Start a flow
Start a conversation without the customer writing first: from a website form, a new Google Sheets row, a calendar event or a schedule.
What it does#
Start a flow starts a WhatsApp conversation by itself, without the customer writing first. It can start when someone sends your website form, when a new row is added to a Google Sheet, when an event is added to Google Calendar, or on a schedule.
Use it to follow up on leads, send appointment reminders or a daily message. It needs the Pro plan and a connected WhatsApp number. To start conversations from your own system, see Catch Hook.
Set it up#
- 1
Choose What starts this flow
Drag Start a flow onto the canvas and click it. Under What starts this flow, choose Website form submitted, Google Sheets new row, Google Calendar event or Schedule.
- 2
Configure its source
Form: copy the Form link and point your website form at it (see the HTML example below). Sheets: choose the Google account, the spreadsheet and the tab, and Check every (minutes). Schedule: choose Repeat, Time and Time zone.
- 3
Set Who it's for
Under Who it's for, choose Phone from the event and pick the field or column with the customer's phone, or A fixed number with the country code, for example 972500000000.
- 4
Name Event data
Under Event data, keep Save as set to
trigger. Later steps can then use the event's fields, for example{{#trigger.name}}. - 5
Connect the first step
Connect Start a flow to the first step. On the official WhatsApp API, a customer who hasn't written in the last 24 hours can only get an approved template first: click Add a Template step and choose the template. See Templates.
- 6
Try it, then publish
Under Try it, see the latest event, the phone it would message and the next runs. It starts nothing. Then click Publish. Each run appears under Recent runs; click Refresh to update.
<form method="post" action="YOUR_FORM_LINK">
<input name="name" placeholder="Full name" required>
<input name="phone" type="tel" placeholder="Phone" required>
<input name="message" placeholder="How can we help?">
<input name="_gotcha" type="text" style="display:none" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">
<button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>Keep the hidden _gotcha field: it stops spam bots. Each field's name becomes a variable, such as {{#trigger.phone}}.
What your customer sees#
A WhatsApp message from your number, started by the event: for example, a few seconds after sending your website form, Hi Dana, thanks for contacting Blue Clinic! From there the conversation works like any other.
Optional: under Also tell the team, click Add a phone and write a Message so your team gets a WhatsApp when a run starts, for example New lead: {{#trigger.name}} {{#trigger.phone}}.
Common problems#
| Problem | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing starts | The bot isn't published, or nothing connects after the trigger | Connect the first step and click Publish |
| Old rows or events didn't start it | Only new ones count after you publish | Add a new row at the bottom of the tab to test |
| Editing a row doesn't start it | Only new rows count | Add a new row instead |
| WhatsApp needs a template first | The first message isn't a template, and the customer hasn't written in 24 hours | Click Add a Template step and choose an approved template |
| A run shows Failed with no phone | The event has no usable phone | Check Who it's for, and that the field has the number with the country code |
| The form link is damaged. Click New link. | The link is invalid | Click New link, publish, and update your website form |
| Your old form link stopped working | You made a new link and published | Put the new Form link in your website form |
| Write the phone with the country code, for example 972501234567. | The number is missing its country code | Add the country code, without + or spaces |
| Google Calendar event says it's coming soon | Calendar access isn't ready yet | Use a form, Sheets row or schedule for now |
Example#
Website lead follow-up. Choose Website form submitted and paste the Form link into your contact form. Set Who it's for to Phone from the event, field phone. Connect a Templates step that says Hi {{#trigger.name}}, thanks for contacting Blue Clinic! When would you like to come in?, then publish and send a test from the form.