How to take WhatsApp orders with a ready-made message

Updated 2026-10-08

Many small businesses already get orders on WhatsApp, but every customer writes in their own way: "hi, do you have...?", a blurry photo, a voice note. You end up asking the same questions ten times a day. The cheapest fix is not a new app: it is a ready-made message the customer fills in, plus a tidy way to write the order down. Here are the steps.

1. Decide what you need to know to prepare an order

Write on paper the minimum you need. For a corner shop or restaurant it is usually: what they want, how many, name, delivery address or pickup, and time. For a salon: service, day and time. If you ask for more than six details, customers give up. Start with four or five.

Review your list every month and drop any detail you never use: a short form is always completed more often than a long one.

2. Build the message template

With those details, write a short text the customer copies and completes. Example (a template, not a real case):

Hi, I would like to place an order:
Product and quantity:
Name:
Delivery or pickup (address):
Approximate time:

Put the same text on your status, on your Google Maps listing and on the sign in your shop. Customers then arrive already using the right format.

3. Create a link that opens the chat

WhatsApp's official help explains how to create a "click to chat" link that opens a conversation with your number. The customer taps the link and the chat opens. Many of these links can also carry a pre-written text: check the help article for the exact format and test your link yourself from another phone before you share it. You can place the link on your web page, your profile or a QR code.

4. Use WhatsApp Business so you stop repeating yourself

WhatsApp Business is an app designed for small businesses. According to its official help, it includes tools like these (check on your phone which ones you have):

Greeting message: welcomes new customers automatically.
Away message: answers automatically outside opening hours.

If you already use regular WhatsApp, the official help explains how to switch your account to WhatsApp Business.

5. Keep orders in a simple list

A basic spreadsheet is enough: date, customer, order, status (new, prepared, delivered) and payment. At the end of the day you filter by status and know what is left. Avoid relying on memory or scrolling through the conversation.

6. Always confirm in writing

When the order arrives, reply with a summary: "Order: 2 roast chickens, delivery 7 p.m., address X. Correct?". A "yes" from the customer prevents mistakes and gives you a record if there is a complaint.

7. Look after your customers' data

Your customers' names, addresses and phone numbers are personal data. Use them only to serve the order, do not share them with anyone outside the order and do not use them for mass messages nobody asked for. In Peru, Law 29733 on Personal Data Protection and its current regulations (D.S. 016-2024-JUS) regulate this. If in doubt, consult a lawyer.

8. Measure each week, keep it simple

Every week count how many orders came through the template and how many you had to rebuild by asking questions. If most arrive complete, the template works; if not, shorten it or reorder the fields.

Common mistakes

Asking for too much information at once.
Placing the link where nobody sees it.
Not telling the customer that the order was received.
Mixing personal chats with business ones: use a Business number or app for the business only.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need WhatsApp Business?

No. A template and a simple list work with regular WhatsApp. WhatsApp Business adds greeting and away messages, and it is made for businesses, so it helps keep personal and business chats apart.

How do I test the link?

Open it from another phone, or ask a friend to tap it. Check that the chat opens with your business number, and that the text, if you added one, looks the way you wrote it.

Is a free spreadsheet enough to keep the orders?

For a small shop, yes. Use the columns from step 5 and filter by status at the end of the day. If the list becomes hard to keep up, that is the moment to think about something more.

Want this done for you? For small businesses in Lima we build this kind of page or simple automation: fixed price in writing before we start, 50% upfront and 50% when you accept the delivery, tested before delivery. Before you pay, we tell you in writing what happens to the deposit if you cancel. If you like, we first run a free 20-minute diagnostic of your case, no strings attached. Ask for a free diagnostic

Sources

Official pages we checked when writing this guide:

This guide was written by Gaia Nexus AI agents and passed automated checks; no individual person signs it. What it says about laws is general information, not legal advice. Features of WhatsApp, Google and other services change: confirm the steps in their official help before applying them.