# How to add WhatsApp to ECI JobBOSS2 > Source: https://netray.co/integrations/jobboss-whatsapp > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Integrations ## Short answer JobBOSS2 has no native WhatsApp channel, so the pattern is a small service that reads job, shipment and PO data from the JobBOSS2 SQL Server database (or its API where licensed), sends approved template messages through the WhatsApp Business Platform, and writes replies back as notes or reviewed transactions. Start with outbound status alerts, then add two-way replies. ## System ECI JobBOSS2 ## Capability whatsapp ## Intro Job shops running JobBOSS2 live on the phone. Customers ask where their parts are, vendors confirm dates by text, and the person who knows the answer is often standing at a machine. WhatsApp is already the default channel for many buyers and subcontractors, especially outside North America, but nothing in JobBOSS2 pushes a message to it. The good news is that JobBOSS2 keeps its data in a Microsoft SQL Server database, and shops typically host it on their own server. That makes read access straightforward for a service you control. The harder parts are WhatsApp's rules (opt-in, template approval, the 24 hour service window) and deciding which replies are allowed to change data in the ERP. This page walks through a realistic build: what to read from JobBOSS2, how to structure messages, and how to keep a customer text from silently editing a promise date. ## Use Cases ### Job status on request **Description:** A customer texts a job or PO number and gets the current operation, quantity complete and promised ship date, read from the job routing and operation tables. ### Shipment notifications **Description:** When a packing list is posted and the shipment is released, send the carrier, tracking number and piece count to the buyer's WhatsApp number. ### Subcontract confirmations **Description:** Send outside-processing vendors a template with the PO line and due date, and capture a one-tap Confirm or Need new date reply. ### Late job warnings to the sales owner **Description:** A nightly check flags open jobs whose scheduled completion has slipped past the promised date and messages the account owner with the job and customer. ### Quote follow-up nudges **Description:** Where a customer has opted in, remind them a quote expires soon and let them reply Accept or Question so the estimator is notified. ## System Surface SQL Server database: the JobBOSS2 company database holds jobs, job operations, purchase orders, shipments and customers. Table and column names vary by version, so map them from your own schema rather than a generic guide. ECI's JobBOSS2 API: newer releases and some licenses expose an API for reading and creating business objects. Confirm availability and licensing with ECI or your reseller before designing around it. Customer and contact records: mobile numbers are rarely stored cleanly, so expect to add a consent table outside JobBOSS2 holding number, opt-in date and source. Notes and attachments on jobs and POs: a natural place to log message history without altering core transactions. Scheduled export or reporting tools: if direct SQL access is not allowed by your IT policy, a scheduled view or export can feed the messaging service. ## How It Works ### Register the WhatsApp Business Platform **Detail:** Create a Meta business account, verify it, and choose the Cloud API directly or a business solution provider. Get a dedicated sender number that is not in use on the regular WhatsApp app. ### Build a consent store **Detail:** Create a small table or service outside JobBOSS2 recording each contact, number, opt-in date and channel of consent. Never message a number without a recorded opt-in. ### Define and submit templates **Detail:** Write short utility templates such as shipment_released and po_due_date_request with named variables for job, part and date. Meta reviews them, so allow a few days. ### Create read-only data views **Detail:** Give the service a read-only SQL login limited to views for jobs, shipments and POs. This keeps the integration off the base tables and survives minor schema changes. ### Run an event poller **Detail:** Poll for new shipments, status changes and slipped dates on a short interval, store a high-water mark, and queue each message exactly once with an idempotency key. ### Handle inbound webhooks **Detail:** Receive replies at an HTTPS webhook, match the sender to a contact, and classify them. Free text goes to a person; button taps map to defined actions. ### Write back through a gate **Detail:** Log replies as job or PO notes automatically. Anything that would change a date or quantity becomes a proposed change a planner approves. ## Example Flows ### Shipment released **Trigger:** A shipment is posted in JobBOSS2 for a customer who has opted in. **Steps:** - The poller detects the new shipment row and reads carrier, tracking and line quantities. - The service picks the shipment_released template and fills job, part and tracking. - WhatsApp delivers the message with a Track button linking to the carrier. - Delivery status is stored against the shipment. **Result:** The buyer has tracking without emailing the shop, and the delivery receipt is logged. ### Vendor due date check **Trigger:** An outside-processing PO is within three days of its due date. **Steps:** - The service finds the PO line and the vendor contact with consent. - It sends a template with two quick replies: On track or New date. - On track adds a note to the PO. New date opens a task for the buyer with the vendor's reply text. - The buyer updates the date in JobBOSS2 themselves. **Result:** Due dates are confirmed with less phone tag, and the ERP only changes under buyer control. ## On Prem JobBOSS2 is commonly installed on a shop server with SQL Server behind the firewall, and that is fine for this integration. Run the messaging service on the same network, with outbound HTTPS only to Meta and an inbound webhook exposed through a reverse proxy or a relay that forwards to your internal host. Message content is processed by WhatsApp, so keep controlled technical data, drawings and export-restricted detail out of templates. Where free-text replies need interpreting, a local open-weight model can classify intent without sending the text to another cloud. ## Security - Use a read-only SQL login scoped to views, never the application's own service account. - Store only what the message needs: job number, part number and dates. Exclude pricing and drawings. - Verify webhook signatures from Meta and reject unsigned calls. - Keep a consent and message log so you can honor opt-outs and answer audit questions. - Treat inbound text as untrusted input and never execute instructions found in it. ## Options ### Off-the-shelf messaging platform plus a SQL connector **Fit:** Shops that only need outbound notifications with simple triggers **Effort:** Days to a couple of weeks, plus template approval time ### Build in-house on the Cloud API **Fit:** Shops with a developer or IT person comfortable with SQL Server and webhooks **Effort:** Two to six weeks for status alerts and replies ### Partner build with Netray **Fit:** Teams wanting two-way replies, intent handling on local models and approval flows **Effort:** Scoped after a review of your JobBOSS2 version and data access ## Pitfalls - Messaging numbers without recorded opt-in, which risks the sender being restricted. - Assuming field names from another JobBOSS2 version; verify against your schema. - Letting a customer reply update a promise date directly in the ERP. - Ignoring the 24 hour window, so replies later than that fail unless you use an approved template. - Polling the base tables during production hours and slowing the shop floor client. ## Faq ### Does JobBOSS2 support WhatsApp natively? **Answer:** Not to our knowledge. JobBOSS2 offers email and printing outputs, but a WhatsApp channel needs a separate service that reads JobBOSS2 data and calls the WhatsApp Business Platform. Check with ECI whether newer releases add anything. ### Can I use my regular WhatsApp number? **Answer:** No. The Business Platform needs a number not registered on the consumer app, or you migrate it fully. Most shops buy a new number so personal chats on the old one are not lost. ### Do I need the JobBOSS2 API? **Answer:** Not for read-only alerts. A read-only SQL view is usually enough. The API becomes more attractive for writing records back, if your license includes it and ECI supports that use. ### Can customers place orders by WhatsApp? **Answer:** They can send requests, but we recommend those land as a draft quote or task for an estimator rather than creating a sales order automatically. Prices and lead times need human judgment. ### Is this suitable for ITAR work? **Answer:** Keep controlled technical data out of messages entirely. Use WhatsApp for status and logistics only, and handle technical conversations in your approved systems. ## Search terms jobboss whatsapp integration, whatsapp for jobboss2, jobboss2 whatsapp api, send job status whatsapp erp, eci jobboss notifications, jobboss shipment alerts, whatsapp business api job shop, jobboss customer messaging --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json