Setting Up Quick Reply Templates

In this article

Quick Reply templates are your fastest communication tool. While your staff is chatting with a customer, they can type / in the message box and instantly pull up any Quick Reply template — sending a booking form, a pricing link, or a standard answer in under five seconds. Unlike Utility and Marketing templates, Quick Reply templates do not need Meta approval. You publish them and they are ready immediately.

Contents

When to Use Quick Reply Templates

Quick Reply templates work within the 24-hour window — when the customer has recently messaged you and the conversation is active. They are ideal for:

Sending a Mini App booking form while a customer is asking about a pickup
Sharing your pricing page when a customer asks about rates
Sending a standard FAQ answer without typing it out every time
Providing a list of services for the customer to choose from

📝Note: If the customer has not messaged you in over 24 hours, their conversation window will be locked and you will not be able to send any message at all — including Quick Reply templates. Use a Utility or Marketing template to reopen the conversation first.

Template Categories (Optional)

Quick Reply templates support an optional category system — folders to keep your templates organised when you have many of them.

⚠️ Important: If you decide to use categories, every template must have one assigned — including existing templates. If even one template is left uncategorised while others have categories, the uncategorised ones will disappear from view. If you prefer not to use categories at all, simply leave the Template category field empty for all templates.

To set up categories:

Click the Quick Reply tab then click the Template Categories (⚙️) button on the left sidebar

Click + Add Category, enter a name (e.g. Booking Forms, FAQs, Reschedule), and click Save
Assign a category when creating each new template

Pre-Built Template Types

When you click + Add Template under Quick Reply, you choose a template content type. Each type is locked to a specific button behavior — you cannot change the button type after creation.

Plain text -> A message with no button. Good for standard replies and informational messages where no action is needed.

URL action -> A message with a Visit Website button. The customer taps to open a webpage you specify.

Mini App action -> A message with an Open Mini App button. The customer taps to open a booking or order form inside WhatsApp. The most powerful Quick Reply type for service businesses. Learn more about Mini Apps

List action -> A message with a Select Option button that opens a scrollable list of up to 10 choices. Good for service menus or FAQ options.

Reply Buttons -> A message with up to 3 tappable reply buttons. When the customer taps one, that label is sent back to you as their reply.

Media Carousel -> A scrollable set of image cards customers can swipe through. Each card has its own image, body text, and button.

Creating a Quick Reply Template

Click the Quick Reply tab then click + Add Template

Fill in the template details:

Template name — An internal label for your team. Not shown to customers.
Template category — Optional. Assign a category to keep your templates organised. Leave empty if you are not using categories.
Auto-move deal to stage — Optional. Automatically moves the customer to a stage in your sales pipeline when this template is sent. Leave as None if you are not using Deals. [Learn more about Deals — Coming Soon]
Default reply status:
- Replied — Marks the conversation as done and removes it from your Pending list.
- Pending — Keeps it in your Pending list so your team remembers to follow up.

Click Create to open the editor

📝Note: The pre-built template text that appears after clicking Create is a starting point — it is fully editable. Replace the sample wording with your own message. The structure (layout, placeholders, button setup) is what you are reusing, not the exact words.

Configuring the Template in the Editor

📝Note:

At the top right of the editor you will see three buttons

Discard -> reverts your draft back to the last published version of this template.
Send Test -> lets you preview how the message looks on a real device. Since Quick Reply templates do not need Meta approval, you can use Send Test at any time.
Publish -> publish your template directly without waiting for Meta's Approval

Header

Appears at the very top of the message. Options:

None — No header
Text — A short bold title
Image — A photo or banner
Document — A PDF attachment

Body

The main message your customer reads. Keep it short and factual.

To personalise the message, type @ in the Body field and a dropdown list of available placeholders will appear, Click any one to insert it into your message. EasyBiz fills these in automatically with real information when the message is sent. Some commonly used placeholders:

@Customer Name — e.g. Sarah
@Order Number — e.g. #00234
@Order Pickup Date — e.g. Wednesday, 9 April
@Order Pickup Time — e.g. 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
@Order Delivery Date — e.g. Friday, 11 April
@Order Delivery Time — e.g. 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
@Order Amount Due — e.g. SGD 45.00

These are just the most commonly used ones. The system has many more available — customer email, customer phone, store name, order date, order subtotal, and more. Type @ in the Body field to see the full list and pick exactly what you need.

💡 Tip: Start with "Hi @Customer Name," to make every message feel personally written — even when it is sent automatically.

⚠️ Important: Your message cannot end with a placeholder. Always add at least one word or punctuation mark after the last one. Do not use too many placeholders in one template, WhatsApp limits the number allowed.

Footer

A short closing line below the body. Use it for your business name or a brief disclaimer. Cannot contain placeholders.

Buttons / Action Type

For Quick Reply templates, the Buttons section shows a fixed Action type based on the template content you selected. You cannot change the button type after creation. Here is how to configure each type:

Plain text

Plain text templates have no buttons at all. The Buttons section does not appear in the editor — this is intentional.

URL action

URL type — Static sends everyone to the same URL (e.g. your pricing page or online store). Dynamic changes the URL per customer or order. For most businesses, Static is the right choice.
Button text — The label on the button (e.g. "View Pricing", "Book Now", "Visit Our Store").
URL — The full web address the button opens.

💡 Tip: Use Static for fixed destinations like your pricing list or online store. Dynamic is for advanced setups where the link changes per customer, such as a personalised order tracking page.

Mini App action

Mini App — Select which published Mini App to attach. The dropdown shows all your published forms.
Button text — If left blank, EasyBiz uses the Mini App's default label automatically.

[Learn more about Mini Apps]

List action

Button text — The label on the button the customer taps to open the list (e.g. "Select Option", "Choose a Service").
List options — Add up to 10 items. Each item has a title and an optional description. Drag to reorder.

Reply Buttons

Add up to 3 buttons. Each button has a short label (e.g. "Yes", "No", "Book Now"). When a customer taps one, that label is sent back to you as their reply in the chat.

Media Carousel

A Media Carousel shows your customer a horizontally scrollable set of image cards — each card has a photo, a short description, and a button. It is ideal for showcasing multiple services, products, or promotions in a single message.

The Buttons section of the Media Carousel editor contains three configuration areas:

Card source
Set to Manual cards. This means you build each card yourself inside EasyBiz.
Card button type
Choose the button type that will appear on every card. All cards in one carousel share the same button type. Currently available is the URL Button where each card's button opens a webpage.
Carousel cards
The counter shows how many cards you have set up (e.g. 2/10) — minimum 2 cards, maximum 10 cards.

Each card row in the editor contains:

Drag handle (⠿ grid icon on the left) -> drag to reorder the cards
Image upload area -> click to upload the image for that card (required — every card must have an image)
Description field -> enter a short caption for this card (e.g. "Express same-day laundry, ready by 6pm")
Delete button (🗑️ trash icon on the right) -> removes that card

Click + Add card to add another card to the carousel.

💡 Tip: Use 2–4 cards for the best experience. More than 5 cards and most customers will not scroll to the end. Lead with your best offer or most popular service as the first card.

⚠️ Important: Every card must have an image uploaded. You cannot publish a carousel with a card that has no image.

Publishing Your Quick Reply Template

When you are happy with your template, click Publish at the top right. The template is immediately active meaning no WhatsApp review needed. Your staff can start sending it right away by typing / in any active customer chat.

How to Send a Quick Reply Template

Open a customer's chat in your WhatsApp Inbox and click in the message text box
Type / (forward slash), the text box must be empty for the template list to appear — a list of your Quick Reply templates will pop up
Click the template you want to send
If your template contains placeholders like @Customer Name or @Order Number, EasyBiz will ask you to confirm the details before sending. Templates with no placeholders will send immediately, then click Send

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I send a Quick Reply template to a customer who has not messaged recently?

No. Quick Reply templates only work within the 24-hour window. Use a Utility or Marketing template if the window is closed.

2. Can I change the button type after creating a Quick Reply template?

No. The button type is fixed at creation. If you need a different button type, create a new template.

3. Do Quick Reply templates need Meta approval?

No. Click Publish and they are immediately ready to use.

4. What happens if I leave the button text blank?

EasyBiz uses the default label automatically (e.g. "Book Now", "Complete Form", "Visit Website").

5. Why did some of my Quick Reply templates disappear from the list?

If you are using Template Categories, every template must have a category assigned. Templates without a category will not show when others have categories. Either assign a category to all templates or remove categories entirely.

6. What is the difference between Reply Buttons and List action?

Reply Buttons show up to 3 buttons directly below your message — the customer just taps one. List action shows a single button that opens a scrollable list of up to 10 options with descriptions. Use Reply Buttons for simple yes/no choices and List action for longer service menus.

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