How WhatsApp Payments Work with Inbox

In addition to using Flows, Pabbly Chatflow also allows you to create an order manually for any WhatsApp number directly from the Inbox.

This feature is helpful when you want to send an order message instantly to a customer during a live conversation.

1. Requirements Before Creating an Order

To create an order manually from the Inbox, two conditions must be met:

• The WhatsApp number must exist within the 24-hour customer service window.
  This means the customer must have messaged you within the last 24 hours.
• Only then the “Create Order” option will be functional.

If the customer has not messaged you in the last 24 hours, WhatsApp’s business rules will prevent sending an order message.

If you see “Send Template” button that means the user haven’t message you in last 24 hour that mean you will not able to send the order message

2. Accessing the Create Order Option

1. Go to the Inbox section.
2. Select the chat of the customer for whom you want to create an order.
3. Once the chat is open, look at the right-side panel where you will find the Payment section.
4. Inside the Payment section, you will see a Create Order button.

3. Order Message Types Available in Inbox

When you click the Create Order button, a dialog opens.
This dialog contains a dropdown where you can select an Order Message.

Only these two types appear in the dropdown:

• Custom Product
• Catalog Product

The WhatsApp Cart Order Message type does NOT appear here because WhatsApp Cart works only with the Order Received Trigger Event inside Flows, not with manual order creation.

4. Creating an Order Using Custom Product Order Message

When you select a Custom Product Order Message:

• The dialog shows a list of products with:
  • Product Image
  • Product Name
  • Default Quantity = 1
• You can modify each product’s quantity as needed, but the total combined quantity must not exceed 30.

On the right side, you will see the Order Message Preview, which is exactly what the customer will receive when you send the order.

Once you finalize quantities, click Create Order.
The Order Message is immediately sent to the customer’s WhatsApp number.

Charges Applied to the Order (Tax, Shipping & Discount)

(This applies to both Custom Product & Catalog Product orders)

When you create an order from the Inbox, the pricing rules that you configured inside the Order Message settings are automatically applied to the final amount.
This ensures consistency between Flows, Catalog, Custom products, and Inbox-created orders.

The final order amount is calculated exactly based on:

1. Tax Rate

If a tax rate was set in the Order Message:

• The system automatically applies the same Tax % on the total product price.
• If "Price Inclusive Tax" was enabled, the tax is included inside the product price.
• If not enabled, the tax amount is added separately in the final payable value.

2. Shipping Charges

If shipping charges were enabled:

• The configured flat shipping fee is added to the order.
• This appears both in the preview on the right side and in the customer’s WhatsApp order message.
• Shipping fee also increases the total payable amount visible in the payment link.

3. Discount

If a discount was configured:

• A percentage discount reduces the product total accordingly.
• A fixed discount subtracts the fixed amount directly from the total.
• The discounted amount is reflected in the preview and the payment link.

Payment Link Expiry Behavior

Just like in Flows:

• If you set the expiration time to 300 seconds, the payment link will remain valid for only 5 minutes.
• Once the link expires, the customer must receive a new Order Message to pay again.

Order Message Delivered After Creating an Order

When an order is created from the Inbox using the Create Order button, the system immediately generates an Order Message and sends it to the customer.

This message also appears inside the Inbox conversation so that you can view exactly what was delivered.

The order message contains all the details configured in the selected Order Message. It includes the following structured components:

Order Header

The top section of the message provides a clear summary of the order:

• A Reference ID assigned to the order, used for tracking in both Inbox and Order History.
• The Product Name (1st Product).
• The total number of items included in the order.
• A payment status indicator, which will initially appear as Pending until the customer completes the payment.

Order Total

Below the header, the message displays the Order Total, which is automatically calculated based on the pricing rules defined in the Order Message:

• Product prices
• Applied Tax Rate
• Configured Shipping Charges
• Any Discount applied (percentage or fixed amount)

These values are computed using the exact settings applied when the Order Message was created, ensuring consistent billing across all order creation methods.

Order Description

The central body of the message includes the descriptive text defined in the Order Format and Order Footer field of the Order Message.

Payment Actions

At the bottom of the order message preview inside Inbox, two buttons are displayed:

• Review and Pay
• Pay Now

These buttons shown in the Inbox interface are only visual placeholders that represent how the message will appear to the customer on WhatsApp.

In the actual WhatsApp message that the customer receives, these buttons contain the real payment link generated through the configured payment gateway.

When the customer taps the button inside WhatsApp, they are redirected to the secure payment page.

The payment link follows the expiration time defined in the Order Message (for example, 300 seconds). Once the link expires, the customer cannot use it anymore. A new Order Message must be created to generate a fresh link.

Viewing the Order Receipt

To view the complete Order Receipt for any order, click on the Order Message delivered inside the Inbox conversation. This opens a detailed modal showing the full breakdown of the order, pricing, charges, and product details.

The receipt contains the following sections:

1. Receipt Title and Payment Status

The heading displayed at the top of the document depends on the current payment status of the order:

• “ORDER RECEIPT”
  Appears when the order is created and the payment status is Pending.
• “ORDER INVOICE”
  Appears when the payment is successfully completed and the status becomes Paid.
• “ORDER RECEIPT”
  Appears when the payment attempt has Failed.

In summary, the document is shown as a Receipt for Pending and Failed payments, and as an Invoice only when the payment is successfully received.

2. Business Information (Sender Details)

The “From” section displays the merchant or business details configured in the Order Message:

• Business Name
• Registered Address
• City, State, Postal Code, Country
• Official Email Address

This information helps the customer identify the seller and provides necessary details for invoicing and support.

3. Order Metadata

On the right side of the header section, the receipt displays important system-generated identifiers and timestamps related to the order:

• Date

The date and time when the order was created.

• Reference ID

A unique reference number assigned to every order.
This ID is used for tracking, identifying orders across the system, verifying payment status, and resolving customer queries.

• Order ID

A unique identifier generated for each order using the Order Prefix and Order Number Sequence that you configured while setting up the Payment Gateway.

• Invoice ID

Displayed only when the payment is successfully completed.
The Invoice ID is automatically generated using the Invoice Prefix and Invoice Number Sequence you configured in the Payment Gateway settings.
Before payment is received, this field appears as “–”, because invoices are not generated for pending or failed orders.

4. Itemized Product List

The receipt includes a structured table listing every product included in the order. Each row shows:

• Item Name
  The product name exactly as defined in the Order Message.
• Quantity
  The number of units selected for each product.
• Unit Price
  The price of a single unit of the product.
• Total
  The final amount for that product:
  Quantity × Unit Price

This section allows both the business and the customer to clearly verify the products included in the order.

5. Pricing Summary (Charges Breakdown)

Below the itemized table, the receipt displays a detailed breakdown of all charges that apply to the order:

• Subtotal
  The total amount calculated from all product prices before taxes, shipping, and discounts.
• Tax
  The tax amount applied based on the tax rate configured in the Order Message.
  The system automatically calculates and displays the exact tax value.
• Shipping
  The shipping charges configured in the Order Message.
  This appears only if shipping charges were enabled.
• Discount
  Any discount applied (either fixed amount or percentage).
  The discount is displayed as a negative amount, deducted from the order total.

This breakdown ensures full pricing transparency for both the business and the customer.

6. Final Payable Amount

At the bottom of the receipt, the system displays the final total amount payable, after applying all charges:

Final Amount = Subtotal + Tax + Shipping – Discount

This total matches the amount included in the payment link sent to the customer.