New: connect WhatsApp your way in CRM Dost

Jul 21, 2026 · 2 min read

Keep the WhatsApp Business app alongside a shared inbox, or run a dedicated number API-only — how each works and which to choose.

Most teams we talk to already sell on WhatsApp. The trouble is that the conversations live on one or two phones, so when someone is on leave or leaves the company, the history goes with them. CRM Dost now lets you bring your number into a shared team inbox in one of two ways, and you choose which when you connect it.

Option 1: keep the WhatsApp Business app

This is the default, and it suits most small teams. You keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone exactly as you do today, on the same number. One-to-one conversations also appear in CRM Dost, and replies you type in the app show up there too, so the team sees the whole thread whichever side it was answered from.

Because the app stays in charge of the number, some app-only features stay in the app: groups, calls, status updates, disappearing messages and view-once media are not brought into the CRM.

Option 2: go API-only on a dedicated number

If a number is used only for business messaging — a sales line, say, rather than someone's personal phone — you can run it entirely through the WhatsApp Cloud API. The number then works only from CRM Dost: it stops working in the WhatsApp Business app, which is why you are asked to confirm that choice explicitly. To finish connecting, you enter the number's six-digit two-step verification PIN.

What stays the same either way

• You connect your own WhatsApp Business account through Meta’s secure signup, so the number and its conversations remain yours.
• Customers only ever see your business name, never which colleague replied.
• Every chat lands in the shared inbox, where each message is labelled with who sent it.
• WhatsApp conversations are billed by Meta to your own WhatsApp Business account — not by CRM Dost.

Which should you pick?

• Choose the Business app option if the owner still answers customers from their phone, or if the number is also used for things that only work in the app.
• Choose API-only if the number exists purely for the team, and you want every conversation handled from CRM Dost.

Not sure yet? Start with the Business app option. It changes nothing about how you use WhatsApp today, and the team gets the shared inbox straight away.

How to connect

1. In CRM Dost, open Integrations and choose WhatsApp.
2. Select Connect a Number and pick how the number should run.
3. Sign in with Meta and choose the business account and number.
4. For API-only, enter the number’s two-step verification PIN to register it.