--- title: "WhatsApp Flows Order Form: How to Take Orders Inside WhatsApp" description: How WhatsApp Flows order forms work, what you need to use them, how to design one for COD orders in Bangladesh, and the mistakes that break them. url: https://salemag.net/blog/whatsapp-flows-order-form-guide language: en published: 2025-06-30 updated: 2025-06-30 author: SaleMag Team tags: - whatsapp flows - whatsapp order form - cash on delivery - whatsapp business api --- # WhatsApp Flows Order Form: How to Take Orders Inside WhatsApp > A WhatsApp Flows order form is a short form that opens inside the WhatsApp chat, where the customer picks a delivery area, enters name, phone and address, and submits the order without leaving the app. It needs a number on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) and a published Flow, and the answers return to the business as structured data. - WhatsApp Flows work only on the WhatsApp Business Platform, not on the free WhatsApp Business app. - Inside the 24-hour window a Flow goes out as an interactive message; outside it, attach the Flow to an approved template. - A good COD order form fits on one screen: cart, delivery area with total, name, phone, address, optional note. - Freeze the cart and prices when you send the form, and reject a submission if anything changed since. - Keep a web-link fallback for Messenger, Instagram and customers who cannot open the Flow. Picture the last order you took in chat. "Apnar naam?" Reply. "Phone number?" Reply, with one digit missing. "Full address diben?" The address arrives in three pieces over twenty minutes. "Dhakar bhitore na baire?" Silence. The customer went to cook dinner and never came back. WhatsApp Flows fix that part of the sale. Instead of six questions, the customer gets one form inside the chat, fills it in, and taps a button. This guide explains how Flows work, what you need to use them, and how to design an order form that Bangladeshi COD customers actually finish. ## What is a WhatsApp Flows order form? A WhatsApp Flows order form is a form that slides up inside the WhatsApp chat when the customer taps a button. They fill in fields and choices on one or more screens, tap submit, and the answers return to the business as structured data instead of loose messages. [WhatsApp Flows](https://salemag.net/glossary/whatsapp-flows) are Meta's feature for forms of any kind: sign-ups, surveys, lead forms, bookings. An order form is the most useful one for an online shop, because collecting delivery details is the slowest step of a chat sale. ## What can a Flow order form collect? A Flow is built from standard components defined in Meta's Flow JSON. The ones an order form needs: | Component | Use on an order form | |---|---| | Text heading and body | Show the cart and the COD notice | | Radio buttons or dropdown | Pick the delivery area, with its fee and total | | Text input | Name and phone number | | Text area | Full address and an optional note | | Opt-in checkbox | Permission for order updates or offers on WhatsApp | | Footer button | *Place order* | There are also date pickers, checkboxes and images, useful for bookings or product choice, but keep an order form lean. Every extra field is a reason to stop. ## What do you need before you can use WhatsApp Flows? You need three things: a number on the WhatsApp Business Platform, a published Flow on that number's WhatsApp Business Account, and a system to receive the answers. - **The Business Platform.** Flows do not exist in the free WhatsApp Business app. Your number must be connected through Meta's Cloud API. If you are still deciding, read [WhatsApp Business app vs API](https://salemag.net/blog/whatsapp-business-app-vs-api). - **A published Flow.** You build the Flow, test it in draft mode, and publish it. A published Flow cannot be edited, so to change it you create a new Flow, for example by cloning the old one. - **A receiver.** When the customer submits, WhatsApp sends a webhook with the answers. Something has to turn that into an order. ### How is a Flow sent to the customer? Inside the [24-hour window](https://salemag.net/glossary/24-hour-window), you send the Flow as an interactive message with a button such as "Fill order form". Outside the window, the Flow has to ride on an approved message template with a Flow button. For an order form this rarely matters, because the customer is chatting with you right now. ## Static Flow or endpoint Flow: which does an order form need? An order form can work either way. A static Flow carries its data from the moment it is sent, while an endpoint Flow asks your server for data as the customer moves between screens. | | Static Flow (data sent with the message) | Endpoint Flow (data exchange) | |---|---|---| | How it gets cart and fees | Filled in when the message is sent | Fetched live from your server | | Setup | Simpler | Needs a public endpoint with Meta's encryption setup | | Risk | Data can go stale if the customer waits | Your server must be up and fast | | Good for | One-screen COD order forms | Multi-step product choice, live stock | For a one-screen COD order form, a static Flow is usually enough, as long as you recheck prices, stock and fees when the submission arrives. A form sent at 10 am and submitted at 4 pm may show an old price. ## How do you build a Flow order form yourself? You can build a Flow by hand in five steps. It takes a developer a few days the first time. 1. Open WhatsApp Manager, go to Flows, and create a Flow in the Flow Builder, or write the Flow JSON yourself. 2. Add one screen with the cart text, a radio group for delivery areas, inputs for name and phone, a text area for address, and a footer button. 3. Preview it, then send it to your own phone in draft mode. 4. Publish the Flow. 5. Write the code that sends the Flow with the right cart and fees, receives the submission webhook, validates it, creates the order and replies with a confirmation. Step 5 is where most of the work hides: validation, duplicate taps, price changes and error messages in Bangla. ## What makes a good COD order form? A good COD order form asks only for what the courier needs and shows the customer the exact amount to pay. Here is a layout that works for Bangladeshi shops: ``` Your order 1x Panjabi (White, L) ৳1,850 1x Attar 6ml ৳350 Delivery area ( ) ঢাকার ভিতরে Delivery ৳60 · Total ৳2,260 ( ) ঢাকার বাইরে Delivery ৳120 · Total ৳2,320 Full name [ Rafiq Hasan ] Phone [ 01712345678 ] Full address [ House, road, area, thana, district, landmark ] Note (optional) [ ] Payment: Cash on delivery [ Place order ] ``` Design rules that make the difference: - **Show the total next to each area.** The customer should never do maths. - **Pre-fill what you know.** The WhatsApp number is already known; a repeat buyer's last address can be too. - **Validate the phone.** An 11-digit number starting with 01 is the Bangladeshi mobile format. Reject anything else with a clear message. - **Prompt for a landmark.** The placeholder text is a cheap way to get better addresses. - **Write the COD notice.** "Cash on delivery" on the form prevents "I thought I paid already" confusion. - **Use the customer's language.** Bangla labels for Bangla chats, English for English. ## What goes wrong with Flow order forms? Most problems come from what happens around the form, not the form itself: | Problem | What to do | |---|---| | Price or fee changed after the form was sent | Reject the stale submission and send a fresh form with a short note | | Customer adds an item in chat after getting the form | Treat the old form as expired; send a new one | | Double tap on *Place order* | Allow one order per cart | | Customer cannot open the form, for example on an old app version | Offer a web form link as a fallback | | Invalid phone or missing address | Send the form back with a message saying what to fix | | Customer on Messenger or Instagram | Flows are WhatsApp-only; send a secure web form instead | ## How does SaleMag set up the order form? SaleMag's [WhatsApp order form](https://salemag.net/features/whatsapp-order-form) is a ready-made Flow, so you skip the build: - Click *Set up form* on your official WhatsApp number in the chatbot's order settings. SaleMag creates, uploads and publishes the Flow on that number's WhatsApp Business Account. - The AI sends the form once the customer has chosen items. It shows the cart, your delivery areas with "Delivery ৳X · Total ৳Y", name, phone, address, an optional note and a COD notice. - Fields are pre-filled from the WhatsApp number and the customer's last chat order. - The server calculates the total. If the cart, a price or a fee changed before submit, the old form is rejected and a fresh one is sent. - Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and QR-linked numbers get the same form as a signed link that expires after 24 hours and works for one order. After *Place order*, SaleMag creates a numbered cash-on-delivery order and confirms it in the chat. ## Next steps Write down the exact fields your courier needs, and cut everything else. If you have a developer, build a one-screen Flow and test it on five friends. If you would rather not build it, [start free with SaleMag](https://salemag.net/register) and publish the form in one click, or [see pricing](https://salemag.net/pricing). ## Steps 1. **Connect a Cloud API number**: Put your number on the WhatsApp Business Platform through Meta or a provider; Flows do not work on the app. 2. **Design the form**: List the fields you need for a COD order and keep them on one screen, with the delivery area as a choice. 3. **Build and publish the Flow**: Create the Flow in WhatsApp Manager's Flow Builder or with Flow JSON, test it in draft mode, then publish it. 4. **Send it at the right moment**: Send the Flow as an interactive message once the customer has chosen items, or attach it to an approved template outside the 24-hour window. 5. **Handle the response**: Read the submitted data, recheck prices and fees, create the order and confirm it in the chat. ## FAQ ### Are WhatsApp Flows free to use? Meta does not charge separately for building a Flow. You pay for the WhatsApp messages that carry it under Meta's normal per-message pricing, so check Meta's pricing page for the current rules. ### Can I use WhatsApp Flows on the WhatsApp Business app? No. WhatsApp Flows are a WhatsApp Business Platform feature, so your number must be connected through the Cloud API, directly or through a provider. ### Can a WhatsApp Flow show live prices and delivery fees? Yes. A Flow can carry data filled in when the message is sent, or call the business's own endpoint as the customer moves between screens. Either way, the business should recheck prices when the order is submitted. ### Can a Flow order form be in Bangla? Yes. A Flow shows whatever text the business writes, so labels, options and buttons can be in Bangla, and customers can type their address in Bangla or English. ### Do I need a developer to build a WhatsApp Flow order form? Building one from scratch needs Flow JSON, a WhatsApp Business Account and code to handle the response. Some tools, including SaleMag, create and publish the order form Flow for you without code. ### What happens after the customer submits the Flow? WhatsApp sends the answers back to the business as a structured reply. The business system then creates the order and usually sends a confirmation message in the chat.