> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/playbooks/upgrade-from-the-whatsapp-business-app.md).

# Upgrade from the WhatsApp Business app

You have outgrown one phone and a few linked devices. Give your team real access and get the conversations in order.

You already have a business number and it already works. It lives in the WhatsApp Business app, on one phone, usually yours. When someone else needs to answer, they open WhatsApp Web on a linked device — same account, same identity, no record of who said what.

That holds up until answering customers stops being one person's job. Then the cracks show: nobody knows which chats have been handled, two people reply to the same customer, everything stops when your phone is off or out of battery, and there is no way to see what is still waiting.

There is nothing wrong with the app. It just runs out of room the moment more than one person is responsible for the service you give.

#### What actually changes

| The app, with linked devices                               | The Inbox                                                   |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Everyone shares one account                                | One login per person                                        |
| No record of who replied                                   | Every reply attributed to a person                          |
| Your phone has to stay on and online                       | Runs in the cloud, independent of any phone                 |
| A limited number of linked devices, re-linked periodically | Add and remove people whenever you need to, unlimited seats |
| Nothing to organise chats with                             | Assignment, tags, saved replies, full search                |
| No way to see what is unanswered                           | Filter to unassigned and clear the queue                    |

Your number does not change. Customers write to exactly the same one and notice nothing.

#### 1. Decide whether you want to keep the app

This is the only real decision, and you should make it before anything else.

**a. Keep the app as well — Coexistence.** Your number runs in the WhatsApp Business app *and* on the API at the same time. Whoever is used to answering from their phone carries on doing it, while the team works the same conversations from the Inbox. During onboarding you can approve sharing your existing chat history, so you do not start from an empty inbox. One condition: the app has to be opened at least once every 13 days to keep the account active.

See [Coexistence](/docs/resources/phone-numbers/coexistence.md) for how it works and [Coexistence Onboarding](/docs/hub/embedded-signup/coexistence-onboarding.md) for the steps.

**b. Move fully to the API.** If nobody needs the app any more, register the number directly and remove the WhatsApp Business app for it. Cleaner, but the app stops being an option for that number.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you are not sure, start with Coexistence. It is the reversible choice — you can stop using the app later, but you cannot casually put a fully migrated number back into it.
{% endhint %}

#### 2. Connect the number and open the Inbox

Enter into [360dialog HUB](https://app.360dialog.com/signup/direct-api) and register your number under Premium licence.

Once the number is on 360dialog, enable the Inbox.. See the [Quickstart](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/quickstart.md) — a couple of minutes.

#### 3. Give each person their own login

This is the step that solves the actual problem. Instead of handing round one account and a linked-device QR code, create a login per person. Everyone sees the same conversations and the same history, and every reply is attributed.

[Add your team](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/quickstart.md#add-your-team)

<figure><img src="https://3527970750-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4sMxKjL6eJRvZn6jeG-887967055%2Fuploads%2FMciJZjKNxwxAfIlGKF7V%2Fimage.png?alt=media&amp;token=060cab7a-1f29-4563-b526-63f357a5be36" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### 4. Agree who answers what

With more than one person answering, assignment is what stops the double replies. The rule is one line: **assign the conversation to yourself before you type.** Anything still unassigned is the shared to-do list, and an empty queue means nothing has been dropped.

[Set up a shared front desk](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/playbooks/set-up-a-shared-front-desk.md) covers this in full, including shift handover.

#### 5. Standardise the answers you all repeat

Opening hours, prices, address, delivery terms. Save them once and the whole team answers the same way, in the same words — which is most of what "consistent service" means in practice.

See [Quick Replays](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/working-chats.md#quick-replays).

#### 6. Get your templates approved early

One thing genuinely works differently from the app: you cannot message a customer whenever you like. Outside an open conversation window, WhatsApp only accepts an approved template. In the app you never noticed this because the app enforces it quietly; on the API it is explicit, and the Inbox shows you the state of every conversation.

Approval is not instant, so get the obvious ones in before you need them: a greeting, an order or booking update, a reminder.

See [The customer service window](/docs/inbox/the-customer-service-window.md) and [Starting and reopening conversations](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/starting-and-reopening-conversations.md).

#### What you end up with

* Nothing sits unanswered without somebody noticing
* Anyone can cover for anyone, because the history is all in one place
* Customers get the same answer to the same question, whoever replies
* Adding the next person takes a minute, not a re-linked device

{% hint style="success" %}
Once the queue is under control, the next step is knowing what each conversation is waiting on — a quote, a payment, a delivery. That is [Run a sales pipeline with tags](/docs/inbox/hosted-inbox/playbooks/run-a-sales-pipeline-with-tags.md).
{% endhint %}


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