Facebook Business Manager, WhatsApp Business API Account (WABA), and WhatsApp Business Profile
The image above illustrates the relationship between Facebook Business Manager, WhatsApp Business API Accounts, and WhatsApp Business Profiles (you may refer to this as a WhatsApp Business Number for easier understanding).
Facebook Business Manager is a central space to manage your business that is separate from your personal Facebook profile. For each Facebook Business Manager, you may create up to 3 Facebook Business Portfolios that you may connect various business assets to. Business assets include a Facebook Page, Instagram account, Ads account, WhatsApp Business API account, etc.
WhatsApp Business API Accounts, or WABAs, are containers for WhatsApp Business Profiles in Facebook Business Portfolios.
Here are some specifications of WhatsApp Business API Account (WABA) and Facebook Business Manager:
- A WABA can have a maximum of 250 message templates
- A WABA is initially limited to 2 registered WhatsApp Business profiles, but this limit can be increased to up to 20. See registered number limits for more details.
- After completing Facebook Business Verification, Facebook Business Portfolios are initially limited to 20 WABAs. You can request an increase to this limit by contacting Direct Support and opening a ticket via "Account & WABA" > "Request type" > "Increase WABA limit for a business".
- A WABA must belong to only one Business Manager. You cannot have two or more Business Managers owning one WABA.
- A WABA's time zone and currency cannot be edited once a line of credit has been attached to it. You cannot migrate a WABA from one business to another.
You can manage all of your WhatsApp Business API Accounts in SleekFlow's channel settings. Check out this article for more.
Display name
The WhatsApp Business display name is the name that customers see on your WhatsApp Business profile. You will decide a display name for your WhatsApp Business API account during the WhatsApp Business API application procedure.
A display name should be related to your business, must not violate WhatsApp Commerce and Business policies, and must comply with the display name guidelines to send messages using the WhatsApp Business API.
WhatsApp Business display name review
WhatsApp Business display name reviews and account checks aren’t required when you have just started using WhatsApp Business API, meaning you can immediately start sending messages to customers.
If you are looking to qualify for a WhatsApp Official Business Account (green tick), or to display your display name instead of your business number on your WhatsApp account, you may initiate a WhatsApp Business display name review by completing the Facebook Business verification.
Message limit
Messaging limits refer to the maximum number of business-initiated conversations (conversations opened as a result of sending a marketing, utility, or authentication template to a customer via WhatsApp) that a business phone number can open in a rolling 24-hour period.
Business phone numbers are initially limited to 250 business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour rolling period, but this limit can be increased.
Increase your limit
Messaging limits can be increased to the following tiers:
- 1,000 business-initiated conversations
- 10,000 business-initiated conversations
- 100,000 business-initiated conversations
- An unlimited number of business-initiated conversations
Note that in order for your business phone number to be eligible for a limit increase, it must have a connected status. If your business phone number has a low quality rating, it may continue to be limited to 250 business-initiated conversations until its quality rating improves.
You can increase your messaging limit to 1,000 on your own by completing the following methods below. Higher limits, however, can only be achieved through automatic scaling, which happens after your limit has been increased to 1,000.
- Facebook Business verification
Submit your business for business verification. If your business is approved, Meta will analyze your messaging quality to determine if your messaging activity warrants an increase to your messaging limit. Based on this analysis, Meta will then either approve or deny a messaging limit increase.
- Identity verification
If you submit your business for verification and are approved, you may be asked by Meta to verify your identity.
If you are asked to verify your identity, go to the WhatsApp Manager > Overview > Limits panel will display the following notification:
If you complete identity verification and your identity is confirmed, Meta will approve a messaging limit increase. If your identity is not confirmed, Meta will deny a messaging limit increase, and the WhatsApp Manager > Overview > Limits panel will display one the following notifications:
- Open 1,000 Conversations in 30 days
If you open 1,000 or more business-initiated conversations in a 30-day rolling period using templates with a high quality rating rating, Meta will analyze your messaging quality to determine if your messaging activity warrants an increase to your messaging limit. Based on this analysis, Meta will then either approve or deny an increase.
- Send high-quality messages
If you are rejected for business or identity verification, ensure that you are sending high-quality messages. Meta will periodically re-evaluate your messaging activity and quality, and based on this analysis may approve an increase.
Here are some guidelines for sending high-quality messages:
- Make sure messages follow the WhatsApp Business messaging policy
Only send messages to users who have opted into receiving messages from your business - Make the messages highly personalized and useful to users. Avoid sending open-ended welcome or introductory messages.
- Be mindful of messaging frequency; avoid sending customers too many messages a day. Be thoughtful of informational messages, optimizing for content and length.
Request an increase
If you completed business verification or identity verification, or have met the 1,000 conversations in 30 days threshold, but are still limited to 250 business-initiated conversations, you can open a direct support ticket and request a messaging tier upgrade by going to Ask a Question > WABiz: Phone Number & Registration > Request type > Request a Messaging Tier Upgrade.
Based on your support ticket submission and messaging quality, Meta will either approve or deny an increase.
Automatic scaling
Once you have reached the 1,000 business-initiated conversations limit, each time you open a business-initiated conversation, Meta will determine if your limit should be increased according to the following criteria:
- your business phone number is connected
- your business phone number quality rating is "Medium" or “High”
- in the last 7 days, your business phone number has been used to open X or more business-initiated conversations, where X is the business phone number's current messaging limit, divided by 2
If your business phone number meets all conditions, Meta will increase its limit by one level 24 hours later. If your quality rating has been set to "Flagged" for the last 7 days, however, they will decrease your limit by one level immediately.
You will be able to check the message limit of all your WhatsApp Business API Accounts in SleekFlow's channel settings. Check out this article for more.
Message quality
Your messaging quality is based on how messages have been received by recipients over the past seven days and is weighted by recency. It is determined by a combination of quality signals from conversations between you and customers on WhatsApp. Examples include user feedback signals like blocks, reports, and the reasons users provide when they block a business.
Your business profile's status, quality rating, and messaging limits are displayed in SleekFlow's channel settings. See this article for more.
Please note that it is normal for numbers with high traffic to experience quality changes within short intervals (even within minutes).