Answer the same WhatsApp questions once: after-hours replies and one-tap shortcuts

What you'll have in twenty minutes: the free WhatsApp Business app set up so that a customer messaging you at 10pm gets an instant, friendly "we're closed, here's what to do" — and so answering "what time do you open?" for the hundredth time is two taps, not a paragraph you retype. In Singapore, where WhatsApp is how customers actually reach a business, this is the single highest-value twenty minutes in this whole library.

The pain is universal — one shopkeeper counted the repeat question that eats their day: "For us, it's definitely 'Where is my order?' by a huge margin" (Shopify Community, Jun 2026). You have your own version. Let's make it answer itself.

Be clear on what's free and what isn't

There are two different WhatsApp products, and confusing them is how people end up paying:

• The WhatsApp Business app — the free one you install like normal WhatsApp. Away messages, a greeting, one-tap replies, labels. This playbook uses only this, and it costs nothing (WhatsApp).
• The WhatsApp Business Platform / API — for big operations, needs an outside provider and charges per conversation. We don't touch it. If a vendor is quoting you monthly fees to "automate WhatsApp", this is usually what they're selling; you may not need it.

Is this for you?

Build it if customers WhatsApp your business and you're the one replying. Skip the chatbot ambitions if you're a one-person shop — the app's tools are enough. If you have a website with lots of visitors and want a bot that answers in full sentences on its own, that's the free website FAQ chatbot playbook instead; this one is about WhatsApp specifically.

What it costs

S$0. The WhatsApp Business app is free to download and use (WhatsApp). No card, no subscription, no API.

Before you start

Install WhatsApp Business from the App Store or Google Play. Important: it uses one phone number, and a number can only be on regular WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business, not both. Use your business number; if that number is currently on personal WhatsApp, the app offers to move the account over when you set it up.

Build it, step by step

Step 1 — Set your business profile (5 minutes)

Open the app → Settings → Business tools → Business profile. Fill in your opening hours, address, and a one-line description. This alone helps — customers can see your hours without asking.

Step 2 — The away message (5 minutes) — this is the real automation

Business tools → Away message → toggle "Send away message" on. Write it, and set the schedule to "Outside of business hours" so it only fires when you're closed. Make it useful, not a brush-off:

Thanks for messaging [Shop]! We're closed now and will reply when we open at [hours]. In a hurry? Leave your order/enquiry here and we'll pick it up first thing: [your Google Form link].

This one is genuinely automatic — it sends itself. (WhatsApp Help Center.)

Step 3 — The greeting message (2 minutes)

Business tools → Greeting message → on. This goes to anyone messaging you for the first time (or after 14 days quiet). Point them at what they usually want: "Hi! Thanks for reaching out. Menu/prices: [link]. Ask us anything."

Step 4 — Quick replies for your top 5 questions (5 minutes)

Business tools → Quick replies → +. For each of your five most-repeated answers (hours, price list, location/parking, delivery, how to book), write the full reply and give it a short shortcut starting with / — like /hours, /price. Then in any chat, type the shortcut and the full message pops in, ready to send.

Be clear with yourself about this one: quick replies are typing shortcuts you tap, not messages that send on their own. Only the away and greeting messages are automatic. That's still a huge time-saver — but if a vendor promises WhatsApp "answers everything by itself" for free, that's not what the free app does.

Step 5 (optional) — Capture after-hours enquiries properly

The Google Form link in your away message can feed a spreadsheet, so overnight enquiries queue up neatly instead of scattering. That's exactly the catch-every-lead playbook — build that form once and reuse its link here.

Test it works (2 minutes)

From a friend's phone (or ask a regular), message your business number after hours — the away message should arrive instantly. In a chat, type one of your /shortcuts — the saved reply should appear. If both happen, you're live.

When it doesn't

• The away message never fires. Its schedule is probably set to "Always send" or a custom window that doesn't match your hours. Set it to "Outside of business hours", and check your business hours are filled in.
• Quick replies don't pop up. You either mistyped the shortcut or forgot the /. Open Business tools → Quick replies to see the exact shortcuts you saved.
• Customers still say they heard nothing. Away/greeting messages only send once per person in a stretch of time (so you're not spamming them). That's by design, not a fault.

Your data

Customer chats and numbers are personal data. The app keeps them on your phone and WhatsApp's service — fine for talking to customers, which is what they contacted you for. The line not to cross under the PDPA: don't scrape those numbers into a bulk marketing broadcast without separate consent. Replying to an enquiry is expected; marketing at them later is a different purpose. Label chats (Business tools → Labels) rather than exporting numbers elsewhere.

Switch it off

Toggle the away and greeting messages off and they stop. Delete quick replies you don't want. To leave entirely, you can move your number back to regular WhatsApp from Settings. Nothing was paid, so nothing needs cancelling.

What's next

Get the ready-made away-message and quick-reply pack (five Singapore-flavoured replies you can paste in and edit), set it up before tonight, and enjoy the quiet. When your website visitors start asking the same things your WhatsApp customers do, add the free FAQ chatbot. And if you've been quoted a monthly fee to "automate your WhatsApp", read is that quote fair? before you sign.

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