Communication
Omoplata connects directly to WhatsApp. You link your club's WhatsApp number, and from then on incoming messages land in the Omoplata Inbox, your team answers them together, and you can message individual members or leads straight from Omoplata.
The connection runs on Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) — not on a tool that remote-controls WhatsApp Web. That means no risk of your club number being banned, but also the limits Meta imposes (see Groups and Communities).
What Omoplata can do with WhatsApp
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Your own club number | You connect your own number. Your members still see your club's name and number. |
| Alongside the WhatsApp Business app | Using so-called Coexistence, you can keep using the same number on your phone in the WhatsApp Business app and in Omoplata. Messages you send from your phone also show up in the Omoplata Inbox. |
| Shared inbox | Incoming messages land in the Inbox. Several trainers see the same conversation, can assign it to each other, leave internal notes and mark it done. |
| Message a member | You can send a WhatsApp message to a specific person straight from Omoplata. Replying to an enquiry is free; if you start the conversation, Meta charges for the message (see costs). |
| Delivery and read receipts | Every message you send shows whether it was delivered and read — or why it never arrived. |
| AI assistant | Optionally, an assistant answers standard questions automatically (see AI assistant). |
Connecting a number
Setup lives under Settings > Integrations in the WhatsApp section.
Connect with Meta
Click Connect with Meta. You are redirected to Meta, sign in with your Facebook account and pick the WhatsApp Business Account and the number you want to connect.
Pick the number
If more than one number comes back, Omoplata shows a picker so you decide which one is connected. With a single number this happens automatically.
Verify the number
If the number is not yet verified with Meta, you can verify it right inside Omoplata: request a code by SMS or phone call and enter it.
Done
From now on, incoming messages land in the Inbox, and you can reply from there.
Number already on the WhatsApp Business app?
This is the route we recommend
If your club number already runs on the WhatsApp Business app, connect it through Coexistence rather than moving it away. You keep the number, keep the app on your phone, and keep answering there exactly as before — Omoplata simply joins in alongside it. Nothing about your day-to-day changes and nothing has to be migrated.
Use the "Already on the WhatsApp Business app?" link instead of the normal button. Meta then starts the Coexistence flow: during setup you scan a QR code with the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, and afterwards the number runs on both at the same time.
Meta's requirements: WhatsApp Business app v2.24.17 or newer, the number in use on the app for at least 7 days, and the phone must open the app at least every 14 days to keep syncing.
Number already with another provider?
If your number already runs with another WhatsApp provider (Twilio, 360dialog, respond.io …), use the normal "Connect with Meta" button — not the Coexistence link.
Turn off the two-step PIN first
Before moving a number away from another provider, you must disable two-step verification (the 6-digit PIN) there. Otherwise Meta blocks the migration and the number stays stuck as "pending".
Approved message templates, display name, quality rating and your messaging limit migrate automatically.
What WhatsApp messages cost
An important distinction: WhatsApp message costs are charged by Meta, not by Omoplata. They are billed to you directly through your WhatsApp Business Account. Omoplata adds no per-message markup.
Free: replying within 24 hours
As soon as somebody messages you on WhatsApp, a 24-hour window opens (the customer service window). Inside that window you can send free-form messages to that person free of charge and without limit.
That is the everyday case in a club: a lead asks about a trial class, a member asks about training times — you reply, and it costs nothing. Every new message from that person restarts the 24-hour window.
Paid: conversations you start
If you want to message somebody who has not just written to you — or the 24-hour window has expired — Meta requires a pre-approved message template, and the message is billed. Meta distinguishes three categories:
| Category | What it's for | Club example |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Messages about an ongoing matter | Reminder about a booked trial class, notice about a failed payment |
| Marketing | Promotions, offers, re-engagement | Seminar announcement, discount campaign, "we miss you" message |
| Authentication | One-time codes | Login confirmation |
Prices for Germany
Meta bills per delivered template message, and the price depends on the recipient's country. Germany is one of the most expensive markets worldwide. Approximate rates (as of August 2026):
| Category | Price per message (Germany) |
|---|---|
| Marketing | approx. €0.1131 |
| Utility | approx. €0.0456 |
| Authentication | approx. €0.0456 |
| Replies inside the 24-hour window | free |
For context: a marketing announcement to 200 members costs roughly €23. The same information sent as a reply to an incoming question costs nothing.
Prices change
Rates are set by Meta and adjusted regularly. The binding, current rates are always in Meta's official price list:
Message templates
Every template has to be reviewed and approved by Meta in advance — usually within minutes to a few hours. Templates can contain placeholders (first name, class name, date) that Omoplata fills in when sending. Marketing templates require the recipient's opt-in.
Get in touch if you want to set templates up — we go through which ones make sense for your club, how they need to be worded to get approved by Meta, and set them up with you. Write to hallo@omoplata.de or contact us through the support channel in Omoplata.
Groups and Communities
A frequent question: "Can Omoplata add new members to the right WhatsApp group or Community automatically?"
Short answer: no — and that is down to WhatsApp, not Omoplata. Meta deliberately opens its business interface almost exclusively for 1:1 chats:
- Communities have no interface for outside software at all.
- For groups there has been an official interface since June 2026, but with a maximum of 8 participants per group — and only for groups created through that interface in the first place. Your existing parents', kids' and adults' groups from the WhatsApp app are simply invisible to Omoplata.
- Nobody can be added to a group by software. WhatsApp only allows an invite link that the person taps themselves. That is a deliberate privacy decision by Meta.
Third-party tools do get around this by remote-controlling WhatsApp Web. They violate the WhatsApp Terms of Service and regularly get numbers banned. We would never build that into your club's main number.
The alternative: groups in Omoplata
Everything you use WhatsApp groups for, Omoplata already does itself — with none of Meta's limits, and at no cost per message.
You create as many groups as you like: one for the parents, one for the Bambini, one per age group, one for the adults, one per class. Group threads are permanent, so the same group keeps its whole history in one place instead of a new broadcast every time.
| What you get | How it works |
|---|---|
| Unlimited groups, unlimited participants | No 8-participant cap, no approval, no per-message charge. |
| Pick recipients by criteria | Assemble a group by class, discipline, members or trainers — instead of adding phone numbers one at a time. |
| Three channels at once | When composing, choose whether the message goes out as an in-app message, a push notification and/or an email. The same message, whichever way your members actually read things. |
| Members can reply | It's a real conversation, not a one-way broadcast. Replies land back with your team. |
| No phone numbers are exposed | Members see names, not each other's numbers. |
Your members see all of this in the club app — either the standard Omoplata app, or your own branded club app with your icon and your branding (see Member app) — and in the member portal in the browser.
For a pure announcement channel — the "general info" group that nobody should reply in — use the News feed instead: you target it at segments and it goes out as a push notification to the app.
See Messages for how group threads work day to day.
A privacy note
In a WhatsApp group, every participant sees everybody else's phone number. For parents' and children's groups that is legally delicate. Groups in Omoplata avoid it: members see names, not numbers.
AI assistant (chatbot)
Optionally, an AI assistant can answer incoming WhatsApp messages automatically. It is not just an FAQ bot: it reads your club's real data and can get things done.
Answer questions
- Training times and class schedule, per venue if you like
- The martial arts and disciplines your club teaches
- Prices and membership plans
- Address, directions and opening hours
- How the trial class works and what the conditions are
Get things done
- Book, reschedule or cancel a trial class — including children, with the guardian's details
- Ask qualifying questions you define yourself first (e.g. "Do you have any martial arts experience?"), with follow-ups depending on the answer
- Create new leads in Omoplata
- Tell existing members about their membership status
- Pause a membership (up to a maximum duration you set)
- Send links, e.g. to the sign-up form
Hand over to a human
The assistant recognises when it can't help and assigns the conversation to a person. You define your own handover triggers (e.g. complaints, injuries, cancellations).
What you can configure
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Name and tone | What the assistant is called and how it writes (casual, factual, warm …). |
| Transparency | Whether and how the assistant discloses that it is not a human. |
| Knowledge base | Free text for everything else your club has to explain — parking, dress code, holiday rules. |
| Active hours | The window in which the assistant replies. Outside it, the message waits for your team. |
| Handover triggers | Topics where a human takes over immediately. |
| Limits | Maximum replies per hour and maximum number of turns per conversation. |
Interested in the AI assistant?
The AI assistant is currently the only Omoplata feature that is charged separately — every other feature is included in your plan. We tell you what it costs before you switch it on.
It is also set up together with you: we go through what it should know and do, and test it with your real questions. Just write to hallo@omoplata.de or contact us through the support channel in Omoplata.
Related topics
- Messages — the internal messaging channel between your team and members
- Notifications — automatic emails to members
- Managing leads — what happens to the leads the assistant creates
- Integrations — other connections to external services