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.
Important to know about the status in MyClubPlanner: you can already set up the WhatsApp integration today (you save your Meta details in the application), but at this moment no automatic member messages are yet being sent via WhatsApp by the platform. Which messages (confirmations, reminders, ...) will run over WhatsApp is being rolled out step by step. So don't expect any messages to reach your members simply by filling in the settings.
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?
The WhatsApp integration is self-service: an employee with the rights for Settings arranges this entirely themselves in MyClubPlanner. You do first need a number of things from Meta.
What you need beforehand:
- A WhatsApp Business (Cloud API) account with Meta/Facebook. You set that up outside MyClubPlanner, with Meta itself. MyClubPlanner does not create this account.
- From that Meta account you obtain an Access token and a Phone number ID (and optionally a WhatsApp Business account ID). You simply paste these in afterwards.
- A login with the rights for Settings; without those rights you cannot open the settings page.
Setting up in MyClubPlanner:
- Go to Settings > Integrations.
- On the WhatsApp Business tile, click the Settings button.
- Turn on the Active toggle.
- Fill in the Access token.
- Fill in the Phone number ID.
- Optionally fill in the WhatsApp Business account ID (not required).
- Save. The page then shows the status Active as soon as the toggle is on and both the Access token and the Phone number ID have been filled in.
| Field | What you fill in | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Active (toggle) | Turns the integration on or off | Yes (on) |
| Access token | The Cloud API token from your Meta account | Yes |
| Phone number ID | The ID of your WhatsApp sending number at Meta | Yes |
| WhatsApp Business account ID | Your WABA ID | Optional |
Good to know:
- There is no template configuration on this screen. Here you only fill in the three details and the toggle. You manage approved message templates at Meta, in your own WhatsApp Business account.
- Filling in these details saves your connection, but by itself does not yet start a message flow. It's best to coordinate the actual roll-out of WhatsApp messages to your members with Club Planner support.
- Do you work with multiple clubs? Then you'll see an info icon on each field when a value is inherited from a higher level.
- Keep the GDPR in mind: collect and store your members' consent correctly before you message them via WhatsApp, and respect opt-outs.