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By the end of this, messages people send to your WhatsApp number will land in Olanna. Your agent will answer them. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the company behind Facebook. So most of this happens on Meta’s website, not in Olanna. Here is the whole job:
  1. Set up an account with Meta.
  2. Copy five things from Meta into a note.
  3. Paste those five things into Olanna.
  4. Tell Meta to start sending your messages to Olanna.
Set aside 20 to 30 minutes. Use a computer, not your phone.
Meta changes these pages now and then. A button might not be exactly where this guide says. Look for the words, not the place, and you will find it.

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Before you start

You need a phone number that can receive WhatsApp messages. It must not be in use on the normal WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app. A number can only be on one of them at a time. If yours is in use, take it off there first, or use a different number. You also need an email address, if you do not have a Facebook or Meta account yet.
Was this number connected to another company’s WhatsApp service before? Turn off its two-step PIN first, or moving it here will fail.

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Part 1: Open a blank note

You are about to collect five things from Meta. Keep them in one place so you do not lose any. Open a blank note on your computer. Leave it open in its own window. Type these five lines into it. Fill each one in as you reach it.

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Part 2: Set up your Meta business account

Skip to Part 3 if you already have one. Meta calls it Meta Business Suite, or Business Manager. It is the same thing.
1

Open Meta's business site

Go to business.facebook.com.
2

Choose Create Account

The button is near the top of the page.
3

Type your name and email

Your business name, your own name, and your work email. Then choose Submit.
4

Add your business details

Address, phone number, and your website if you have one.
5

Confirm your email

Open the email Meta sends you and click the link in it.
This account sits above everything else you are about to do.

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Part 3: Create a Meta app

Meta will ask you to make something called an app. It is not an app anyone downloads. It is a box that holds your connection. Meta will not let Olanna handle your messages without one. You make it once, then leave it alone.
1

Go to Meta's developer site

Open developers.facebook.com.
2

Log in with the same account

Choose Log In at the top right. Use the same account as Part 2.
3

Start a new app

Choose My Apps, then Create App.
4

Pick Business as the type

Meta asks what type of app this is. Choose Business.
5

Name it after your business

Something you will recognise in a year, like “Ridgeway Plumbing Olanna”.
6

Link your business account

Choose the one you made in Part 2.
7

Finish creating it

Choose Create App. Meta might ask for your password again. You will land on your app’s dashboard.

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Part 4: Add WhatsApp to your app

1

Find the product list

On the dashboard, look for a list of products you can add. It is usually on the main screen, or under Add Product in the left menu.
2

Set up WhatsApp

Find WhatsApp in that list and choose Set up.
Meta's add products screen with WhatsApp in the list

The product list. WhatsApp is one tile among many.

3

Keep the API Setup page open

You will land on a page called API Setup. Three of your five things come from here, so leave this tab where it is.
4

Add your phone number

Look for the words “Send and receive messages”. Meta shows you a free test number of its own, and a button to add your own number. Add your own. Meta will text or call it with a code to check it is yours.
The API Setup page showing the From phone number section

The API Setup page. Your own number goes in the From section.

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Part 5: Copy two ID numbers into your note

An ID is a number Meta uses to tell one thing from another. Both of these are on the API Setup page you are already looking at. Phone number ID. This sits just under your phone number. It is a long number and it is not your phone number. There is a copy button beside it.
The phone number ID field with its copy icon

The phone number ID sits under your number and looks nothing like it.

WhatsApp Business Account ID. Usually near the top of the same page, or in your business settings. You do not have to have this one. But it lets Olanna show you clearer information later, so copy it if you can find it.

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Part 6: Make your access token

An access token is a long password. It is what lets Olanna into your WhatsApp. Meta offers you one on the API Setup page already. Do not use that one. It stops working after a day and your WhatsApp would go quiet. Make one that lasts instead. This part has the most steps of anything here. Go slowly.
1

Open System Users

Go to business.facebook.com. Choose Settings, then Users, then System Users.
The System Users page inside Meta business settings

System Users is buried under Settings, then Users.

2

Add a system user

Choose Add. Name it “Olanna Integration”. Set the role to Admin. Choose Create System User.
3

Give it your app

Choose Add Assets. Pick the app you made in Part 3. Give it Full Control.
4

Start a new token

Choose Generate New Token. Pick that same app.
5

Tick two permissions

You will see a list of permissions with tick boxes. Tick whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management. Leave the rest alone.
6

Generate it

Choose Generate Token. A long line of letters and numbers appears.
The generate token dialog with the two WhatsApp permissions ticked

Two permissions ticked, the rest left alone.

7

Copy it into your note

Do this before you close anything.
Meta shows this token once and never again. If you close the window without copying it, you will have to come back and make a new one. That is annoying, not serious.

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Part 7: Copy your app secret, then make up a verify token

App secret. This is another password. It proves the app belongs to you.
1

Open your app

Go to developers.facebook.com and open the app you made.
2

Go to Settings, then Basic

Both are in the left menu.
3

Reveal the app secret

Find App Secret and choose Show. Meta might ask for your password.
The Settings Basic page with the App Secret field and Show button

App Secret stays hidden until you choose Show.

4

Copy it into your note

That is four of your five lines done.
Verify token. You make this one up yourself. It is not copied from anywhere. Any word or phrase will do, like ridgeway-2026. Write it into your note exactly as you typed it. You will type the same thing in two places later, and they have to match. Your note should now have all five lines filled in.

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Part 8: Paste it all into Olanna

1

Open Channels

In Olanna, choose Channels in the left menu.
2

Choose Connect on the WhatsApp row

A form opens with a box for each of your five things.
3

Copy your note into the boxes

Each line of your note goes in the box with the same name.
Olanna's WhatsApp connect form with all five boxes filled in

All five values from your note, in Olanna.

4

Choose Install

Olanna takes a few seconds to check with Meta that your access token really works with your phone number ID, and that your app secret belongs to the same app.
If it works, WhatsApp moves into your connected apps. It will say Active, or Pending Setup. Pending Setup is normal here, because there is one part left. If it does not work, the message tells you which one did not match. It is nearly always the access token. Troubleshooting is at the bottom of this page.

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Part 9: Tell Meta where to send your messages

Meta now trusts Olanna. But it still does not know where to send your messages. This part gives it the address. That address is called a webhook URL. It is a long web address. You copy it out of Olanna and paste it into Meta. Nothing will arrive until you do.
1

Copy your webhook URL from Olanna

On the Channels page, open your WhatsApp row and copy the Webhook URL.
2

Open Configuration in Meta

Go to developers.facebook.com, open your app, then WhatsApp, then Configuration.
3

Edit the webhook section

Find the Webhook section and choose Edit.
4

Paste in the address

Put the Webhook URL into the Callback URL box.
5

Type your verify token

In the Verify Token box, type the phrase you made up in Part 7. It has to match what is in Olanna exactly. Same capital letters. No spaces at either end.
The WhatsApp Configuration page with Callback URL and Verify Token boxes

Callback URL from Olanna, verify token from your note.

6

Verify and save

Choose Verify and Save. If the two match, it confirms straight away. If not, go back and check the value saved in Olanna.
7

Switch on messages

Still on that page, find Webhook fields and choose Manage. Switch on messages.
The webhook fields list with messages switched on

Only messages needs to be on.

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Part 10: Test it

1

Use a different phone

Not the number you just connected. Open WhatsApp on it.
2

Send yourself a message

A short text message to your WhatsApp Business number.
3

Check your Olanna inbox

It should be there within a few seconds. If nothing arrives after a minute, see Troubleshooting.
Only text messages come through at the moment. If someone sends a photo or a voice note to your WhatsApp number, it will not appear in your Olanna inbox. That is expected, not a fault.
You can close your note now. Or keep it somewhere safe, in case you ever need to connect again.

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Questions

WhatsApp gives you a number of free messages each month. After that, Meta charges you directly, based on how much you use. Their WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page has the current rates. Meta bills you for this, not Olanna.
It varies. Sometimes minutes, sometimes a day or two. You can usually send and receive before it finishes. Your business name may look different to customers until it is approved.
You can. But it has to come off the normal WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business apps first. A number cannot be on both at once.
One number per business through this screen. Contact support if you need more.
Go to business.facebook.com and choose Create Account. It walks you through making a login as part of the process. That is Part 2 above.
Yes. It is what keeps the connection alive. You do not have to open it again, but do not delete it.

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Troubleshooting

Your access token does not go with your phone number ID. Or it has expired or been deleted. Go back to Part 6 and make a new one. Then open the connection in Olanna, choose Edit, paste the new token, and save.
The app secret came from a different Meta app than the one holding your phone number and token. Check you copied it from Settings, then Basic, on the same app you set WhatsApp up in.
The verify token you typed into Meta does not match the one saved in Olanna. A space on the end is the usual cause. Open your WhatsApp connection in Olanna, look at the exact value saved there, and type it into Meta again.
This is almost always Part 9. Either it was not finished, or messages was left switched off. Go to WhatsApp, then Configuration, then Webhook fields in Meta, and check that messages is on.
That is expected. Only text messages come into the inbox at the moment.
Olanna has your five values but Meta has not registered the address yet. Go and finish Part 9.
Neither can be looked up once hidden. But you can make a new one from Part 6 or Part 7 and update it in Olanna. You will not lose your number or your messages.
Contact support. Tell us which part you are on, and the exact words of the error. A screenshot is best. Say whether this is a new WhatsApp number or one moved from another company.
Last modified on September 14, 2026