Connecting WhatsApp to Odoo: the official app vs third-party connectors

The official way to connect WhatsApp to Odoo is Odoo's WhatsApp app. It is Enterprise-only and uses Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (the Cloud API). You send pre-approved templates from Odoo records such as quotations, invoices and deliveries, and replies arrive in Discuss. Meta charges for the messages, not Odoo. On Community you need a third-party connector, and the safe ones are those built on the same Cloud API. Avoid connectors that automate WhatsApp Web.

What Odoo's WhatsApp app is

Odoo's documentation says it plainly: WhatsApp is an Enterprise-only app and does not work in Community. It links a WhatsApp Business Account to your database through Meta's Business API. Your users can then:

• send template messages, with fields filled in from the record, to one or more contacts;
• receive replies, which open a chat in Discuss with the users assigned to that WhatsApp account;
• attach templates to automation rules, using the Send WhatsApp action, so messages go out when a record changes.

Odoo's documentation mentions quotations in Sales, receipts and invoices in Point of Sale, and tickets in Events. Templates are built for a specific model, so you can make one for any document that has a contact with a phone number.

Setting it up: Meta first, then Odoo

Most of the setup happens on Meta's side. The order from Odoo's 19.0 documentation:

1. Meta business account. Create it in Meta Business Suite. The personal Facebook account behind it must be at least an hour old.
2. Meta developer app. In the Meta developer dashboard, create an app of type Business and add the WhatsApp product. Meta gives you a test number that can message up to five recipients.
3. Odoo account record. In WhatsApp › Configuration › WhatsApp Business Accounts, enter the App ID, App Secret, Account ID, Phone Number ID and Access Token from Meta, then click Test Connection. Odoo then shows a Callback URL and a Webhook Verify Token.
4. Webhooks. Paste both into Meta and subscribe to the fields Odoo lists: account_update, message_template_quality_update, message_template_status_update, messages and template_category_update.
5. Production number and permanent token. Add your real number in Meta and verify it, add a payment method, and create a system user token (it can be set never to expire) to replace the temporary one.
6. Go live. Switch the Meta app from Development to Live. This needs a privacy policy URL. Until then, only test numbers can be messaged.

Some advanced permissions may need Meta business verification, so start that early if your company isn't verified yet.

Templates and Meta's approval

A business can only start a conversation, or write after the customer service window has closed, with an approved template. Meta's window lasts 24 hours from the customer's last message or call. Inside it you can send free-form replies.

In Odoo, a template has:

• a category: Marketing, Utility or Authentication. Meta can flag or reject a template filed in the wrong category, for example a promotion filed as Utility.
• a model it applies to and the phone field to use. Only administrators can change the model.
• variables: numbered placeholders in the body text, each mapped to a field of the model on the Variables tab before you submit.
• an optional header (text, image, video, document or location) and buttons (Quick Reply, Visit Website, Call Number).

Click Submit for Approval. The template goes to Pending, and Meta emails its decision. Use Sync Templates on the account to pull the new status into Odoo. Any change to an approved template has to be submitted again. To send a template to many contacts at once, Odoo needs its Multi-Template feature enabled.

What WhatsApp messages cost

Meta bills WhatsApp messages to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Since 1 July 2025 its pricing has been per message. According to Meta's pricing page as of November 2026:

Rates depend on the recipient's country code, and India has its own rate card. Meta changes these rules often, so check its current pricing page before you budget. The Odoo app itself comes with your Enterprise subscription.

Use cases: quotes, invoices, payment reminders, delivery updates

Payment reminders are worth doing first for most B2B companies in India. Follow-ups are part of Odoo's Enterprise accounting, and a follow-up level can send email and WhatsApp at the same time. See invoicing and customer payments for how follow-up levels work.

Third-party WhatsApp connectors for Odoo

The Odoo Apps store has many WhatsApp modules for Community and Enterprise. They work in one of two ways:

• On the official API. The module talks to Meta's Cloud API directly or through a Meta business solution provider. You still need a WhatsApp Business Account, approved templates and Meta's per-message charges, and some providers add a fee of their own. This is the realistic option on Community.
• Through WhatsApp Web or a phone app. The module drives a logged-in WhatsApp session, often with a QR code scan. It is cheap and quick to start, but WhatsApp's terms of service prohibit bulk messaging, auto-messaging and access by automated or unauthorised means. The number can be banned, and the integration breaks when WhatsApp changes its web client.

Before you buy a connector, ask which API it uses, whether it handles template approval and incoming replies, who supports it on your Odoo version, and whether it survives upgrades. A module that only covers 19.0 can hold back your move to Odoo 20.

Which one to choose

For the full edition comparison, see Odoo Community vs Enterprise. If you're setting up the official app and want the templates drafted with your sales and accounts teams, we can help.