbers, gets nothing; the step is skipped with that reason and the automation carries on.
  • A Utility template (a reminder about their own appointment) goes to people who opted in, or who have written to you on WhatsApp. A Marketing template only to people who opted in.
  • It goes from the number the customer last wrote to, or your first WhatsApp number.
  • Each message lands in the inbox on the customer’s WhatsApp conversation, so a reply comes back to the same place.
  • Close to the daily limit Meta sets for your number, the step waits until there is room rather than failing. On the Free plan, WhatsApp is a 14-day trial; after it the step is skipped with the reason.
  • A contact with only a phone can enter an automation that has a WhatsApp step; its email steps are skipped for them.
See also:All documentationFAQ