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How WhatsApp ordering works, from a customer's message to a confirmed order

· 5 min read

Your customers already message you on WhatsApp — usually while your hands are covered in flour. With WhatsApp ordering, SweetMargins answers them for you, collects everything you need to know, and writes the order up. All that's left for you is one tap to confirm. Here's exactly how it works, step by step.

The big picture

There are three of you in the conversation: your customer, SweetMargins, and you. SweetMargins sits in the middle, doing the back-and-forth so you don't have to stop what you're doing.

Every message goes through one SweetMargins WhatsApp number, so there's nothing to install and you don't need a WhatsApp Business account. Your customers still see your bakery's name in the messages, so they always know who they're ordering from.

Step by step: one real order

Let's follow Sarah, who wants two dozen chocolate chip cookies from Sweet Euphoria.

  1. Customer

    Step 1: Sarah taps “Message us on WhatsApp”

    The button sits on your quote page — the link you share in your Instagram bio, on Facebook, or wherever customers find you.

    Tapping it opens WhatsApp with a message already typed out, including your bakery's name and a short reference code. That's how we know the order is for you. Sarah just adds what she'd like and presses send.

    Your quote page, with the green WhatsApp button.
  2. Behind the scenes

    Step 2: We gather the details

    We read the message and look for three things: who it's for, what they want, and when they need it.

    If anything's missing, we ask for it — all in one message, not a string of questions. Words like “next Saturday” are turned into a real date on your calendar, and any photos they send (like a cake they love) are saved with the order.

    Sarah's phone

    If something's missing, we ask for it all in one go.
  3. Customer

    Step 3: Sarah gets an instant reply

    As soon as we have everything, Sarah hears back — no waiting for you to come out of the kitchen.

    At the same moment, the order appears in your Orders list in SweetMargins, and the bell in the app lights up.

    Sarah's phone

    Your customer knows straight away that the order was received.
  4. You

    Step 4: You get the order on WhatsApp

    No app to open, no form to fill in. You get a WhatsApp message with the order summary and two buttons: Confirm and Decline.

    If you already have other orders due that day, we mention it right there — so you don't say yes to a day that's already full.

    Your phone

    The order summary, with buttons to answer in one tap.
  5. You

    Step 5: You answer however suits you

    Reply the way you'd reply to a friend. Any of these work:

    • Tap Confirm, or type “yes”.
    • Tap Decline, or type “no”.
    • Change something: “make it 3 dozen” or “move it to Sunday” — we update the order and check with you before confirming.
    • Ask the customer something: “ask if she wants them nut-free” — we pass it on politely and send you their answer.
    • Do both at once: “yes, and tell her it's $40”.

    Your phone

    Ask the customer something, and we'll bring the answer back to you.
  6. Both sides

    Step 6: Everyone knows where they stand

    Once you confirm, Sarah gets a message spelling out exactly what was agreed — including any changes you made along the way. The order is marked Confirmed in SweetMargins.

    If you decline, Sarah gets a kind message letting her know, and the order is marked Cancelled. Nobody is left wondering.

    Sarah's phone

    Your customer sees exactly what was confirmed.
  7. Both sides

    Step 7: The chat keeps going after confirming

    Customers often have one more question — pickup time, a colour, an address. For 30 days after an order is confirmed, anything they send reaches you on WhatsApp.

    To answer, swipe right on their message and type your reply. We send it to them word for word, with your bakery's name.

    Your phone

    Swipe-reply to a customer's message and we send your words exactly.

Good to know

  • We never make things up. If someone asks about prices, flavours or delivery before ordering, we don't guess an answer. We tell them you'll confirm it and pass the question straight to you on WhatsApp — swipe-reply to answer, and we send your words to them exactly as you wrote them.
  • Photos are kept. Inspiration pictures your customer sends are attached to the order, so you have them when you bake.
  • Several orders waiting? Swipe-reply to the specific order message, so we know which one you mean. If you forget, we'll remind you.
  • Everything is saved in SweetMargins. Each order lands in your Orders list with the customer's name and phone number, ready for pricing, invoices and reminders.

Set it up in three steps

  1. WhatsApp ordering is part of SweetMargins Pro.
  2. Go to Settings → Business profile. In the WhatsApp ordering card, enter the WhatsApp number you'll answer orders from and press Save. When you see the green tick, you're live.
  3. Copy your Quote request link from the same page and share it — your Instagram bio, Facebook page, website or Linktree.
The green message means customers can see the WhatsApp button.

Stop typing out orders by hand.

Let SweetMargins handle the back-and-forth while you bake.

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