WhatsApp for a trade business: Business app, groups, receipts and GDPR

Yes, most small trade firms should use the free WhatsApp Business app on a separate business number. It adds a business profile, quick replies, greeting and away messages, and labels to sort chats. Run one group per job, keep receipts in their own chat, and remember that business chats hold personal data: UK GDPR applies to them.

What does WhatsApp Business give you that ordinary WhatsApp doesn't?

Tools for handling customers. According to WhatsApp's own business pages, the Business app is free to download and adds:

• a business profile with your description, email, website and address
• a catalogue to show services
• quick replies for answers you send often
• automated greeting and away messages
• labels and lists to sort chats and contacts
• customer notes and basic message statistics

It runs on the same phone number system as normal WhatsApp, so customers don't need anything new. Without multi-agent, you can link up to four devices; WhatsApp's help pages say multi-agent, which depends on a Meta Verified subscription, allows up to 10 so a team can share one number. Bigger firms sending messages at volume use the paid WhatsApp Business Platform, which Meta charges per message, through a developer or partner.

How should a trade firm set it up?

On a business number, with the profile filled in and the away message on before you advertise it.

For ready-made away and missed-call messages, see how to stop missing enquiries on site.

At up to 20 enquiries a day, labels and quick replies were the minimum he needed. What he wanted on top was to answer by voice note and have the written reply drafted for him.

How do you run job groups without chaos?

One group per job, a fixed name, and three rules. A groundworks owner with seven staff and subbies told us he'd had "seven suppliers for a three-day job"; when every supplier, subbie and customer message sits in one long personal chat, things get missed.

Group name: Job number Street, Town Customer surname
Example: 2611 Mill Lane, Thame, Patel

Pinned message:
This group is for the address job only.
1. Changes to the work: post them here and wait for a price before starting.
2. Materials: post a photo of every delivery note and receipt.
3. End of day: one voice note with who was here, hours, what's done.
Customer questions go to name on number.

Keep customers out of the team group. Have a separate chat with the customer for agreed prices and changes, so they don't see internal talk and you have a clean record. For what to capture on site, see recording variations by voice note.

Can you use WhatsApp for receipts and job sheets?

Yes, as a capture point, but not as your filing system. A photo of a merchant receipt posted to a "Receipts" chat or the job group is a good habit. The records still need to end up in your accounts: sole traders must keep business records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year. Chats get deleted, phones break, and engineers leave.

Move receipts into your accounting software weekly, or use a tool that pulls them from WhatsApp for you. For engineers' time and materials, see getting engineers to report from site.

Does GDPR apply to your WhatsApp chats?

Yes. If you use WhatsApp for business, the customer names, addresses, photos and messages in it are personal data and you're responsible for them. The ICO's guidance for employers says that if you use platforms such as WhatsApp for business purposes, you're the controller and must search them for personal information when answering a subject access request, which you must do within one month.

In practice: keep business chats on business phones or the business number, don't share customer details in personal groups, remove leavers from groups, and delete old chats you no longer need. Most small firms also pay the ICO's data protection fee; the ICO says most companies pay £52 or £78 a year. Some clients bar you from sharing photos of their work under an NDA, so check your contracts before photos of a site go into any group.

Can you send offers and reminders on WhatsApp?

Service messages, yes. Promotions need care. Under PECR you mustn't send marketing texts or electronic messages to individuals without consent, unless the soft opt-in applies: they bought or asked about a similar service from you, you offered an opt-out when you took their details, and every message has one.

The ICO says a routine message that contains marketing elements counts as direct marketing, so "Your service is due, and book now for 20% off" is marketing. For service reminder wording, see boiler service reminders.

Common questions