WhatsApp Business message templates to copy, by type of business
Once 24 hours have passed since a customer’s last message or call, WhatsApp only accepts a Meta-approved template. This guide gives ready-written templates for a tradesperson, a shop, a bookshop, a restaurant and a services firm, with the Meta category of each, when to send it and the text to copy.
What is a Meta-approved template?
A template is a message whose text has been submitted to Meta before you use it. It is the only type of message a business can send to a customer outside the customer service window, the 24-hour timer that restarts with every message or call from the customer. Inside the window, a free message needs no approval.
Meta reviews each template when it is created and when it is edited; the review can take up to 24 hours. Only a template with the Approved status can be sent.
Every template carries a category, Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and it matters twice. It goes into the price of the message. It also goes into the approval: since 9 April 2025, a template declared Utility that Meta judges to be Marketing is approved as Marketing, and Meta can reject a template whose category it disputes. The detail is in the categories guide, and the prices by country are in the prices guide.
How to read the templates in this guide
The texts below are those of the WYP.chat presets by type of business, as they exist in the app, in English, French and Spanish. Automated tests check each one against Meta’s formatting rules: variables in order, one example per variable, text that neither starts nor ends with a variable. None is approved in advance: Meta approves the one you send.
The words in square brackets, such as [first name], are the variables: what changes from one customer to the next. In the app, a variable is written {{1}}, {{2}}…, in the order of the text, and Meta asks for an example for each. To copy a template elsewhere, replace [first name] with {{1}}, the next bracket with {{2}}, and so on.
Each template comes with its name, its Meta category (the one the preset declares), when to send it and its text, with the footer and the reply buttons when it has them. A Marketing template ends with an opt-out line. It does not go to a customer who has written STOP or switched off your offers, and a campaign only sends it to contacts who have given consent for offers.
Here is a template as the customer receives it, with the variables filled in and its two reply buttons.
WhatsApp Building trades: quote follow-up, invoice, review
Preset “Building trades”. A plumber, an electrician or a decorator mostly writes about a quote, an invoice and a review: three templates.
Quote follow-up (Marketing)
Meta category : Marketing. It is a follow-up to move a sale along. Meta classes follow-ups to a customer who is already in touch as marketing, even when the customer asked for them. When to use it : When the customer has not answered the quote and 24 hours have passed since their last message. Before that, a free message is enough.
Hello [first name], have you had a chance to review quote [quote number] we sent you? We are happy to discuss it or adjust it to your needs.
Footer : Reply STOP to stop receiving our messages
Reply buttons : « Let’s discuss it » · « Not right now »
Invoice notice (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It tells the customer about one specific invoice, with no offer and no nudge to buy. Meta requires a Utility template to be non-promotional and tied to the customer’s service or transaction. When to use it : When the invoice is ready and the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours. Do not add an offer or a quote reminder: mixed content is classed as Marketing.
Hello [first name], your invoice [invoice number] for [amount] is available. You will receive it by email; reply to this message with any question.
Review request (Marketing)
Meta category : Marketing. It is a general request for a review, not tied to one order. Meta does not approve a general request for feedback as Utility: a survey is Utility only when it is about a specific order or interaction. When to use it : A few days after a job or a visit, to a customer who has agreed to receive your offers. They can answer “Not now”: that refusal is built in.
Hello [first name], thank you for choosing us! Would you mind leaving a review on our Google listing? It helps us a lot.
Footer : Reply STOP to stop receiving our messages
Reply buttons : « Happy to » · « Not now »
Local shop: order ready, winning a customer back, review
Preset “Local shops”. A shop says an order is ready, brings back a customer who no longer comes in and asks for a review.
Order ready (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It says the customer’s order is ready: a specific order update, with no offer. Meta classes an order confirmation or update as Utility as long as it does not promote or sell anything else. When to use it : As soon as the order is ready, if the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours.
Hello [first name], your order [order number] is ready. You can collect it in store during opening hours.
Customer reactivation (Marketing)
Meta category : Marketing. It is an offer to bring a customer back: promotion, so marketing. When to use it : To win back a customer who has not bought for a while, with a real offer and an end date, and only if they have agreed to receive your offers.
Hello [first name], it has been a while! To welcome you back, enjoy [offer] on your next purchase, valid until [end date] in store and online.
Footer : Reply STOP to stop receiving our messages
Reply buttons : « I’m interested »
Review request (Marketing)
The same template as in the building trades section: Marketing category, identical text. Send it after a purchase or a collected order, to a customer who has agreed to receive your offers.
Bookshop: book arrived, book on hold, author talk
Preset “Bookshops”. A bookshop says an ordered book has arrived, reminds a customer of a book on hold and invites them to a talk or a signing.
Book arrived (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It follows one specific book order and contains no offer: an order update, so Utility. When to use it : When the book that was ordered has arrived and the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours.
Hello [first name], good news: your book [book title] has arrived. It is waiting for you at the bookshop, and you can collect it during opening hours.
Book on hold (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It reminds the customer of a hold they asked for: a book kept until a date. It stays tied to their request and sells nothing more. When to use it : When a book on hold is close to its end date and the 24-hour window is closed.
Hello [first name], we are holding your book [book title] until [date]. You can collect it at the bookshop during opening hours.
Event invitation (Marketing)
Meta category : Marketing. It is an invitation to a talk: a message that builds the relationship with the customer, which Meta classes as marketing. When to use it : To announce a talk or a book signing, only to readers who have agreed to receive your invitations. Two buttons let them answer.
Hello [first name], we are welcoming [author or guest] to the bookshop on [date] for a talk and book signing. Would you like us to save you a seat?
Footer : Reply STOP to stop receiving our messages
Reply buttons : « Yes, save me a seat » · « Not this time »
Restaurant: booking confirmation and reminder, review
Preset “Restaurants”. A restaurant confirms a booking, reminds the customer the day before and asks for a review after the meal.
Booking confirmation (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It confirms a booking the customer has just made: the message answers their action and sells nothing. When to use it : When the booking was made outside WhatsApp (phone, booking site) and the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours. If they book by writing to you, a free message is enough.
Hello [first name], your booking on [date] at [time] is confirmed. Reply to this message if you need to change it.
Reply buttons : « Great, thanks » · « I need to change it »
Booking reminder (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It reminds the customer of one specific booking and sells nothing: Utility. When to use it : The day before the booking, when the 24-hour window is closed. If the customer wrote during the day, a free message is enough.
Hello [first name], this is a reminder of your booking tomorrow, [date] at [time]. Please let us know if you cannot make it.
Reply buttons : « I confirm » · « I need to cancel »
Review request (Marketing)
The same template as in the building trades section: Marketing category, identical text. Send it the day after the meal, to a customer who has agreed to receive your offers.
Services firm: appointment reminder and invoice notice
Preset “Professional services”, the closest to a services firm (accountancy, law firm, consultancy, agency). It prepares two templates. The “Other business” choice prepares the “Customer service (any business)” preset, with the review request and the invoice notice.
Appointment reminder (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It reminds the customer of one specific appointment and sells nothing: Utility. When to use it : The day before the appointment, when the 24-hour window is closed. If the customer wrote during the day, a free message is enough.
Hello [first name], this is a reminder of your appointment tomorrow, [date] at [time]. Please let us know if you cannot make it.
Reply buttons : « I confirm » · « I need to cancel »
Invoice notice (Utility)
Meta category : Utility. It tells the customer about one specific invoice, with no offer and no nudge to buy. Meta requires a Utility template to be non-promotional and tied to the customer’s service or transaction. When to use it : When the invoice is ready and the customer has not written to you in the last 24 hours. Do not add an offer or a quote reminder: mixed content is classed as Marketing.
Hello [first name], your invoice [invoice number] for [amount] is available. You will receive it by email; reply to this message with any question.
What gets a template rejected
Meta reviews each template when it is created and when it is edited. This is what gets one rejected, re-classed or blocked, according to two Meta pages (template basics, classification by category).
The text and the category
- A category Meta disputes. If Meta disagrees with the category you chose, the template can be rejected with the reason INCORRECT_CATEGORY. You can then create a new one, change its category and resubmit it, or ask for a review.
- A promotion in a utility message. A Utility template must contain no promotional or persuasive intent. Mixed content, such as an order update with a promotion or a survey with an offer, is classed as Marketing.
- Unclear text. A template whose content is unclear, for example only “{{1}}” or “Congratulations!”, is classed as Marketing.
- A general request for a review. A survey or request for feedback that is not about a specific order or interaction will not be approved as Utility.
- A one-time code in a template that is not Authentication. Only Authentication templates can send a verification code. They require a code button and allow no links, media or emojis; their parameters are limited to 15 characters. No business-type preset installs one.
The format
- One example per variable. Every variable carries an example value, in the order of the text. An image, video or document header needs an example file, which is reviewed with the template.
- The language. Meta does not translate templates: the text and the examples must be in the template’s language. The same name in two languages makes two templates.
- The name. It only contains lower-case letters, digits and underscores.
- Before sending to Meta, WYP.chat checks that the text is not empty, that the variables run in order (1, 2, 3), that each has its example, and that the text neither starts nor ends with a variable.
After approval
- A re-classification. A template approved as Utility that Meta judges to be Marketing moves to Marketing, with one day’s notice. Since 16 April 2025, a business that has already been warned about misusing the categories gets no notice: the change is immediate.
- A pause. A template that gets repeated negative feedback or low read rates can be paused, then disabled: it can no longer be sent.
- Restrictions. A business that repeatedly classes marketing as utility faces escalating restrictions: a written warning, a cap on utility messages (7 days at least), then all its utility templates re-classed as Marketing (7 days, 30 for repeat offences).
Meta’s “Template review” page, which those two pages cite for the most common rejection reasons, was not re-read for this guide.
Installing them in WYP.chat
These templates are the ones in the business-type presets. They are installed when you sign up, as drafts, and nothing goes to Meta without you.
- After creating your workspace and turning on two-factor authentication, choose your business on the “What is your business?” screen (15 businesses, or “Other business”).
- Click “Install everything”, or “Customise” to untick what you do not want. Nothing is installed until you agree, and the installation can be undone for 30 days.
- The templates arrive as drafts in Sales › Templates as soon as a WhatsApp number is connected. With no number yet, come back and click “Install everything” after connecting: only what is missing is added.
- Read the text, adapt it to your business, then click “Send to WhatsApp for approval”. No template is submitted on its own. Meta reviews it, then it moves to Approved.
- An approved template can be used in a conversation (the “Choose a template” button once 24 hours have passed), in a campaign, or as the fallback message of a scenario: the follow-up without reply in the building trades preset and the “Inactive customer” scenario in the shop preset rely on their templates, and stay paused until you turn them on.
Each template exists in English, French and Spanish; the version created is the one in the language of the screen. WYP.chat does not guarantee approval: Meta decides alone, and can re-class a template afterwards.
How to do it in WYP.chat
Help centre articles that walk through each setting, screen by screen.
Sources
- Meta, Template fundamentals: developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/overview
- Meta, Template categorization: developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization
- Meta, Service messages: developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/send-messages
Pages checked on 16 October 2026.