oChats stands for Omnichannel Chat System. It is a software which allows business owners to manage their business conversation in 1 dashboard. Business owners can connect to their existing communication channels (such as WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Shopee, Lazada and more) which they are currently using with their customer.

Basically, you can insert button in your WhatsApp text and display it to your customer/prospect. A built in WhatsApp button creates a great encouragement/Call-to-action (CTA) for user to take action by clicking on the button. 

You can check our pricing at here.

There are no hidden charges. We are very transparent. If you look in our pricing page closely, you will realize that there are 3 types of charges:

1. oChats software subscription fee 
   • You can choose either monthly or annually
2. WhatsApp API fee
   • Since Meta owns WhatsApp, Meta will be using Facebook Business Manager to charge you. You can refer to WhatsApp fee pricing for more detailed information.
3. WhatsApp API provider fee
   • Meta has appointed several WhatsApp API provider globally. If you want to use official WhatsApp Business API, you have to go through these providers. As of now, we have 2 famous service providers, 360dialog & Gupshup. Of course, there will be more service providers coming in the future. Stay tune. As for WhatsApp API provider’s pricing, you can refer to the pricing at our pricing page.

No. Only WhatsApp has a more complicated structure. 

WhatsApp has two products for business, WhatsApp Business App & WhatsApp Business API.

WhatsApp API (Business API) is designed for companies that need multiple users. Unlike the App, it does not have a desktop or mobile interface. To reply to messages, you need to connect WhatApp API to a Messaging Software (like ochats.io).

WhatsApp API does not have all the same features as WhatsApp Business App, WhatsApp Calls & WhatsApp Catalogs are not yet available. They will be added by WhatsApp in the future. Group chats are also not supported, but it looks like WhatsApp is not in a hurry to add them.

WhatsApp API is only available through partners like 360dialog and partners are free to set their own prices. This 360dialog WhatsApp API account includes unlimited Session Messages and bills Template Messages at the WhatsApp Standard Rate. It is currently the cheapest WhatsApp API product on the market.

To prevent Spam messaging WhatsApp has created Session & Template Messages in the WhatsApp API product. Anytime you reply to a Customer within 24 hours it is considered a Session Any time you message a Customer more than 24 hours after they message you, it is considered a Template Message.

Template Messages may not be promotional and a Template must be approved by WhatsApp before it can be used to message customers. Once approved you can use it as many times as you like.

Meanwhile, Template Messaging is limited to 50 unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period before Facebook Business Verification and each Template Message is billed at the WhatsApp Standard Rate.

Prices on WhatsApp’s end is separate from 360dialog’s and are subjected to change.

A Facebook Business Account, also known as Facebook Business Manager, is the place where a company manages all their Facebook assets including Facebook Ads, Facebook Pixels, Facebook Pages & more. If your company uses any of these tools, it is likely you have an Admin at your company with access to Facebook Business Manager. To complete your WhatsApp API Account – Facebook (WhatsApp is owned by Facebook) will need to verify your Facebook Business Account belongs to a real business.

To do this you will need to go to your Facebook Business Manager, navigate to Business Settings then Business Info. Once you press the Verify button you will need to submit company documents & provide an address. It will take 1 to 3 business days for Facebook to verify your business. We recommend you do this process, before you begin the Sign Up Process above.

WhatsApp verifies companies are using their own brand and are not impersonating any other business. WhatsApp also verifies the company does not operate a line of business which is not allowed by WhatsApp Commerce Policy.

WhatsApp will need to approve your WhatsApp Display Name. To be verified quickly use a Display Name that matches your Legal Business Name or Website branding. Do not use all capitals, extra punctuations, emojis or symbols. Display Name verification will begin once you add & verify a Phone Number to your 360dialog WhatsApp API account.

The WhatsApp Commerce Policy prohibits business transactions of illegal products or services. Accounts that do not abide by the policy will not qualify for a WhatsApp Business Account. Although it is possible to appeal WhatsApp’s decision, if you fail WhatsApp Commerce Policy verification, the WhatsApp account will not be activated. Commerce Policy verification will begin once you add & verify a Phone Number to your 360dialog WhatsApp API account.

Here are examples of businesses that are not allowed by WhatsApp Commerce Policy. Companies that sell drugs (prescription or otherwise), tobacco, alcohol, unsafe ingestible supplements, weapons, ammunition, explosives, animals, adult products or services, body parts or fluids, medical or healthcare products, real money gambling and dating services.

Keep in mind if your brand is involved in any of the above businesses, your brand can still get a WhatsApp API account. However, you will not be allowed to use your WhatsApp API account to trade in these items. You may be required to explain how you will be using the account in your appeal.

To use this WhatsApp API account, you will need to add a phone number you control. It is best to use your company phone number. However, you cannot use a phone number that is currently in use with a WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account.

If the phone number is already in use with a WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account, you can still use it. However, you will need to delete your WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account before attempting the SMS or Voice Call verification. If you do not delete the account, the SMS or Phone Verification will fail.

Deleting the account will cause downtime and you will not receive your Customer messages until you connect to ochats.io. To delete the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account open the WhatsApp account and go to Settings > Account > Delete Account.

Keep in mind, deleting the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account will cause you to lose your Contacts & Messages. You can avoid this by using a number that is not currently associated with a WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App account.

In summary, there are only 2 types of costs in WhatsApp Business API, Template message and Sessions message. Both of these costs are only applicable for outbound messages. Should 360dialog removes the ongoing promotion, it will be back to these charges as stated below.

Template message fee

The list of countries are as follow:

• Canada
• United States
• Algeria
• Angola
• Benin
• Botswana
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Chad
• Congo
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Niger
• Rwanda
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Afghanistan
• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• China
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Laos
• Mongolia
• Nepal
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• Vietnam
• Albania
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Georgia
• Greece
• Hungary
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Macedonia
• Moldova
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Ukraine
• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Puerto Rico
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Bahrain
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Qatar
• Yemen
• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• Ireland
• Norway
• Portugal
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Other remaining countries

Yes. We have an official WhatsApp customer support. On top of that, we provide free integration service for first time user.

You can install the WordPress plugin/Shopify app in your website. After installation, you will enjoy these benefits:

• You will be able to view the incoming orders flow into oChats
• You will know who is your repeat customer
• You will know the exact same customer buys from which channel more often.
• You will know majority of the inquiries come from which channel
• You will know your customer lifetime value.

Build a connector for Magento is part of our development route map. We will notify all of our users once it is ready. In the mean time, you can use oChats first without integration for now.

Build an Open API is part of our development route map. We will notify all of our users once it is ready. In the mean time, you can use oChats first without integration for now.

Yes, we do. We provide free integration for first time onboarding user. You can reach out to our official WhatsApp channel for assistance.

Yes, we do. You can refer to our documentation here. 

Yes. Our software can manage different brands separately. Basically, every brand will have their own workspaces. For eg,

• Brand A uses WhatsApp A, Telegram A & LINE A to communicate with customers
• Brand B uses WhatsApp B, FB Messenger B & Email B to communicate with customers

All brands you have created under your oChats account will share the same storage capacity. Once your storage has reached the limit, you can always add on more storage capacity.

Yes, you can. As long as WhatsApp approves your message, then you can blast using our software. Every time you want to perform any form of broadcast message, WhatsApp needs to review first.

Here is WhatsApp template guideline.