WhatsApp works inside ServiceM8 through the official WhatsApp Business Platform from Meta. This guide walks through getting set up with ServiceHQ Chat, the add-on built for this. If you want to compare it with the other tool that connects WhatsApp to ServiceM8, see ServiceHQ Chat and TimelinesAI compared.
What you need before you start
A ServiceM8 account with the Inbox add-on enabled. The Inbox is where WhatsApp enquiries from new customers land. Without it, there is nowhere for them to go. If your ServiceM8 account does not already have it, it is a paid ServiceM8 add-on.
A WhatsApp Business number. This can be the number your business already uses for WhatsApp. You do not have to give it up or tell your customers a new number. On the coexistence route (described below), the WhatsApp Business app on your phone carries on working alongside ServiceM8.
A Meta WhatsApp Business Account. If you already have one, you connect to it during setup. If not, the setup flow creates one. This is the Meta account that owns the number and receives Meta’s own messaging charges.
Coexistence or Cloud API?
There are two ways to connect a number. You choose during setup.
Coexistence keeps the WhatsApp Business app on your phone working. Messages arrive in ServiceM8 and you can still reply from the app. Up to six months of your existing chat history comes across. This suits most trade businesses: your customers carry on messaging the same number, and you carry on using the phone app between jobs while the office also gets access through ServiceM8.
Cloud API moves the number entirely to ServiceM8. The app on your phone stops working for that number. This suits businesses running WhatsApp as a desk tool only, where nobody needs to send from the app.
The choice is awkward to reverse, so it is worth getting it right the first time. There is a separate guide with the full detail: Coexistence or Cloud API: which to choose.
Installing
That link opens ServiceM8, adds the add-on to your account, and asks you to approve the access it needs. It takes about a minute. After that:
- Open the add-on from the ServiceM8 menu and go to Settings.
- Under WhatsApp number, choose coexistence or Cloud API, then press Connect. This opens Meta’s own secure signup to connect your number.
- Once connected, messages from your customers start arriving in your ServiceM8 Inbox.
The trial runs for seven days with everything switched on, including the Chat Assistant. Your card is taken at the start and not charged until the trial ends.
After connecting
The ServiceM8 Inbox shows incoming messages. Each one has a button to convert it to a job and a button to file it against an existing job.
Open any job and the WhatsApp thread for that customer is on the job, visible to anyone on the account.
The Chat Assistant (if you switch it on) drafts a reply each time a message arrives. A person reads it, edits it if they want, then sends or discards it.
What it costs
ServiceHQ Chat is £29.99 a month per business account, regardless of how many people on the account use it. The Chat Assistant is an extra £19.99 a month, added or removed from the Account tab whenever you like.
The first seven days are free. Your card is not charged until the trial ends.
Meta charges separately for WhatsApp Business Platform messages, at its own rates, directly to your WhatsApp Business account. For most trade businesses the first 1,000 replies a month are free per number and that is enough. Full pricing breakdown, including what Meta charges for since October 2026.