Guides/Getting started

Just signed up — where do I begin?

From signing up to your first customer chat: six steps, most of them just clicks. 4 min read

This is the order we suggest for your first day. Nothing here is technical — the technical part is our job.

Register at waco.id/daftar — with an email address or the Sign in with Google button. We verify your mobile number with a WhatsApp code; that same number later receives important alerts (for example, a new customer who has not been answered).

2. Activate your subscription

From the Billing page, choose a plan and pay — the service activates automatically once we receive payment, and your active-until date is always shown on that page.

3. Connect your WhatsApp number

From the dashboard, click Connect number. For most businesses the first route is the one you want:

Your current WhatsApp Business number — staying on the phone (the common route). Already using the WhatsApp Business app? That same number gets connected: you scan a QR code like WhatsApp Web, and chats flow into WACO while your phone keeps working as before. No new number, nothing lost, and your customers notice no difference at all. (A few small things — changing the profile name, for instance — are still done from the phone.)
A dedicated API number — for those who want a new number managed entirely from the dashboard (no phone app): every feature, including editing the profile from WACO.

Number already in use in the WhatsApp Business app? See coexistence mode. Number registered with another platform and you want to move it? See the migration guide. Want your business name to appear officially? See business verification.

What happens on Meta's side (usually the confusing part)

While connecting the number you sign in with Facebook and follow Meta's official flow — that is where your Meta Business account and WhatsApp Business account are created (if you have none, the flow creates them). Three things on Meta's side are worth knowing:

Your Meta business account is managed at business.facebook.com — every Meta-side setting ends up there.
A payment method is REQUIRED before you can send paid template messages (broadcasts, reminders) — add a card in Meta's Billing Hub. Replying to incoming chats within 24 hours does not need it. Full guide, plus the signs billing is not set up.
Business verification (optional, but it lifts limits) — Meta's official walkthrough is in this help article; our short version is at business verification.

Official per-message template rates are on Meta’s rate card — paid directly to Meta, with no markup from us. Pick your market and currency there; our summary is in the cost guide.

Still feels complicated? You do not have to fight through it alone. The Meta side is genuinely the hardest step for most business owners. Email waco@idcloudhost.com or chat to us from the widget on waco.id — we will book a guided session and stay with you until your number is fully connected, billing included. Free, part of the service.

4. Open your inbox

Click Open team inbox in the dashboard — no extra password. Every customer chat lands there, ready to answer from any laptop.

5. Invite your team

One number can be answered by many people at once, and you can see who replied to what — add your staff here.

6. Switch on the automatic bits

Greetings & out-of-hours replies — the Assistant page, free.
Unanswered new-customer alerts — already on by default; read how it works.
Other channels — Instagram DM (one click), website live chat, Telegram: see how.

Once connected, continue to the day-to-day guide — the daily and monthly rhythm of using WACO.

← PreviousDoes my business need WACO yet, or is the free app still enough? Next →Connected — so what does using it day to day look like?

Still stuck after following this guide? Contact us from the dashboard — attach a screenshot if you have one, it speeds everything up.