What you'll achieve
Your sales team is losing high-intent leads in the gap between chat and conversion. Prospects who respond to WhatsApp ads, browse your catalog, or start a conversation often need a human touch to cross the finish line — but asking them to call a separate number, open a different app, or wait on a ticket queue introduces friction that kills momentum fast.
This guide shows you how to use WhatsApp Business Calling inside Wati to add a full two-way voice sales channel to WhatsApp. Leads can call you directly by tapping a CTA in a broadcast, catalog message, or ad. Your operators can call leads with one click once permission is granted. Either way, the call happens inside the same WhatsApp thread — no dialer, no context switch, no channel hop.
Businesses that add calling to their WhatsApp workflows see 30% faster conversion, 10–15X higher revenue versus web leads, and 28% higher customer retention. Praja, for example, drives 20% of its daily traffic through WhatsApp Calling, turning browse-and-abandon moments into live conversations that close in real time.
By the end of this guide, you'll have WhatsApp Calling fully configured in both directions — inbound enabled so leads can call you from any CTA, outbound permission requests automated, contact-owner routing live, and every call logged to your CRM.
The short version
To add a two-way voice sales channel to WhatsApp and start converting high-intent leads over voice:
Enable calling in Settings → Team Inbox Settings → Call and toggle on "Enable WhatsApp Call" for your business number.
Turn on "Allow Customers to Call Your Business" so leads can call you directly from any broadcast CTA or catalog message — free, no permission needed.
Fund your Wati wallet (minimum ₹500 / $10) to enable outbound calls.
Send a call permission request to your lead and click "Call customer" once they approve.
Test both directions — have a lead call in via a CTA, and place a test outbound call — then confirm both appear in Team Inbox → Call Logs.
Continue reading for detailed setup instructions and strategic best practices.
When to use this guide
Use this if:
You're on a Growth, Pro, or Business Wati plan and want to place outbound calls to leads directly from WhatsApp conversations.
Your sales reps are losing deals to slow chat follow-ups and need a one-click way to escalate high-intent conversations to voice.
You want to run outbound WhatsApp calling as a trackable, revenue-attributed sales channel — with routing, recording, and CRM sync.
You run lead-gen campaigns via WhatsApp broadcasts or ads and want to add a Call-Back CTA that routes directly to the owning operator.
You want to add an inbound voice channel so high-intent leads can call you directly from broadcasts, catalog messages, or WhatsApp ads — free, no permission needed, available globally.
Do NOT use this if:
Your Wati account was onboarded via Coexistence — calling is incompatible with this setup and requires migrating to standard Cloud API onboarding first.
Your business phone number is registered in the USA, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam, or Nigeria and you need to make outbound calls — Business-Initiated Calls are blocked in these countries by Meta regardless of plan.
Note: inbound calls from leads are available globally with no country restriction.
You're trying to resolve customer issues or handle post-sale support over voice — that's a support workflow. See the Resolve Complex Support Issues Faster with WhatsApp Calling guide instead.
Limitations
Before you invest setup time, confirm your account meets these requirements:
Plan required: Growth, Pro, or Business.
Coexistence incompatibility: Accounts onboarded via Coexistence cannot use calling at all.
Outbound country restrictions: Business-Initiated Calls (BIC) are unavailable if your business number is registered in the USA, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam, or Nigeria. Inbound calls (leads calling you) are available globally with no country restriction and are always free.
Meta messaging throughput gate: Your account must have a minimum throughput of 2,000 business-initiated conversations in a rolling 24-hour window to qualify for Meta's Calling API.
Permission rate limits: Maximum 1 permission request per contact per 24 hours, and no more than 2 requests in any 7-day period.
Daily call cap: Maximum 5 connected outbound calls per contact per 24 hours once permission is granted.
Auto-revocation: After 4 consecutive unanswered calls, the customer's call permission is revoked automatically.
API access to call data: Wati provides dedicated API endpoints to retrieve call logs, recordings, transcripts, and summaries for calls handled within Wati's infrastructure — individually (
GET /api/ext/v3/calls/{call_id}/recording,/transcript,/summary) or in batch. Webhooks for call events (inbound, outbound, status, termination, permission) and call signaling APIs for CRM/portal integration are also available (Pro+ only, enabled on request by contacting your CSM or Wati support).CRM call-logging limitation: HubSpot/Zoho call logging only captures calls made from the Wati web app, not from mobile. Operators making calls they want CRM-logged should use the web platform.
Concurrent call limit: One operator handles one call at a time; max 1,000 inbound and 1,000 outbound concurrent calls per business number.
Before you begin
Wati plan: Growth, Pro, or Business (confirm in Settings → Billing)
Wallet funded: Minimum ₹500 (INR accounts) or $10 (USD accounts). New accounts receive $1 in trial credits (~10 minutes of outbound calling)
Business phone number: Registered in a BIC-supported country (not USA, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam, or Nigeria)
Meta messaging throughput: At least 2,000 business-initiated conversations per 24-hour rolling window
Account onboarding type: Standard Cloud API onboarding (not Coexistence)
Permissions: Admin access to Wati Settings
Estimated setup time: 10–15 minutes for initial configuration
Key concepts
BIC (Business-Initiated Call)
An outbound call placed by your business to a customer. Requires the customer to have previously granted call permission. Subject to country restrictions based on your business number's registered country code. Billed per connected minute from your Wati wallet.
UIC (User-Initiated Call)
An inbound call placed by the customer to your business. Available globally, always free, and requires no prior permission. Does not grant your business BIC permission in return.
Call Permission Template
A Meta-billed utility message template sent to a customer requesting consent to receive calls. The customer can approve indefinitely, approve temporarily for 7 days, or deny. This permission step is required before you can place any outbound call.
How it works
WhatsApp Calling lives entirely inside Wati's Team Inbox — the same interface your operators use for chat. There are two paths to a sales call:
Inbound — lead calls you
Lead taps "Call us" CTA, deep link, broadcast, or WhatsApp profile
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Call arrives in Wati Team Inbox (UIC · free · no permission needed)
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Operator answers with full conversation history visible alongside
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Issue discussed and resolved over voice
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Call ends · logged automatically with timestamp, duration, and operator name
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Recording, transcript, and AI summary sync to CRM (Pro/Business)
1. Lead initiates a call
The lead taps a "Call us" button or deep link in a broadcast, catalog message, or ad, or calls directly from your business profile on WhatsApp. No permission needed — the call arrives as a UIC, free of charge.
2. Operator answers
A notification alerts the operator, who picks up from Team Inbox with full conversation history visible alongside the call.
3. Call ends and is logged
Timestamp, duration, and operator name are saved to Call Logs. On Pro/Business with Auto Record enabled, the recording, transcription, and AI summary attach to the thread and sync to your CRM.
Outbound — you call the lead
Operator sends permission request (free-form or auto-triggered template)
↓
Lead approves (indefinitely, 7 days, or denies)
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Operator clicks "Call customer" in Team Inbox
↓
Call connects via Meta's infrastructure · full chat history visible
↓
Call ends · logged automatically with timestamp, duration, and operator name
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Recording, transcript, and AI summary sync to CRM · wallet billed per connected minute
1. Permission request sent
When the lead's chat window is open, the operator sends a free-form permission message. When closed, the system auto-triggers a call permission template.
2. Lead approves
The lead can allow calls indefinitely, for 7 days, or deny. Until they approve, no outbound call can be placed.
3. Operator places the call
Once confirmed, the operator clicks "Call customer." The call connects via Meta's infrastructure as an active call dialog in the Wati browser, with full conversation history visible.
4. Call ends and is logged
Timestamp, duration, and operator name logged. On Pro/Business, recording, transcription, and AI summary auto-attach and sync to your CRM. Wallet billed per connected minute — unanswered and busy calls are not charged.
Step-by-step setup
Step 1: Activate WhatsApp Calling
Goal: Enable the calling feature on your Wati account.
Steps:
Go to Settings → profile icon → Team Inbox Settings → Call → select your business phone number → toggle on "Enable WhatsApp Call."
Result: WhatsApp Calling is activated for your number and additional configuration toggles appear.
Step 2: Enable Inbound Calling and Configure Call Behavior
Goal: Open your inbound voice sales channel and configure auto-permission for outbound.
Steps:
In the same Call settings panel:
Toggle on "Allow Customers to Call Your Business" — this makes the call icon visible to leads in their WhatsApp conversation. They can call you directly from any broadcast CTA, catalog message, or chat thread, free of charge, with no permission step required.
Toggle on "Allow Auto Permission Requests" to automatically send a permission request after a missed outbound call.
Result: Your inbound voice channel is live and the auto-permission workflow for outbound is active.
Step 3: Enable Call Notifications
Goal: Ensure your operators are alerted to incoming calls in real time.
Steps:
Navigate to Manage Notifications → Call and activate both notification toggles.
Use the Available to take calls toggle to control your status:
Turning it off hides all call notifications and automatically silences the ringing sound.
If you want to remain available but mute the sound, clear the highlighted checkbox.
This lets you receive visual notifications without the audio alert.
Result: Operators receive browser notifications when inbound calls arrive.
Step 4: Request Permission and Place Your First Outbound Call
Goal: Obtain customer consent and execute your first outbound sales call.
Steps:
Open the lead's conversation in Team Inbox.
When you click the call button, you’ll be prompted to send a permission request.
If the chat window is closed, the request uses a call permission template (a utility template billed by Meta).
If the chat window is open: send a free-form permission request message.
Once the customer approves (visible in the Request Accepted view), click "Call customer."
Result: The call initiates through Meta's infrastructure. The active call dialog appears in the bottom-left of your Wati browser with full conversation history visible alongside.
Step 5: Review Call Logs and Monitor Wallet Balance
Goal: Confirm calls are being captured and your wallet remains funded.
Steps:
Click the Call icon in Team Inbox → view Missed Calls and All Call Logs.
Navigate to Wallet → Pricing Overview to review per-country rates and current balance.
Result: Full call history is visible with operator attribution. Wallet status is confirmed above minimum thresholds.
Using WhatsApp Calling on the mobile app
Once calling is enabled on your account (Steps 1–5 above), your operators can make and receive calls directly from the Wati mobile app — no additional account-level setup needed.
Heads up: Calls made from mobile are not logged to HubSpot or Zoho CRM. If CRM logging matters for a call, use the web app instead.
Requirements
Wati mobile app version 3.43.1 or later (iOS or Android)
Device notification permissions enabled
Enable call notifications on your device
iOS: Open the Wati app → grant notification permissions when prompted → select Always Allow to receive calls in the background.
Android: Open Wati → go to the Calls section → tap Open Settings when prompted → enable full-screen notification permissions for incoming calls.
Make an outbound call
From Call Logs: Tap Calls in the bottom navigation → find the contact → tap the Call icon. If permission is already granted, the call starts immediately. If not, tap Send Request to request it first.
From a chat: Open the contact's conversation in Team Inbox → tap the Call icon in the top-right corner.
Find contacts with permission ready
Tap the filter dropdown in the Calls section → select Request Accepted → tap Apply.
This shows only contacts who have already granted permission, so operators can dial with confidence.
Manage your call availability
To stop receiving incoming call notifications on mobile: Settings → Notifications → Calls → toggle off Availability to take calls.
Call activity syncs automatically between the mobile app and the web platform, so logs stay consistent regardless of where the call was made.
Here are some examples by industry
E-commerce: A customer browses a WhatsApp catalog and adds an item to their cart but doesn't check out. Instead of sending another text nudge, the business sends a broadcast with a "Give me a call back" CTA — the customer taps it and calls in directly (a UIC: free, no permission needed), and an operator answers within the same thread to handle sizing, shipping, or payment questions live. The sale closes before the interest fades.
EdTech: A parent messages in from a WhatsApp ad asking about fees, curriculum, or scholarships — too many nuanced questions to resolve in chat without a long back-and-forth. The admissions counselor sends a permission request and calls the lead directly from the same conversation. With contact-owner routing enabled, it's the same counselor who's been chatting that picks up — the lead doesn't have to re-explain themselves, and enrollment closes in a single call.
Travel & Hospitality: A traveler messages about a trip and receives a catalog reply with a "Call us anytime for all your travel questions" CTA. One tap and the customer calls in directly — an operator answers to discuss itinerary, pricing, and availability, instead of stalling out in a slow chat exchange on a high-value, multi-day booking.
Real Estate: A lead chats in about a property. The operator sends a permission request and calls to confirm site-visit timing and answer last-minute questions in real time — turning what would be a week of follow-up messages into a two-minute conversation.
BFSI & Professional Services: A prospect submits a WhatsApp inquiry about an insurance policy, loan, or financial advisory service. The details are sensitive enough that neither side wants to type them out. The operator requests a call, and the Verified Business Badge reassures the client they're speaking to the actual firm. The call is recorded and summarized automatically, with the AI summary logged to the CRM — no manual notes, full audit trail.
Confirm it's working
To confirm your setup is working, place a test call to a permissioned contact.
You should see:
The Call customer button available in eligible conversations.
The call dialog appear in the bottom-left corner of the browser when a call is placed.
The completed call appear in Team Inbox → Call icon → All Call Logs with the correct timestamp, operator name, and duration.
The per-minute charge reflected in your Wallet balance after the call.
Success looks like: an operator can place or receive a call from Team Inbox without leaving the conversation, and the call record is automatically added to the call logs.
Pro tips for success
The Permission-First Play: Send your call permission template before your product pitch or offer. Leads who opt in are self-identifying as high-intent — calling them first maximizes your connected rate and ensures you're not spending wallet balance on contacts who'll never pick up.
The Broadcast-to-Call Bridge (Inbound): Embed a Click-to-Call deep link or a "Call us" CTA button in your highest-performing broadcasts — price drops, limited-time offers, re-engagement campaigns. When a lead taps it, they call you — it's an inbound call (UIC): free, globally available, and no permission step required. High-intent leads self-select into a live sales conversation without any operator outreach needed.
The Owner-Routes-the-Call Play: Enable contact-owner-based routing (Pro/Business) so the rep who built the relationship in chat is also the one who picks up the phone. This eliminates "who are you?" friction and dramatically increases the chance of closing in a single conversation.
The Close-and-Log Play: Turn on Call Recording and AI Summary (Pro/Business) so every sales conversation auto-populates your CRM with what was discussed, what was promised, and what the next step is — no manual notes, no lost context, and a clear audit trail for every deal.
Troubleshooting
Why isn't the "Call customer" button showing up?
Possible causes
The contact has not granted call permission yet.
Permission was revoked after 4 consecutive unanswered calls.
The operator is not assigned to the team that owns the contact.
Resolution
Open the contact's conversation and check the permission status in the Request Accepted view.
If permission expired or was revoked, send a new call permission request (subject to the 1-per-24-hour rate limit).
Verify the operator's team assignment matches the contact's owning team in Settings.
Why aren't my operators receiving incoming call notifications?
Possible causes
Notification toggles in Manage Notifications → Call are not enabled.
Resolution
Go to Manage Notifications → Call and activate both notification toggles for the affected operator.
Why is outbound calling blocked even though the feature is enabled?
Possible causes
The business phone number is registered in a restricted country (USA, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam, or Nigeria).
Wallet balance is below the minimum threshold (₹500 / $10).
The account was onboarded via Coexistence.
Resolution
Confirm your business number's registered country is not in the restricted list — this is a Meta-level block and cannot be overridden in Wati.
Check wallet balance in Settings → Wallet and top up if below minimum.
If your account uses Coexistence onboarding, contact Wati support to explore migrating to standard Cloud API onboarding.
Why did my permission request get blocked?
Possible causes
You've already sent 1 permission request to this contact within the last 24 hours.
You've sent 2 or more requests within the last 7 days.
Resolution
Wait for the rate limit to reset (24 hours for the daily limit, 7 days for the weekly limit).
If the customer initiates a call (UIC) in the meantime, use that open service window to discuss their needs — note that a UIC does not grant you BIC permission.
Why is my CRM not logging calls placed from the mobile app?
Possible causes
HubSpot and Zoho CRM call-logging is only triggered by calls made from the Wati web app, not mobile.
Resolution
Ensure all operators making CRM-logged calls are using the Wati web platform.
For mobile-only operators, manually log call notes to the CRM until mobile CRM sync is supported.
🚀 What's next
Now that WhatsApp Calling is live, your next step is to automate permission re-acquisition so your outbound calling access stays active at scale — no manual follow-up needed.