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Quick replies for small businesses on WhatsApp: what to save and how

The replies worth saving for WhatsApp are the ones you’ve typed more than three times: opening hours, prices, your address, how to book, and how payment works. Save each as its own short reply, so you can drop it into a chat in one tap and add a personal line on top. Below are eight to start with, and two ways to keep them on your iPhone.

Eight replies most small businesses send every week

Adapt the wording so it sounds like you. These are starting points, not scripts.

  1. Greeting. “Hi, thanks for getting in touch! How can I help?”
  2. Opening hours. “We’re open Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, and Saturday mornings.”
  3. Prices. A short list of your main services and what they cost, or a link to your price list.
  4. Location and parking. Your address, with a link to the map and a line on where to park.
  5. How to book. “You can book here: [your link]. Pick any time that suits you.”
  6. Payment details. How you take payment, and your bank details if you share them by message.
  7. Delivery or turnaround. “Orders usually arrive in 3 to 5 working days.”
  8. A friendly sign-off. “Thanks again, speak soon!”

Keep each reply to one job. A reply called “Prices” is quicker to find than one giant message covering everything.

Option 1: the built-in Quick Replies in WhatsApp Business

If you use the free WhatsApp Business app, it has its own Quick Replies feature. You’ll find it under Business tools in the app’s settings. You write a message once, give it a shortcut, and then type / in a chat to pick it.

Good for: text replies you only ever send inside WhatsApp Business. The catch: they live inside that one app. They won’t help you when the same customer emails you or messages you on another app. If you use the regular WhatsApp app rather than WhatsApp Business, you won’t have them at all.

Option 2: a keyboard that holds your replies

A snippet keyboard keeps your saved replies inside the keyboard itself, so they work in any app with a text field. Handy is a keyboard for iPhone and iPad that holds the replies, links, photos and PDFs you send again and again.

To set it up:

  1. Install Handy and add your replies, or save text from another app with the Share button.
  2. Go to Settings, then General, then Keyboard, then Keyboards, and tap Add New Keyboard. Choose Handy.
  3. In WhatsApp, tap the globe key to switch to Handy, then tap a reply to insert it. Edit it if you like, then send.

If you haven’t added a custom keyboard before, this guide to adding a third-party keyboard on iPhone walks through each step.

The same keyboard then works in Messages, Mail, Slack and other apps, so your replies aren’t tied to one app.

Don’t forget the files

Customers often ask for something that isn’t text: a menu, a price list, a brochure, a map or a photo of your work. Handy can hold those too. Copy the PDF or photo from the keyboard, then paste it into the chat. Copying images and PDFs needs Full Access turned on for the Handy keyboard in iOS Settings. Saved text and links can be inserted without it. There’s more on this in how to paste a PDF or photo from your keyboard.

Pin the replies you use most so they’re always first, and search when you have more than a screenful. Handy is free to use, with up to 20 active items, which is plenty for the eight replies above and a few files. A one-time Pro purchase removes the limits and adds collections, so you can group replies and files by service or client. There’s no subscription.

Which should you use?

You want to… Use
Send text replies only in WhatsApp Business Built-in Quick Replies
Keep a few short phrases as typing shortcuts iPhone Text Replacement
Use the same replies, links and files across apps A snippet keyboard like Handy

Plenty of businesses mix them. For a closer look at the built-in iPhone option, see an iPhone Text Replacement alternative for photos, PDFs and links.

Tips for replies that still sound human

  • Leave a gap for the name. Start with “Hi ,” and fill it in before you send.
  • Add one personal line. A reply plus “Lovely to hear from you again” reads very differently from a pasted block.
  • Check prices and links now and then. An out-of-date price in a stock reply costs you more than the time it saved.
  • Don’t save what you shouldn’t. Keep sensitive details, such as full card numbers, out of any snippet tool.
  • Answer people first. Saved replies are for the repeat questions. If someone asks something new, write a proper answer.

Setting up eight good replies takes about twenty minutes. After that, the questions you answer every day take a tap instead of a paragraph of typing.