# WhatsApp Inbox

Read and answer the WhatsApp messages your clients send to the clinic.

**WhatsApp Inbox** shows the WhatsApp messages your clients send to the clinic.

*View and reply to customer WhatsApp messages within the 24-hour service window.*

## Where to Find This Section

**Communication Hub** → **WhatsApp Inbox**.

> **Note**
> To answer messages here, connect your clinic's WhatsApp number. See [WhatsApp messaging](/integrations/whatsapp).

## The 24-Hour Window

This is the one rule that shapes everything on the screen, and it is WhatsApp's, not Veterian's. When a client messages you, a 24-hour window opens and you can reply freely. When it closes, free-form replies stop.

| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| **24h window open** | The client wrote recently. Reply in your own words |
| **Window expired** | More than 24 hours have passed |

> **Caution**
> *The 24-hour messaging window has expired. You can no longer send free-form messages to this customer.*

After that, reaching the client again means an approved template — the same rule that governs reminders and broadcasts. In practice: answer while the window is open, and if a conversation needs to be picked up days later, phone them or wait for them to write again.

## Reading and Replying

Conversations are listed down one side and open in the panel beside them. *Select a conversation to start chatting.*

- Type in the reply box and *Press Enter to send, Shift+Enter for new line*
- **Reply** answers one specific message rather than the thread, so a client with several questions can see which one you mean.

Clients can send more than text. Images, documents, video, voice messages, stickers and a location all arrive here and are labelled as such in the conversation.

## Linking a Conversation to a Client

A conversation matched to a client record shows **View customer profile**, which opens their profile — the pets, the history, the balance — without leaving the inbox.

A number that matches nobody is marked **Not linked to a customer**. That is normal for a new client writing for the first time. Add them as a client with that number and future conversations link themselves. See [Add a client](/patients/add-a-client).

## Keeping the List Manageable

The inbox is a shared workload, so the controls are about who still needs an answer:

| Action | Use it for |
|---|---|
| **Mark as unread** | You read it on the way past but cannot deal with it now |
| **Mark as read** | Clearing something that needs nothing further |
| **Archive** | Finished. It leaves **Active** for **Archived** |

Archiving is not deleting: the conversation moves to the archived tab, and **Unarchive** brings it back.

## Finding Something

*Search conversations…* searches across conversations, and *Search messages…* searches inside the one you have open. When a term appears elsewhere too, the screen says so: *{{count}} more matches in other conversations*

## Who Can Reply

Reading and replying are separate permissions, so a receptionist can be given the inbox without every role in the clinic having it. Someone without it sees *You don't have permission to reply to WhatsApp conversations.* Change it on the role rather than on the person. See [Users and roles](/settings/users-and-roles).

## Related

- [WhatsApp messaging](/integrations/whatsapp) — connecting the number these conversations arrive on
- [SMS and WhatsApp broadcasts](/communication/broadcasts) — messages going the other way
- [Add a client](/patients/add-a-client) — so an unknown number becomes a named client