WhatsApp messages to parents

1. Tap a WhatsApp button in PlayOps, for example WhatsApp parent.
2. WhatsApp opens with the parent's number and the message already typed. On a computer this is WhatsApp Web. On a phone or tablet it is the WhatsApp app.
3. Read the message, change it if you like, and tap Send in WhatsApp.

The message goes from the WhatsApp account that is signed in on that computer or phone. Sign in there with your center's number, and parents see your center, not a stranger.

Open a child's card on the floor to find the message buttons.

• Welcome. Right after you admit, tap Just admitted, then WhatsApp parent. This button shows for the first 5 minutes. The message has the token number, the start time and the expected end time. If your center uses QR check-in, it also has a link where the parent can watch the time left.
• Ending soon. Tap Ending soon, then WhatsApp parent. It tells the parent that playtime is nearly over.
• Time up. When the time runs out, the card shows a Time up banner with its own WhatsApp parent button.
• Come to counter. For a child who is waiting at the desk for their parent.
• Custom. Type your own message.
• Receipt. At checkout, after you tap Mark paid, tap WhatsApp receipt to parent (for brothers and sisters, WhatsApp combined receipt). It thanks the family by the child's name and can ask for a quick Google review. To send it again later, open the visit under Closed today and tap Send on WhatsApp.

You see each message before you send it. The ending soon and time-up messages ask the parent to reply with a number if they want more time, or to come to the desk:

Replies come to your WhatsApp, like any other chat. To add the time, open the child's card and tap the extra time under Extend time (see Timers).

The owner can change the words of each message in Settings → Messages. A preview shows how the message will look. PlayOps still fills in the child's name, the times and your center's name.

• PlayOps charges nothing per message. There is no separate WhatsApp account to set up or get approved: it works with the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app your center already uses.
• Each message needs the parent's phone number. If a visit has no number, the WhatsApp button is grayed out.
• A local number gets your country's dialing code. For a family with a number from another country, pick their country code when you type the number at admit.

• It does not send any message by itself. A person taps Send every time.
• It does not send one message to many parents at once.
• It does not read replies. If a parent replies “1” for more time, your staff add the time in PlayOps.