התרגום לעברית נועד לנוחות; הנוסח המחייב הוא האנגלי.
↑ There are three sections: switch in the bar at the top, it always stays in view.
How it works
The whole system in simple diagrams: which parts it has, what each part does, who owns it and what it costs. If anything is unclear, send your questions in any form, and I'll add the answers here.
- 1The whole system in one picture
- 2One message, step by step
- 3Today and after launch
- 4How a business sends WhatsApp messages
- 5Accounts and monthly costs
- 6A phone call that continues on WhatsApp
- 7“Is my piece ready?”
- 8The road to launch
The whole system in one picture
Guests see only WhatsApp, as today. Your team sees only the screen with the chats. Everything else works behind the scenes.
Already yours
Outside service, account in your name
One message, step by step
Today and after launch
| Today | After launch | |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp number | 054-766-0617 | The same number. Guests notice nothing. |
| Who answers first | The CommBox bot with a button menu | The assistant, in normal words, to the guest's question |
| Where the team works | CommBox: one session per user, a second login kicks the first one out | The inbox on phone and computer, a personal login for everyone |
| Who owns the system | A CommBox subscription | Color Café: your server, your accounts, your code |
| Phone call → WhatsApp | CommBox sends the message after the call | The new system sends the same message (diagram 6) |
| Email and website chat | CommBox | Stay in CommBox as today: not part of this project |
| Chat history | In CommBox | A full copy of the old history as a file; new chats in your own inbox |
How a business sends WhatsApp messages
“Don't you need to be, or use, a certified, approved WhatsApp Business sender? Or can we do it straight from our account?”
Straight from your account. Meta runs WhatsApp's business service itself, and it's open to any business directly. CommBox uses this same Meta service today.
A business connects to it through an “app” registered with Meta. There are two ways, and both are the same Meta service with the same rules and prices:
Is this mass sending?
No. Most of the work is answering guests who wrote to you, and those replies are free. When you write first (for example “we're back” or “your piece is ready”), WhatsApp requires a template approved by Meta and charges per message, as it does today. Meta has a daily limit on messages you start: it belongs to your number and business, not to CommBox, and it grows by itself while quality is good.
What Meta asks for
A confirmed business in your Meta Business (business verification). Once I have access, I check whether it's already confirmed. If not: a short form with company documents and a few working days of review at Meta.
Accounts and monthly costs
“What are the hosting requirements, do we need several subscriptions?”
Two new paid accounts, both in Color Café's name: a server and the AI. Everything else is free or something you already have.
New costs in total: about €10–20 for the server, plus the AI by usage, with a limit you set. There's also a free alert service that tells me within minutes if something stops working. CommBox stays until the new system runs steadily and you've accepted it; after that, it's your call.
A phone call that continues on WhatsApp
According to the CommBox report for 30 days, about half of your WhatsApp chats start with a phone call. That's why this path has to keep working on launch day.
For that, on launch day the phone menu has to tell the new system about the caller, instead of CommBox. 019 knows how the menu is set up. From you: one neutral question to 019, without mentioning CommBox or the move. The text is in Hebrew and can be sent as is:
“Is my piece ready?”
Thank you for checking with Ontopo: they have no connection for other systems (API), so the assistant can't read from Ontopo directly. But there's a way without Ontopo. Three levels:
- At launchThe assistant collects details, the team checksThe order number (or name, branch and painting date) in a ready card, so nobody asks the guest again. The assistant prepares the reply to the guest, the team just sends it.
- Possible soonYour own readiness table, the assistant answers itselfThe branches already mark pieces: a black check for out of the kiln, a green one for SMS sent, plus “damaged” and UNLOADED. If those marks live in one shared Google Sheet, the assistant answers “ready / not yet / there's an issue with the piece” by itself. From you: where these marks are kept today (answer 5 on the “What's now” tab, questions 3–4).
- Step 2Full tracking and the “ready” message on WhatsAppEvery piece followed from painting through the kiln to pickup, and the “ready” message sent by itself on WhatsApp instead of SMS groups. A separate project.
The road to launch
- 1Approving scope v2A short “Approved” from Ailene or Oskar.
- 2Admin access to Meta BusinessAt the same time we check where the WhatsApp account sits and how it's billed. The launch date depends on this step.
- 3You open the accountsServer, AI, GitHub, subdomain: about 10 minutes each, with my step-by-step guide.
- 4I set up the live systemThe inbox, the assistant, personal logins for the team.
- 5Tests until you're happyOn the test number, you and the team try it as much as you like; a native Hebrew speaker checks the replies.
- 6Team trainingAbout an hour.
- 7Switch eveningYour team turns off the bot in CommBox following my steps, and the number moves to the new system. Switching back takes a few minutes.
- 8The first weeksI watch every day, with a weekly Hebrew check and report.
I give the launch date as soon as Meta access is in: every step before it moves the date by exactly as long as it waits.