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AZERLIA

WhatsApp Automation

WhatsApp Business API automation for small businesses in India

WhatsApp automation connects the WhatsApp Business API to your Tally, Google Sheets or ERP so that orders, status updates, approvals and field reports flow without a person copying them. It is for owners of distributors, manufacturers, retail chains and service firms in India where customers, dealers and field staff already live on WhatsApp. The expected result is orders captured without re-typing, customers who stop calling to ask “where is my order”, and approvals that take minutes instead of days. A pilot typically costs ₹3–6 lakh ($3,500–7,000) and takes 4–6 weeks. Meta charges per message: its India rate card, linked from https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing, puts marketing messages at about ₹0.86 and utility messages at about ₹0.12, and replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free.

₹3–6 lakh / $3,500–7,0004–6 weeksUpdated 14 October 2026

Who this is for

  • Distributors and wholesalers whose dealers send orders as WhatsApp text, voice notes or photos of a handwritten list.
  • Manufacturers and logistics firms whose customers call or message to ask for dispatch and delivery status.
  • Owners who approve discounts, purchase orders and leave on WhatsApp and have no record of what was approved.
  • Construction, facility and field-service companies that need daily site reports, photos and attendance from staff who will not open an app.
  • Retail chains and clinics that send appointment reminders, payment reminders and invoices by hand.

What we build

  • Order intake: a dealer sends an order as text, voice note or photo; the bot reads it, confirms items and quantities, and creates the order in Tally, Sheets or your ERP.
  • Status updates: automatic messages when an order is confirmed, packed, dispatched, delivered or paid, pulled from the system that already knows.
  • Approvals: a purchase order or discount request arrives as a WhatsApp message with approve and reject buttons, and the decision is logged with time and name.
  • Field reporting: site staff send photos, counts and a short checklist on WhatsApp; the data lands in a Sheet or ERP with location and time.
  • Payment reminders: receivables from Tally turned into polite, scheduled reminders with the GST invoice attached, in Malayalam or English.
  • Hand-off to a human: any message the bot cannot handle goes to a named person with the full history, so no customer is stuck with a machine.
  • Opt-in and template setup: the Meta business verification, number, message templates and opt-in flow done correctly so you are not blocked.

Typical scope

A pilot usually covers one flow, most often order intake or status updates, for one group of customers or dealers, connected to one system such as Tally or Sheets. We start with that flow, run it with a small group of dealers or staff, fix the wording and the edge cases, then open it to everyone. This service is not bulk marketing blasts and not a chatbot that only answers FAQs; it is a link between WhatsApp and the systems that run your business. It is also not needed if you only want a catalogue, quick replies and a business profile: the free WhatsApp Business app does that, and we will tell you so in the audit. The API only pays off once a real system has to read or write the messages.

What you receive

  • A verified WhatsApp Business API number on your own Meta business account, with Azerlia removed from admin after handover.
  • Working flows connected to Tally, Sheets or your ERP, with a diagram for each.
  • Approved message templates in English and Malayalam (and Arabic for UAE if needed).
  • A human hand-off inbox and a short guide for the staff who will answer it.
  • A monthly cost estimate for messages based on your real volumes, using Meta's rate card.
  • A measurement sheet comparing the agreed success metric before and after the pilot.

WhatsApp Automation: questions owners ask

How much does WhatsApp automation cost, including the messages?

The build is a pilot of ₹3–6 lakh ($3,500–7,000) over 4–6 weeks. Message costs are separate and go to Meta: per Meta's India rate card linked from https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing, marketing messages are about ₹0.86 each and utility messages, such as order updates and reminders, about ₹0.12 each. Replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free. If you use a Business Solution Provider platform rather than Meta's Cloud API directly, its platform fee is extra. We give you a monthly estimate from your real volumes before you commit.

Do we need to replace Tally or our ERP?

No. WhatsApp automation works best when Tally or your ERP stays the single place where orders and invoices live. The bot reads from and writes to that system. If your orders today live only in chat and nowhere else, the first step is a simple order register in Sheets or Zoho, and the WhatsApp flow fills it. We would rather do that than sell you an ERP.

Is the free WhatsApp Business app enough for us?

Often, yes. The free app gives you a business profile, catalogue, labels, quick replies and away messages on one phone. It is the right choice if one person handles all chats and nothing needs to go into another system. You need the API when more than one person must answer, when orders or updates must come from Tally or a Sheet, or when you must send scheduled messages to many customers. We check this in the free audit.

Will customers get stuck talking to a bot?

No. Every flow has a hand-off: if the bot does not understand, or the customer types “talk to a person”, the chat goes to a named staff member with the full history. We also keep the bot narrow on purpose. It takes orders, gives status and collects approvals; it does not try to hold a conversation.

Is this allowed under WhatsApp's rules?

Yes, if done properly. Customers must opt in before you send them template messages, templates must be approved by Meta, and sending bulk messages to people who did not opt in can get the number blocked. We set up the opt-in flow, write the templates to pass approval, and keep marketing and utility messages separate. Meta's rules are at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing and the linked policy pages.

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