Before you start

What you need to prepare

To connect a WhatsApp Business API account to SleekFlow, make sure you have:

• Access to a personal Facebook account with Full Access Rights in Meta Business Portfolio
• Two-factor authentication turned on for your personal Facebook account
• A completed Business Info page in Meta Business Portfolio
• A mobile or landline phone number that can receive calls or SMS from the United States
• A payment method for the WhatsApp Business API connection add-on, if applicable

Optional steps mentioned in this article

This article also explains a few optional steps that may apply depending on your business needs:

• Meta Business Portfolio verification (Recommended)
  If you want to increase messaging limits, send broadcast messages to more contacts per day, add more phone numbers, or apply for a WhatsApp Official Business Account later.
• WhatsApp Official Business Account application (Optional) 
  You can consider applying for OBA after connection if you want customers to recognize your WhatsApp account as your official brand account.
• MM API activation
  For eligible Meta Business Accounts, SleekFlow will automatically request MM API access during the connection process. After Meta approves the request, you still need to accept Meta’s terms in WhatsApp Manager before MM API features become available.

Applying for a WhatsApp Business API account

Unlike WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Personal App, WhatsApp Business API accounts can only be applied for through official Meta Business Solution Partners (BSP) like SleekFlow. To apply, you will require the following:

• Access to a personal Facebook account with "Full Access Rights" in Meta Business Portfolio. Check if you have full access rights here. 
• 2-factor authentication turned on in your Facebook Personal account. Learn how to turn on 2-factor authentication here.
• Completed Business Info page in Meta Business Portfolio.
• A mobile or landline phone number capable of receiving calls or SMS from the United States. 

Applying for Meta Business Portfolio verification

Applying for Meta Business Portfolio verification

Before connecting your number to WhatsApp Business API, we recommend preparing your Meta Business Portfolio verification documents in advance.

Meta Business Portfolio verification confirms your business identity in Meta. It may be required if you want to increase messaging limits, send broadcast messages to more contacts per day, or apply for a WhatsApp Official Business Account later.

To complete Meta Business Portfolio verification, you’ll need:

• A business website with a domain that matches your business
• Business documents with a matching business name and address, such as:
  • A valid Business Registration or Certificate of Incorporation
  • Documents issued within the last 3 months for business name and address validation

Once you have all the required materials ready, you may proceed with the application.  Learn more about verifying your Business in Meta’s documentation.

Step-by-step application guide

The application process will take ~10-15 minutes to complete. To apply for a new WhatsApp Business API account: 

1. Go to the “Channels” page
2. Go to the WhatsApp Business API channel settings page, and click "Connect" on the right side of the screen. 
   
   
   
    
3. Under "Select how would you connect", select "Connect your phone number to WhatsApp Business API”
   
4. Click “Continue on Meta” to proceed
5. You will see a separate pop up window. Please sign in to your personal Facebook account that has full access rights in Facebook Business Portfolio. 
   
   Input your password, then click "Continue".
   
   
    
6. Once signed in, click "Continue as {your user name}" to proceed to the next step. 
   
   If you are not on the correct account, click "Log into another account" to return to the previous step. 
   
   
    
7. Read the permission that you will share with SleekFlow as shown on the screen. Click "Get started" to proceed. 
   
   
    
8. You will be asked to fill in the following:

• Select the Business portfolio that you want to connect your WhatsApp Business API account to. Please note that once your WhatsApp Business API account is connected to a business portfolio, it cannot be connected to another business portfolio.
  
  
  
   
• Select an existing WhatsApp Business account or click “Create a WhatsApp Business account” if you do not have a WhatsApp Business account.
  
  If you selected an existing WhatsApp Business account, please proceed to Step 10. 
  
   
  

  💡 WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is the container for all your WhatsApp Business Profiles in Meta Business Portfolio (previously known as Facebook Business Manager)Facebook Business Manager. Please refer to this article to learn more. 

   

9. To create a WhatsApp Business profile, please fill in the following details:

Name: A private name for your internal staff to identify the account in Meta Business Portfolio
Category: The industry that your business is in. Click the drop down list to choose one that best describes your business. 
Country/Website/Time zone: Fill in the follow informations about your business
 

After completing the information, click "Next" to continue. 


 
10. Now, add your phone number to the WhatApp Business. 

WhatsApp Business display name" is a public name that will be exposed to the general public in your WhatsApp profile. You may refer to this article to learn more about the guidelines to choosing a display name. 

Then, choose a method to get a verification code. You may choose either via “Text message” or “Phone call”

Click “Next” to get the verification code. 


 

11. You will see a notification stating that the code is sent successfully. Once you receive the code, input it in the brackets. 

Click "Next" to proceed.


 
12. Your application is complete! 

You can now receive unlimited customer-initiated conversation and send a specific amount of business-initiated conversation in a rolling-24 hour period. 

Click "Finish" to connect your WhatsApp Business account with SleekFlow. 

The number of business-initiated conversations that you get depends on the Facebook Business Verification status of your Meta Business Portfolio. Check out this article to learn more about the steps to complete Facebook Business Verification. 


 
13. You will be redirected to back to SleekFlow. In this page, choose the WhatsApp business profile that you just created and fill in the "Channel name". The "Channel name" is private and can only be viewed by your internal staff and SleekFlow. Customers will only see the "Display name". 

Click “Next” to proceed. 




 

14. You will be prompted to purchase a WhatsApp Business API connection add-on via Stripe. The standard fee is your local currency value equivalent to US$15/month for each connected phone number. 

 

Click “Pay $15.00 via Stripe” to proceed to payment.


 
15. You will be directed to Stripe to proceed with the payment. Enter your credit card information and click "Subscribe" to complete the payment.


 

16. Once payment is complete, you will be redirected back to SleekFlow's WhatsApp Official API connection page

You have successfully connected your WhatsApp Business API Account and Business Profile to SleekFlow! Please review the details of your account, then click "Back to WhatsApp settings" to return to the "Channels" page. 

After connecting your WhatsApp Business API account

After your WhatsApp Business API account is connected to SleekFlow, you can review optional next steps depending on your business needs.

Apply for a WhatsApp Official Business Account

A WhatsApp Official Business Account, or OBA, is optional and not required to connect or use WhatsApp Business API in SleekFlow.

An OBA is a WhatsApp Business API account that Meta has verified as the official account for a notable business. If approved, the account displays a blue checkmark next to the business name in WhatsApp.

OBA can help your business:

• Build customer trust
  The blue checkmark helps customers recognize that they are messaging your official brand account.
• Reduce confusion with unofficial accounts
  OBA helps customers distinguish your verified business account from impersonator, reseller, or unofficial accounts.
• Increase brand credibility in conversations
  A verified account can make your business appear more reliable when customers receive messages or start conversations with you.
• Support brand consistency
  OBA helps present your WhatsApp presence as part of your official customer communication channels.

Meta Business Portfolio verification may be required if you want to apply for OBA later.

Complete MM API activation

For eligible Meta Business Accounts, SleekFlow will automatically request MM API access during the WhatsApp Business API connection process. After Meta approves the request, you still need to accept Meta’s terms in WhatsApp Manager before you can use MM API features.

To complete MM API activation:

1. Sign in to WhatsApp Manager.
2. Look for the alert banner at the top of the page.
3. Click “Accept terms to get started”.