Switching WhatsApp inbox tools: a migration checklist
What to export, what will not move and what to rebuild when you change WhatsApp inbox tools, in order, so no customer is messaged twice and no opt-out is lost.
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- By WavesFlo team
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Contacts and their tags move; conversation history, chatbot flows and integrations mostly do not. Most of a migration is deciding what you will carry, rebuilding what you cannot, and keeping the old tool running long enough that no customer is messaged twice and no opt-out is forgotten. This checklist is vendor-neutral: use it with any tool you are leaving or joining.
What can you carry across?
| Item | Usually moves? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Yes | Export a CSV from the old tool; the new tool maps the columns on import |
| Tags and labels | If exported as columns | Put each tag in its own column before you export |
| Owner of each contact | If exported | Export the assigned user's name or email as a column |
| Opt-outs and opt-ins | Must be carried | Export the list and load it before anything is sent; never message someone who opted out |
| Conversation history | Usually no | Most tools start a thread when a number is connected; earlier chats stay on the phone |
| Saved messages and quick replies | Copy by hand | Export if the tool allows, otherwise paste into the new one |
| Chatbot flows and automations | Rebuild | Flows are built in the tool's own builder |
| Integrations | Rebuild | Reconnect the CRM and sheets, and re-point webhooks |
In what order should you do it?
- List everything the old tool does for you: numbers, users, groups, campaigns, integrations, reports. Include anything one person set up and no one remembers.
- Export contacts with tags, owners and opt-outs. Keep a dated copy somewhere you control.
- Ask both vendors what the move requires for each number. A number connected through a provider's API and a number linked from a phone are connected differently, and the change may need steps on both sides.
- Connect the new tool on one number first and check that chats, groups and users appear as expected.
- Rebuild automations and saved messages, and reconnect integrations.
- Load the opt-out list in the new tool before any campaign.
- Move numbers in groups, branch by branch, and keep the old tool until the last one is working.
- Cancel the old tool at renewal, after you have confirmed what it does with your data when you leave.
What can go wrong with linked numbers?
A tool that links a number from the phone uses one of that account's four linked-device places, and WhatsApp logs linked devices out if the phone goes unused for 14 days. Running the old and new tools side by side on one number can use two places, so check that you have one free, and keep the phone in use during the changeover.
What do you owe your customers and the law?
Moving contacts to a new processor is still processing their data. Tell the new tool's vendor which consent you hold, carry the opt-out list, and check that the processor terms are in place. The DPDP Act and WhatsApp covers consent, notice and retention for Indian businesses; it is general guidance and not legal advice.
What are the usual mistakes?
- Cancelling the old tool before the last number has moved, and finding a chat or a campaign stranded in it.
- Forgetting the opt-out list, and messaging someone who asked you to stop.
- Moving every number on one day, so that a problem hits the whole estate at once.
- Assuming history will follow, and discovering that the earlier chats stayed on the phone.
- Leaving integrations until last, so leads stop reaching the CRM for a week.
- Not telling the team what changes for them, and when.
Where does WavesFlo fit?
If the destination is WavesFlo, moving to WavesFlo from another inbox tool sets out what the onboarding covers.
WavesFlo takes numbers in the order this checklist suggests, one branch at a time, each linked from its own phone into one inbox that marks every chat with its number. Its quote follows the connected numbers and team members you move across, billed annually, with no charge per message.
Questions
Can I move my WhatsApp chat history to a new inbox tool?
Usually not. Most tools start a thread when a number is connected, and earlier chats stay on the phone.
What should I export before I leave a WhatsApp inbox tool?
Contacts with their tags and owners, the opt-out list, saved messages, and a record of your automations and integrations.
Will my customers notice I changed tools?
Not if the same number is kept and nothing is sent twice. Plan the changeover for a quiet period and move one number at a time.
Can I run two inbox tools on one number?
Both would use linked-device places on the account, and WhatsApp allows four. Check that you have a free place before you try.