Shared inbox
How support and sales teams can organise a shared WhatsApp inbox. MyCRM's WhatsApp connection is coming soon; the same inbox works with Telegram today.
WhatsApp cannot be used in MyCRM yet. The connection is in development. The inbox routine described here works in the panel today for Telegram chats. The principles hold whichever tool you use.
A shared inbox means the chats arriving on a number sit in a list the team works from together, not on one phone. Everyone signs in with their own account, chats are distributed to people, and it is visible who answered what.
Opening WhatsApp Web on several computers is not a substitute. Everyone sees the same list, but there is no ownership: two people write to the same customer, or nobody does. A team needs a routine, and it has four parts.
Every chat should have exactly one owner. Three rules cover most teams:
On the sales side, ownership is joined by a stage: new enquiry, quote sent, awaiting payment.
An internal note is a record attached to the chat that the customer never sees. A good note is short and says three things: what was asked, what was promised, and what the next step is.
For example: "Wants a refund, order dated 12 November. Waiting for accounts to approve, promised a reply by Friday." The next agent does not ask the same questions again.
Not every chat is a ticket. A price question is settled in the chat. But a problem like "I was charged twice", which is someone else's job and perhaps another day's, gets lost in the conversation. It needs a record of its own:
The ticket stays on the list until it is closed, even when the chat scrolls away.
First response time is the gap between the customer's message and the team's first reply. Read it carefully:
An automatic greeting shortens the time on paper but answers nothing. Measure the real human reply.
In a shared setup these settings matter:
| Setting | What it prevents |
|---|---|
| Number assignment | An agent seeing numbers that are not their business |
| Assigned chats only | The whole customer list being open to everyone |
| Read-only access | An auditor or a new starter writing by mistake |
| Hiding the customer's phone | The customer list being copied into personal contacts |
| Audit log | "Who deleted this, who assigned that?" going unanswered |
WhatsApp has started rolling out usernames. In future some customers may write to you without showing their number, so do not build your customer record on the phone number alone.
When WhatsApp launches, you will connect your number by QR code or pairing code and chats will land in the same shared inbox as Telegram chats. Assignee, stage, labels, notes, tickets and first response time reports will work the same way. Team permissions will be set per number, and customer phone numbers can be hidden from the team. There will be no bulk messaging to people who have not written to you.
One thing will differ: WhatsApp does not hand over old messages later, so on this channel we will have to store messages as they arrive. We will update our privacy policy accordingly at launch.
To set the routine up now, start with Telegram.
Can I use a WhatsApp shared inbox in MyCRM today? No. The WhatsApp connection is coming soon. The shared inbox, tickets and reports can be used with Telegram numbers today.
Does the customer see which agent is writing to them? No. The customer sees only the business's number. Who replied is recorded inside the team, in the panel.
How is first response time calculated? The time between the customer's message and the team's first reply. Read the median and the workload per agent alongside the average.
Do I need the official API for a shared inbox? Not necessarily, but if you need compliance, template notifications or high volume, it is the right route. The linked device method makes setup easier, and in return you accept the risk of restriction.
Related: What is a WhatsApp CRM? · Managing multiple WhatsApp numbers · Telegram CRM