Sending WhatsApp broadcasts

A broadcast sends one WhatsApp message to many recipients in one go. Open Communication and choose the Broadcast tab to start. You'll need the Manage Settings permission and an active WhatsApp integration — see Setting up the WhatsApp integration if you haven't done that yet.

Choose who to send to

Use the Send To dropdown:

Option	Who gets it
All Employees	Every active employee who has a cell number on file.
By Location	Every active employee linked to one of the locations you tick.
Specific Employees	Just the employees you tick in the picker. Employees with no cell number on file are listed separately and can't be selected.
Staff (managers / users)	The Timed users you tick, using the phone number on their user profile.

The recipient count is shown in the confirmation window before anything is sent, so you can sanity-check the number first.

Choose the message type

Type	When to use
Text Message	Free-form text. Only reaches recipients who have messaged your number in the last 24 hours (Meta's "customer service window"). Best for following up on ongoing conversations.
Template Message	A Meta-approved template. Works for anyone, any time. Required for first contact and for any message outside the 24-hour window.

If you pick a template, the dropdown lists the templates available to you (see Managing WhatsApp templates). Templates that are pending or rejected by Meta are shown but can't be selected.

Filling in template variables

Templates can have placeholders. Timed reads the template's header and body text and shows one input per placeholder:

Placeholder style	Example	Variable input shown
Positional	Hi {{1}}, your shift starts at {{2}}	One input per number, in numeric order.
Named	Hi {{first_name}}, your shift starts at {{shift_time}}	One input per name, in the order they first appear.

Placeholders that are bound to a recipient field (set up when editing the template) fill in automatically for each recipient. Other placeholders use the value you type for every recipient.

The preview updates as you type. Any placeholder you leave blank is listed as Unfilled, and its placeholder text would be sent as-is — so fill in every variable before sending.

Don't mix the two styles in one template. Meta doesn't accept it, and the broadcast will fail with error 132000. Pick one and stick with it.

Receipt confirmations

Tick Track receipt confirmations if you want employees to confirm they got the message by replying RECEIVED. Text broadcasts include this instruction automatically. For template broadcasts, the instruction needs to be part of the approved template text.

Confirm and send

1. Fill in the message (text) or template variables.
2. Click Send Broadcast. The Confirm Broadcast window shows the recipient count.
3. Click Send Now.

Messages are sent in the background, one recipient at a time. The Recent Broadcasts list shows each broadcast's status, how many of its recipients have been sent the message so far, and (if you're tracking receipts) how many have confirmed and how many are still outstanding.

If the confirmation message includes a warning about messages still waiting to be sent, or a broadcast never seems to go out, contact Timed support.

Troubleshooting Meta error 132000

This is the most common broadcast failure. The full Meta error is:

"Number of localizable_params (X) does not match the expected number of params (Y)."

It means the template has placeholders that weren't filled, or were filled in the wrong shape. Things to check:

1. Open the template in Meta WhatsApp Manager and count the placeholders in the body.
2. Open the same template in Timed (Communication → Templates → Edit). The Detected variables section should show the same placeholders.
3. If Timed shows a different set, the template in Timed is out of date — click Sync from Meta to refresh it (on your own number), or wait for the next automatic sync (on Timed's shared number).
4. If they match, you probably left a variable blank in the broadcast form. Fill every variable and try again.
5. If the template uses the named style ({{first_name}}), check that Timed detected the placeholders as names rather than numbers.

Templates that need a header image

Timed currently sends text-only templates. Templates whose header needs an image or other media aren't supported. If Meta rejects your send with "missing header media", create a text-only version of the template to use with Timed.

Why some recipients don't receive

Common reasons a specific recipient doesn't get the message:

Reason	Fix
The employee has no cell number	Edit the employee and add a number in international format, e.g. +27 82 000 0000.
The number isn't registered on WhatsApp	Meta won't deliver. The message shows as Failed in the conversation.
The recipient has blocked your business number	Meta returns error 131048. There's nothing you can do — they need to unblock you.
Outside the 24-hour window (text messages only)	Use a template for that recipient.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause
Broadcast confirmed but nothing arrives	Messages may be stuck waiting to send. Contact Timed support.
"That template is not approved in Meta yet"	The template is pending or rejected. Get it approved in Meta WhatsApp Manager and sync again.
Broadcast goes out but specific recipients fail	Open each failing recipient's conversation in the Inbox — the failed send is marked Failed there. Check the reasons in the table above, or contact Timed support for the exact error from Meta.

If a broadcast still misbehaves, contact Timed support with the time you sent it and the template or message used.