WhatsApp Ordering That Writes the Order Into Your System
Ordering in chat means a customer types what they want on WhatsApp and gets a confirmed order back, with no form and no app to download. AeroChat takes the order against your own systems: the menu or product list in a Google Sheet, Square or Toast, today’s stock, an Airwallex payment link, and the order record your team works from.
What happens today
Customers message “2 nasi lemak and 1 teh tarik for pickup at 12” or “10 cartons of the 500ml, same address”. Someone reads each message, checks what is available, works out the total and types it back.
Then the order gets copied into the POS or a spreadsheet by hand. At the lunch rush or on a Monday morning the messages pile up, totals go out wrong, and orders get missed because they sat unread in one person’s phone.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The customer says what they want, in their own words.
- AeroChat reads your menu or product list and today’s stock from your Google Sheet, Square or Toast, and checks that each item is available.
- It confirms the items, options, quantities and total, and suggests the closest alternative if something is sold out.
- It asks whether the order is for pickup or delivery, and takes the address and a name if it does not have them.
- It sends an Airwallex payment link in the chat, if you take payment upfront.
- It writes the order to your Orders Sheet, or creates it in Square, with the items, total, pickup or delivery time and payment status.
- It sends the customer an order summary with the order number.
- Large orders, special requests and changes to a paid order go to your team in the inbox, with the order so far attached.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer wants to place an order, follow these steps.
- Read our product list and today’s stock from the Products tab of our Orders Sheet (example). Only offer items marked available.
- Confirm each item, its size or option, and the quantity. If an item is sold out, say so and suggest the closest available item.
- Add up the total, including the S$5 delivery fee for orders under S$40 (example).
- Ask whether it is pickup or delivery. For delivery, ask for the address and a contact number.
- Send an Airwallex payment link for the total.
- When the payment is confirmed, add a row to the Orders tab with the date, name, phone number, items, total, pickup or delivery time and “Paid”.
- Send the customer an order summary with the order number.
- Hand the conversation to our team if the order is for more than 50 portions (example), if they want a custom item, or if they want to change an order they have paid for.
Never take an order for an item marked unavailable. Never invent a price or a delivery time. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the Sheet name, the delivery fee and the handover size to your own before you paste it. If you run on Square, name your Square location instead of the Sheet.
Connect the systems behind it
- Google Sheets. Built in as the Google Sheets store. Your product list lives in a Sheet, and each order is written back to it as a new row. Connect your Google account to set it up.
- Square. AeroChat reads your item library and stock counts so it only sells what you have, and creates the order in Square for the counter to prepare.
- Toast. AeroChat reads your menu and sold-out items, so guests only order what the kitchen is making today.
- Airwallex payment links. Built in. The customer pays by link without leaving the chat, and AeroChat never sees card numbers.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What it costs on WhatsApp
A customer’s order messages to you are free. AeroChat’s replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are service messages: free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. If you send a ready-for-pickup message after the window has closed, it goes out as a utility template, charged per message. Taking the whole order in a few clear replies, instead of a long back and forth, now saves money. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same ordering workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. It reads the same product list and stock and writes to the same order record, whichever channel the customer used.
Who uses it
- Restaurants and caterers: takeaway, delivery and catering orders taken in the chat.
- Order placement for B2B suppliers: trade customers ordering by message, with stock checked before the order is confirmed.
Questions
Can customers order on WhatsApp without a website?
Yes. With the Google Sheets store, your product list is a Google Sheet. AeroChat takes the order in the chat and writes it back to the Sheet, so you don’t need a website or an online store to start.
Can AeroChat take payment for the order in the chat?
Yes, by Airwallex payment link. Payment links are on the Growth plan and above. Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. AeroChat never sees card numbers and never holds your funds.
What does WhatsApp charge for order messages?
The customer’s messages are free. Your replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. Messages sent after that window must be approved templates, charged per message.
What happens if an item is sold out?
AeroChat checks today’s stock before it confirms anything. If an item is sold out, it says so and offers the closest available item. It never takes an order for an item marked unavailable.
Take your next order in the chat
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: product recommendations and payment links in chat.