WaDesk SaaS Documentation

What is WaDesk?

WaDesk is a complete WhatsApp business platform that you host on your own server. It rolls five jobs that businesses usually buy as five separate tools into one product you own outright:

• a shared Team Inbox for sales and support, so a whole team can work one WhatsApp number with chat assignment, notes, and a way to stop two people replying at once;
• bulk marketing — campaigns, template broadcasts, and scheduled sends that track delivery, reads, and failures for each recipient;
• a no-code visual flow builder, plus auto-replies, keyword triggers, website chatbot widgets, and WhatsApp Forms for hands-off automation;
• an AI suite — chat assistants trained on your own content, a voice assistant that answers phone calls, and full call logs with transcripts;
• a ready-made multi-client service layer — separate workspaces, subscription plans, 30 payment gateways, free trials, coupons, wallet credits, per-plan feature controls, and white-label branding.

What makes WaDesk so flexible is its three interchangeable sending engines. Every workspace connects WhatsApp through one of them — the Unofficial API (link a number by QR code), the official WhatsApp Cloud API from Meta, or Twilio WhatsApp — and the whole app (inbox, campaigns, flows, templates) adapts to whichever one a workspace uses. Start a client for free on the Unofficial API today and move them to the official Cloud API later, without changing how the app works.

It is built for agencies, SaaS founders, and businesses who want to sell WhatsApp marketing and support as a service — not just use it. Because you host it yourself, there are no per-seat fees and no customer data leaving your own servers.

The Three Engines at a Glance

Choosing an engine is the first real decision you make for each workspace, so here is the honest trade-off. WaDesk supports all three side by side — different workspaces on the same install can use different engines, and the platform admin decides which ones are offered.

One active engine per workspace. Each workspace uses a single engine at a time, and the Devices screen shows only the setup for that one. A few features work on just one engine — for example, native WhatsApp Forms need the Cloud API — and the app handles this for you, so you never hit a dead end. See Connecting a Channel for the full setup of each.

What WaDesk Can Do

A grouped tour of the platform. Each area has its own detailed guide in the sidebar.

Conversations & Team Inbox

• Shared Team Inbox with chat assignment, internal notes, snooze, tags, resolve, saved replies, and a Kanban board view.
• Collision detection (who's viewing and typing) so two agents never reply to the same chat at once, plus auto-assignment rules and response-time timers.
• 1-to-1 chat for direct messages, and an internal Team Chat with @mentions for your staff.

Marketing & Outreach

• Campaigns and template Broadcasts with sending-speed controls, per-recipient delivery / read / failed / queued tracking, and retry.
• Scheduled Messages for one-off and recurring sends at the right local time, and trackable links via the Link Generator.
• Meta Ads — build Click-to-WhatsApp ad campaigns without leaving the app.

Templates & Automation

• WhatsApp Templates — build, check, and submit to Meta for approval, then send with personalized fields, carousels, headers, and buttons.
• Flows — a drag-and-drop visual builder for text, buttons, lists, conditions, delays, AI, Google Sheets/Docs/Forms, appointments, and store actions.
• Auto Reply, a website Chatbot Widget, and native WhatsApp Forms (Cloud API only).

AI Suite

• AI Training — teach chat assistants from web pages, text, and question-and-answer pairs to power the widget and auto-replies.
• AI Call Assistant — a voice assistant that answers phone calls and can run your tools during the call.
• Call Logs — transcripts, recordings, and a timeline of any tools used, for every voice call.

Contacts & Data

• Contacts & Groups — import from a spreadsheet, tag, group, and search.
• Attributes — built-in and custom fields for personalizing templates and flows.
• Analytics and Message History — charts for delivery, reads, and conversions across campaigns and devices.

Multi-Client SaaS & Admin

• Separate workspaces with role-based team access, subscription plans with around 30 feature switches, free trials, and a per-feature paywall.
• 30 payment gateways, multi-currency, coupons, credit packages, and a wallet, all in the Admin panel.
• White-label branding for the whole platform and per workspace (removing WaDesk branding is a plan option), plus two-factor login, role-based permissions, and an audit log.

Start Here: Your First 15 Minutes

If you are brand new, follow this path top to bottom. Each step links to its full guide.

1. Install WaDesk. Run the Web Installer (upload files, create a database, visit your domain). Then complete the post-install checklist — create your admin account and confirm the dashboard loads.
2. Connect a channel. Open the Devices screen and pick an engine. The fastest is the Unofficial API: scan a QR code to link a number. Full steps for all three engines are in Connecting a Channel.
3. Send your first message. Go to Chat, pick the connected device, enter a number you control, and send. Watch the status move to delivered or read — that confirms everything is working.
4. Then explore. Import Contacts, build a Template, run a Broadcast, or wire up a Flow. To understand caps and gating, read Plans & Free Trial.

Testing tip: Always test sends against a number you personally control — never enrol a real audience just to "see if it works". On the Unofficial API especially, aggressive sending to cold numbers is a fast path to a WhatsApp ban.

Who It's For

• Marketing agencies — run WhatsApp marketing for many clients, each in an isolated workspace, billed on a plan.
• SaaS founders — launch a WhatsApp marketing/support SaaS out of the box, with plans, payments, trials, and gating already built.
• Sales & support teams — share one number across the whole team with assignment, notes, and SLAs.
• E-commerce stores — send order updates, recover carts, and answer buyers, with Shopify / WooCommerce integration.
• Developers & resellers — white-label the platform, customize it, and resell access on your own infrastructure.

Next up: read the Introduction for the full engine model, how separate client workspaces work, and how the main app, the helper service, and Meta/Twilio fit together.