How to get WhatsApp templates approved by Meta in Inkwelly

1. Open the Templates page

In Inkwelly, open Communications → Templates. The page lists every notification template available to the school — ten system defaults plus any school-specific copies you have already forked. Each row shows the channels the template targets (WhatsApp, SMS, Email), the languages it ships in (EN, HI, more), and the current approval status per channel — Not submitted, Submitted, Approved, or Rejected for WhatsApp; Not submitted or DLT-ID-set for SMS.

2. Open the template you want to submit

Click the row of the template you want to ship under your own Meta account. The detail page opens with three tabs: WhatsApp, SMS, Email — each tab shows the template body in every language Inkwelly has, the variable placeholders Meta requires ({{1}}, {{2}}, etc.), and a live preview rendered the way the parent will see it. Use this preview to spot anything that needs school customisation — the principal’s name, the school’s phone number, an emergency line.

3. (Optional) Customise the template body

If you want school-specific wording, click Customise on the WhatsApp tab. Inkwelly forks the system default into your school’s own copy. Edit the body using the variables Meta supports — plain text plus {{1}} style placeholders. Keep the variable order identical to the default; reordering breaks the way Inkwelly fills them at send time. Save. The status drops back to Not submitted because the body changed.

4. Click Submit to Meta

On the template detail page click Submit to Meta. A small dialog opens with two pickers: Language and WhatsApp account. Pick the language variant you want Meta to approve first (most schools submit EN first, then HI as a separate submission). Pick the WhatsApp channel account that this template should ship through — schools with a single number have only one choice; multi-branch trusts pick the right branch number here.

5. Confirm and submit

Click Submit. Inkwelly serialises the template body, the variable count, the language and the category into Meta’s expected payload, then calls Meta’s message_templates POST. Meta returns either an immediate SUBMITTED status (template is now in Meta’s review queue) or a synchronous rejection if anything in the body violates Meta’s policy — missing variables, banned wording, or wrong category. Rejection reasons surface inline on the Inkwelly screen with the exact Meta error text.

6. Watch the status flip to APPROVED

On the template row the status pill switches to SUBMITTED. Inkwelly polls Meta every few minutes and updates the status automatically; you do not need to refresh manually. For UTILITY templates the typical Meta turnaround in India is under 30 minutes during business hours, sometimes under 5 minutes; for MARKETING templates it can stretch to 24 hours. Status flips to APPROVED when Meta’s reviewer signs off and the template is now dispatch-ready.

7. If Meta rejects, fix the body and re-submit

A REJECTED status shows the exact reason next to the language variant — most rejections are for content that reads like marketing in a UTILITY category (“Buy now”, “Limited offer”) or for variable count mismatches. Fix the body via Customise, save, then click Submit to Meta again. Meta treats the resubmission as a new asset — there is no penalty for being rejected once. Schools that re-submit promptly almost always clear on the second pass.