WhatsApp inbox
The WhatsApp inbox is Novex’s shared workspace for two-way conversations — every message a contact sends to your connected number lands here, and your team replies from the same place. Where WhatsApp campaigns handle outbound template sends at scale, the inbox is for the back-and-forth that follows: answering questions, resolving issues, and picking up replies. You can also start a conversation yourself when a customer reaches out by phone or email.
Before you start
The inbox appears once a WhatsApp Business account is connected — see WhatsApp Business. Until then, the WhatsApp module shows a Connect WhatsApp prompt instead of conversations.
Open the inbox
Open the WhatsApp module. The default view is the shared inbox — a list of conversations, newest activity first, each showing the contact, a preview of the last message, and an unread count. Sub-tabs across the top take you to Accounts, Templates, and Campaigns.
Selecting a conversation opens the thread, pinned to the newest message like a normal chat. Each message shows who sent it — the customer, or the Novex teammate who replied — and day separators break the thread up by date so a long history stays easy to scan. WhatsApp-style delivery ticks show on each outbound message — a single grey check for Sent, a double grey check for Delivered, and a blue double check once the contact has Read it (or a clear Not delivered note on a failure) — so you can see what actually reached the contact rather than only what was sent. Hover a tick for the exact time.
Filter and route conversations
- By number. If your workspace runs more than one WhatsApp number, a Filter by number row lets you switch between All numbers and a single number. Replies always go back out from the number the contact messaged, so each number keeps its own conversation stream.
- By assignee. Use All or Assigned to me to separate the whole inbox from the conversations that are yours. Assigning a conversation to a teammate marks it Assigned to that person, so two people don’t answer the same contact.
The 24-hour reply window
WhatsApp only lets a business send free-text messages within 24 hours of the contact’s last message — this is Meta’s customer-service window, not a Novex limit. Inside the window you can type a normal reply. Once it closes, Novex shows:
The 24-hour reply window has closed. A free-text message may not be delivered — send an approved template instead.
To re-open a conversation after the window, send an approved template from the thread — templates are allowed outside the window, and the contact’s reply starts a fresh 24-hour window.
Send a template into a thread
You don’t have to start a campaign to send a template to one contact. From an open conversation, open the template composer, search your approved templates (with a live preview as you browse), fill the variables, and send it straight into the thread. This is the right tool for a one-off confirmation or reminder, and the only way to message a contact whose 24-hour window has closed — where the composer opens ready for you. The composer works the same when you start a new conversation, which covers it in detail.
Media
- Receive. Inbound images, PDFs, and videos appear inline in the thread; open an attachment to view or download it.
- Send. Attach a file to a reply — a JPG or PNG image, a PDF, or an MP4 video. Other file types are refused with a clear message, and oversized files are rejected before sending.
Link a conversation to your CRM
A conversation can carry two links at once, so the WhatsApp history sits with the right records on both sides:
- A person — link the conversation to a CRM contact. Search your contacts and pick one, or create a new contact right from the chat if the number isn’t in your CRM yet.
- An account — separately, link the conversation to a client or a lead. This coexists with the person link: a thread can be tied to both the individual you’re chatting with and the client or lead they belong to.
Each picker shows a rich label — a contact by name, company, and number; a client or lead by its own identifying details — so you attach the right record at a glance. Clearing a link unlinks it. See Clients and Leads for the CRM side.
Resolve and reopen
Mark a conversation resolved when it’s handled and it drops out of the active list. If the contact writes back — or you send another reply — it reopens automatically:
This conversation is resolved — sending a reply will reopen it.
Tips & limits
- Free-text replies only work inside the 24-hour window; outside it, use a template.
- Replies route back out from the number the contact messaged — check the Filter by number row if you run several numbers.
- Assign conversations so the team doesn’t double-answer.
- Delivery ticks reflect Meta’s real delivery state, not just that Novex queued the message.