This is the longest job in the module and the one where most people get stuck, so take it slowly and read each step before you click. Once a number is connected you never have to do this again for that number. You will spend part of this in EzFlow and part of it in a small window that belongs to Meta. The Meta window looks different from the rest of EzFlow because it is Meta’s own page, not ours.
Set aside 20 uninterrupted minutes. Do not start this if you have to leave in five minutes. Meta’s window has a step in the middle that can take a couple of minutes on its own, and if you close the window before the last screen, the connection is not saved and you have to start again.

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Before you start

  • Your Facebook login. Meta’s window asks you to sign in to Facebook. EzFlow never sees your password. Meta hands EzFlow a one-time code, nothing more.
  • Your phone, switched on and in coverage. Meta proves you control the number by calling it. If you buy the number from EzFlow, that call is forwarded to the phone you use for the business.
  • Your real business name. You type it once as the display name and Meta locks it afterwards.
  • Room for another number. Before Meta Business Verification, an account can hold 2 numbers. If Add a number is greyed out in Settings, that is usually why. See Limits.

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In EzFlow

1

Open the wizard

Go to Marketing, open the Settings tab, and find the Your numbers section. Press Add a number. The wizard has four steps across the top: Number, then Display name, then What it sends, then Connect.
2

Choose where the number comes from

Bring my own number is for a phone number you already own, for example the number already printed on your shopfront. You keep the number, and EzFlow connects it.Get a number from EzFlow buys a fresh Malaysian number for you inside the app. Pick this if you do not want to use an existing number, or if the number you have is already tied to a personal WhatsApp account. The wizard shows the monthly price and a short Before you buy notice before anything is charged.
A number can only be on one WhatsApp account at a time. If the number you want to bring is already signed in to WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business on a phone, you have to delete that account first. Deleting a WhatsApp account also deletes its chat history, so check that nobody needs those chats before you do it.
3

Set the display name

The Display name is the name your customers see at the top of the chat. Use your real business name, the one on your signboard and your receipts.
You get one shot at the display name. Meta locks it after the number is created, and it has its own separate review. Type it carefully now. A name that does not match your real business can be rejected, and then the whole number has to be set up again.
4

Say what the number sends

If this is your only number, pick Reminders and marketing. Splitting them across two numbers is useful later, because a marketing blast that upsets people cannot then damage the number your booking reminders go out on. You can change this at any time in Settings.
5

Note the number, then press Connect

If you bought the number from EzFlow, the wizard shows it to you now. Write it down or copy it, because Meta’s window will ask you to type it in a moment. Then press Connect.

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In Meta’s window

A Meta window opens on top of EzFlow. Everything from here until the last screen happens inside that window. If Facebook asks you to sign in first, sign in.
1

Read what you are agreeing to and press Continue

The first screen says Seamlessly connect your account to EzFlowMY and Twilio, Inc. Twilio is the company that carries the messages for EzFlow, which is why its name is here. Read it, then press Continue.
Meta's first screen, explaining the connection to EzFlowMY and Twilio, with the Continue button circled
2

Type in the number

Meta asks for the phone number. Leave Enter a new phone number selected. The country box starts on US +1, marked 1 in the picture. Change it to Malaysia +60, then type the number without the leading zero.
Meta's Add your WhatsApp phone number screen with the Enter a new phone number dropdown circled and the country selector boxed and badged 1
If you bought the number from EzFlow, type that number. If you brought your own, type your own.
3

Choose Phone call, not Text message

Meta needs to prove you control the number, and it offers two ways. This is the step people get wrong.Meta chooses Text message for you by default. In the picture, the red box shows the option that is selected and the green circle shows the one you actually want.
Meta's verification screen with Text message boxed in red and crossed out, and Phone call circled in green
A bought number is a landline. A number bought through EzFlow in Malaysia can receive calls but can never receive a text message, so the code will simply never arrive. If you leave the default and press Next, you have just started a waiting period for nothing.
Select Phone call instead. The line at the top then changes to say the code is coming by phone call, and Meta will ring the number in under a minute.
Meta's verification screen with Phone call selected, badge 1 on the confirmation line and badge 2 on the setting
Badge 1 points at the confirmation that Meta is now calling rather than texting. Badge 2 points at the setting that made it do so.When the call comes, you will hear a recorded voice say it is connecting your WhatsApp verification call, and then read out the code. If you bought the number from EzFlow, the call is forwarded to the phone you use for the business, so answer that one. Type the code into the six boxes.
4

If you already pressed the wrong one, wait it out

If you asked for a text message on a number that cannot receive one, Meta makes you wait before you can change your mind.
Meta showing a boxed countdown before another code may be requested
The boxed line tells you how long you have to wait. Read it carefully, because the wait gets longer every time it happens. The first wait is about a minute, the next is about an hour, and after that it can be nearly three hours. There is no way to skip it, so the only thing to do is wait for the countdown to finish and then choose Phone call.
5

Choose your business portfolio

Once the code is accepted, Meta asks which business this number belongs to.
Meta's business portfolio dropdown open, with the field badged 1 and the list boxed in red
Open the dropdown marked 1 and pick your own business from the list, or choose Create a Business portfolio if this is your first time. Do not pick EzFlow’s own entry in that list.
6

Choose the WhatsApp Business account

Meta's WhatsApp Business account dropdown open, with the portfolio badged 1, the account field badged 2 and the list boxed in red
Field 1 is the business you just picked. Field 2 is the new question. If you have never done this before, choose Create a WhatsApp Business account. If you already have one, pick it from the boxed list.Both fields may show a spinner for a few seconds while Meta loads your account. The two circles below mark the spinners. Wait for them to stop before you press anything.
Meta's two account fields loading, with both spinners circled in red
7

Confirm what EzFlow may do

Meta shows you exactly what EzFlow will be allowed to do with your WhatsApp account, which is to send your messages and show you the replies. Read it, then press Confirm.
Meta's review screen listing what EzFlow may do, with the Confirm button circled in red
8

Wait for the connecting screen to finish

Meta showing Connecting your account, this may take a few moments, boxed in red
Meta says Connecting your account. This may take a few moments and shows a spinner. It can genuinely sit there for a couple of minutes.
EzFlow already has what it needs. The moment you pressed Confirm, Meta handed EzFlow a sign-in code, and a few seconds later EzFlow starts connecting the number on its own. You can leave this window open or close it. Nothing is lost either way.
9

Press Finish (optional)

When the spinner stops you will see a screen saying your account is connected. Press Finish to close Meta’s window. It is tidy, not required: EzFlow does not wait for this click any more.
Meta confirming the account is connected, with the Finish button circled in red

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Check it worked

Go back to Settings and look at Your numbers. Right after Meta’s window, the card shows a Registering badge and a blue box saying WhatsApp is finishing the registration. You do not need to press anything or refresh. The card checks itself every ten seconds and turns to a green Active badge, usually within a minute or two. If the button on the card says Waiting for Meta, Meta is still adding the number to your account. EzFlow keeps checking by itself for up to ten minutes. If the card instead still says Setting up and shows the blue box headed This number is not connected yet, the sign-in never reached EzFlow (for example, the page was closed before you pressed Confirm).
A number card that is still setting up, with the This number is not connected yet box boxed and the Finish connecting button circled
Press Finish connecting and go through Meta’s window again. Because your WhatsApp account already exists this time, Meta goes straight to its connected screen, and EzFlow completes the connection seconds after you press Confirm. Once the card is Active, send any WhatsApp message from your own phone to the new number, then press Send test message on its card. One message comes back to your phone, which proves the whole path works before you message a real customer. (WhatsApp only allows a free-form test inside 24 hours of a message from that phone, so the first message has to come from you.)
This used to need three tries, and no longer does. EzFlow used to wait for a final message from Meta’s window that only arrives when you press Finish, and it gave up too early. Now EzFlow completes the connection from the sign-in code alone, so one clean run through the window is enough, and pressing Finish is optional.

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Limits worth knowing before you buy a second number

The business verification card in Settings, saying WhatsApp allows 2 numbers until your business is verified, with the Open Meta verification link
  • Before your business is verified with Meta, your WhatsApp account can hold 2 numbers. After verification it can hold 20. When you are at the limit, Add a number is greyed out and Settings tells you why.
  • Before verification you can send to about 250 customers a day. Verification raises this a lot.
  • An extra number is a paid add-on. Bringing your own number costs RM29 a month for the slot, and a number bought from EzFlow costs RM49 a month. Your first number is free.
  • Changing a number is free once every 30 days across all your numbers (a rolling 30 days from your last free change), and RM49 for any change beyond that.
  • Meta Business Verification needs real documents, usually your SSM certificate with a name and address that match what you gave Meta. It takes days to weeks. Press Open Meta verification on the card above to start it, and start it early.

Settings

Managing numbers once they are connected.

Templates

The next thing to do.