How do you run WhatsApp for client accounts under white-label?
WhatsApp for client accounts under white-label is a GoHighLevel WhatsApp integration set up inside each client sub-account, verified under the client’s own Meta Business account, with templates the client owns and the agency manages, so conversations, bookings and follow-up run on the client’s number under the agency’s dashboard brand.
What does running WhatsApp for a client account involve?
Running WhatsApp for a client means the agency connects the WhatsApp Business Platform to the client’s sub-account, gets the client’s business verified with Meta, submits message templates for approval, and then operates the inbox, the automations and the AI replies from the agency side while the client sees everything under the agency’s white-label brand.
What makes this different from an agency running its own WhatsApp number is ownership. The phone number, the Meta Business account and the templates must belong to the client, or the client cannot leave the agency without losing its channel and its message history. Agencies that register everything under their own Meta account create a dependency clients later resent and regulators question.
What is specific to WhatsApp across many client accounts?
The attributes an agency has to manage per client, every time.
| Attribute | What it means for an agency |
|---|---|
| Meta Business account | One per client, verified with the client’s legal documents; the agency is added as a partner, not the owner |
| Phone number | Client-owned number registered to the WhatsApp Business Platform; a number already on the WhatsApp app must be migrated first |
| Templates | Utility, marketing and authentication templates submitted per client; wording approved by Meta, owned by the client |
| 24-hour window | Free-form replies only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message; outside it, only approved templates |
| Opt-in | Recorded per contact in the sub-account before any marketing template is sent |
| Inbox | GoHighLevel Conversations inbox in the client sub-account, worked by the agency or by Conversation AI |
| Billing | Per-conversation platform charges pass through the sub-account wallet; rebilling to the client requires the $497 plan |
How does template ownership work under white-label?
Templates are submitted from the client’s WhatsApp Business account, so they are the client’s asset even when the agency wrote them. The agency keeps a library of approved wording per industry (appointment confirmation, viewing reminder, quote sent, order update) and submits the client-branded version during onboarding.
Utility templates cover confirmations, reminders and updates and can be sent any time to a contact who has a relationship with the business. Marketing templates need recorded opt-in and are the ones used for reactivation and offers. Authentication templates are rarely needed for a service business.
Inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes in, the AI agent or the agency can reply free-form, which is where most bookings happen; the automation is built so that a template opens the conversation and the customer’s reply opens the window.
How do we set up WhatsApp in a client sub-account?
Five steps, and verification is the one that takes days, so it starts on onboarding day one.
Create or connect the client’s Meta Business account
Use the client’s company documents for verification and add the agency as a partner with the permissions it needs.
Register the client’s number
Connect a client-owned number to the WhatsApp Business Platform through the GoHighLevel integration; migrate it off the WhatsApp app first if it is in use there.
Submit the template set
Wire the workflows
Point the client’s confirmation, reminder and reactivation workflows at the approved templates, and set Conversation AI to answer replies within the 24-hour window and book into the client calendar.
Record opt-in and report
Add an opt-in field to every form and intake script, and include WhatsApp conversations, replies and bookings in the weekly client report.
What does the agency have to get right legally?
In the US, WhatsApp marketing messages sit under the same consent expectations as texts, so the agency records opt-in per contact and treats the TCPA of 1991 as the standard even where the channel is not a carrier SMS. Meta’s commerce and messaging policies apply to every template, and repeated rejections or user reports lower the client’s messaging quality rating, which the agency, not the client, will be asked to fix.
Because the agency operates many client inboxes, access control matters: staff see only the sub-accounts they work on, and the client agreement states who may read customer conversations and for how long they are kept.
Common questions about WhatsApp for client accounts
Can the agency use one WhatsApp number for all clients?
No. Each client needs its own number and its own Meta Business account so customers see the client’s name and the client keeps the channel if the agency relationship ends.
How long does Meta verification take?
It varies from a day to a couple of weeks depending on the documents, which is why it is the first onboarding task and why SMS or email carries the early campaigns if needed.
What happens if a template is rejected?
The agency rewrites it to Meta’s category rules and resubmits. Workflows are built only on approved templates, so nothing sends until approval lands.
Who pays the per-conversation charges?
They are drawn from the client sub-account wallet. Automatic rebilling to the client, with or without markup, needs the $497 Agency Pro plan; on the $297 plan the agency funds the wallet inside its fee.