Skip to main content
Some channels will not let you send arbitrary text outside a conversation window. A template is a message pre-approved by the platform, with variable slots you fill at send time. The rule that drives all of this: WhatsApp allows free-form replies only inside the 24-hour service window. Outside it, a template is the only way to reach someone.

​
What needs a template

​
Categories, and why they matter

WhatsApp templates carry a category, and the category sets both the approval bar and the price:

Marketing

Promotions, launches, abandoned cart, re-engagement. Strictest review. Always chargeable.

Utility

Order updates, shipping, payment confirmations. Free inside the service window.

Authentication

OTP, 2FA, login verification. Chargeable even inside the window.
Do not miscategorise to get a cheaper rate. Meta reviews the actual content, and a marketing message submitted as utility is rejected — or, worse, approved and later flagged, which damages the quality rating on your number. See WhatsApp.

​
Variables

Templates carry numbered placeholders you fill at send time:
Two things worth knowing:
  • Variables cannot carry the whole message. A template that is almost entirely variables reads as an attempt to bypass review, and gets rejected.
  • Provide realistic examples on submission. Reviewers judge the template as a customer would see it filled in. Vague examples are a common rejection cause.

​
Approval

Templates are authored and submitted in Meta Business Manager, not in Tied. Tied reads your approved templates down and sends against them; it does not create, edit or submit them. Budget for working in two tools here.

Write and submit it in Meta Business Manager

Set the content, category, language and the variables with example values, and submit it for review there.

Wait for Meta

Usually minutes to hours, occasionally longer. The state you see is Meta’s.

Sync it into Tied

On the inbox’s Configuration tab, use Sync templates. This pulls the current approved list down. A template Meta approved five minutes ago is not visible to Tied until you sync.

Use it

An approved template is available to flows, campaigns and agents.

​
States

WhatsApp template states: draft, pending, approved, rejected, paused and disabled, and the edges between them. WhatsApp template states: draft, pending, approved, rejected, paused and disabled, and the edges between them.
Editing an approved template resubmits it for review. A copy change is not free — it returns the template to Pending. Plan template changes rather than iterating on them live, particularly for anything a campaign depends on.

​
Practical advice

Submit the templates you will need before you need them. Approval is fast but not instant, and discovering at campaign launch that your template is pending is entirely avoidable. Keep a utility variant of important messages. Utility templates are free inside the service window; a marketing-categorised equivalent is not. For messages that could legitimately be either, having both lets you send the cheap one when the window is open. Localise deliberately. Each language is a separate template with its own approval.

​
Next

WhatsApp

The 24-hour window, the free entry point window, and quality rating.

Campaigns

Sending templates to a segment.

WhatsApp fees

What each category costs, by country.

Channels overview

Which channels need templates at all.