What is WhatsApp?
You probably know WhatsApp as the chat app on your phone. For businesses there is a professional variant: the WhatsApp Business Platform (also known as the WhatsApp Business Cloud API), offered by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. So this is not the free app you install on a device, but a messaging channel that your software can drive automatically.
For your club this means you can send your members messages via WhatsApp, the channel they already use every day, as a complement to or alternative for SMS and email. Think of confirmations, reminders and general information.
Two of Meta's rules are important here:
- Message templates: if you want to be the first to reach out to a member (outside of an ongoing conversation), it has to be done through a template that Meta has approved in advance. If a member replies to you, a 24-hour window opens during which you can freely chat back with regular messages.
- Consent (opt-in): you may only message members after they have given their permission. As a Belgian/EU club, that consent must also comply with the GDPR. Meta's rules are the platform minimum, not a substitute for legal advice.
What can WhatsApp do for my club?
In principle the WhatsApp Business Platform is suitable for:
- Sending notifications: reminders (class, appointment, renewal), confirmations, payment or subscription information and general announcements.
- Two-way conversations: receiving and answering questions or requests from members within the 24-hour service window.
- Richer messages: plain text and message templates pre-approved by Meta, more polished than a bare SMS.
- Better visibility than SMS: messages are often read faster and look more polished.
What is WhatsApp used for today? The reactivation agent uses WhatsApp to reach out again to members who haven't visited for a while. Other messages (confirmations, reminders, ...) are being moved to WhatsApp step by step.
Pricing: WhatsApp Business is not free. Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per message sent, depending on the type of template (marketing, utility or authentication) and the recipient's country. Western Europe, including Belgium, is at the higher end of the rate. Meta's official rate list is the only correct source; we deliberately do not give a standalone figure. If you go through an intermediary party (Business Solution Provider) or through additional services, a margin or subscription may be added on top.
How do I set up WhatsApp?
A staff member with Settings rights connects WhatsApp in Club Planner themselves. You don't need your own Meta developer account or access credentials: the connection runs through Club Planner.
- Go to Settings > Integrations.
- On the WhatsApp Business tile, click Settings.
- If no number is connected yet, follow the connection wizard to link your club's phone number to WhatsApp Business.
- Turn on the Active switch and click Save.
What do you see on the settings screen?
- Telephone number: your club's WhatsApp number. Click Disconnect to remove the connection.
- Send test message: enter a mobile number under Mobile Nbr and click Send test message to send a test message.
- Usage this month: the number of WhatsApp messages in the current month.
- Messages: an overview of sent and received messages with date, phone number, status (for example received or read) and any error. An arrow pointing up and to the right is an outgoing message, an arrow pointing down and to the left is an incoming message.
Good to know:
- Club Planner manages the message templates centrally. You don't need to create templates or have them approved by Meta yourself.
- Keep GDPR in mind: collect and store your members' consent correctly before contacting them via WhatsApp, and respect unsubscribes.
Which message templates does Club Planner use?
A template is only needed for the first message to a member who has not contacted the club themselves in the last 24 hours. If the member replies, you can write back freely with regular messages within those 24 hours.
Club Planner provides the standard templates below and automatically chooses which template is used, so you don't select them yourself. Meta has approved them in Dutch, French, English and German. The parameters in double curly brackets ({{1}}, {{2}}, ...) are filled in automatically for each member.
Every template belongs to a Meta category. The category determines the price per message: marketing costs more than utility.
Utility
cp_appointment_reminder_v1: appointment reminder.
"Hi {{1}}, a reminder of your appointment at {{2}} on {{3}} at {{4}}. See you then! Can't make it after all? Reply to this message and we'll reschedule."
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} date, {{4}} time.
Marketing
All marketing templates include the footer "Reply STOP to stop receiving messages" and the buttons "Yes, please" and "No, thanks", unless stated otherwise.
cp_winback_v3: the current default of the reactivation agent.
"Hi {{1}}, this is {{5}} from {{2}}. It's been {{3}} months since we last saw you at the club, and honestly, we miss you a little. That's why we've prepared something special for your restart: {{4}}. Fancy dropping by for a tour or a workout? Just reply to this message and we'll find a time that suits you. Not interested? That's fine too, just let us know."
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} number of months, {{4}} offer (short, e.g. "2 weeks of free training"), {{5}} name of the assistant or staff member.
cp_winback_v2: earlier version of cp_winback_v3, with shorter wording and the same 5 parameters.
cp_winback_v1: first version, with 3 parameters.
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} offer (full sentence).
cp_winback_reminder: follow-up to a winback message.
"... We recently sent you a message and would like to remind you of our offer: {{3}} It is valid until {{4}}. ..."
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} offer, {{4}} end date.
cp_winback_lastvisit: winback that refers to the activity the member used to do.
"... You used to come to us for {{3}} and we miss you a little. {{4}} Would you like to give it another try? ..."
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} activity, {{4}} offer.
cp_noshow_followup: after a missed appointment, with the buttons "New appointment" and "No, thanks".
"Hi {{1}}, we missed you at your appointment at {{2}}. No problem, it happens. {{3}} would be happy to schedule a new time with you. ..."
Parameters: {{1}} first name, {{2}} club, {{3}} staff member.
Test message
testbericht (Dutch only) is used by the test button in the WhatsApp settings: "Dit is een testbericht van {{1}} via Club Planner. ..." Category: marketing.