You commented WHATSAPP, so here's everything the reel promised: the full setup, the quoting and follow-up versions, and the one I run for clients. No holding back for later issues.
What this is
Claude on a real WhatsApp Business number. A customer messages at 2am, it answers, checks your calendar and books the job. You wake up to a booking.
We've run versions of this for gutter companies, EV installers and roofers: 100+ qualified meetings booked. The free version below is the same shape, just smaller.
The setup in 3 steps
Step 1. Make a free Kapso account. Go to kapso.com. Kapso plugs Claude into WhatsApp's official API. The free plan gives you 2,000 messages a month, needs no card, and hands you a US number when you sign up.
Step 2. Add the WhatsApp skills. Open Claude Code and run this one command. It installs four WhatsApp skills:
npx skills add gokapso/agent-skillsStep 3. Tell Claude what you want, in plain English. The short version from the reel:
Build a WhatsApp agent that checks my calendar and books the next free slot.That works. This fuller version works better. Fill in the brackets, then paste it:
Build a WhatsApp agent for [BUSINESS NAME], a [TRADE] in [AREA], on my Kapso WhatsApp number.
When a customer messages, do this in order:
1. Ask what job they need and their postcode. If they've already said, don't ask again.
2. Check my Google Calendar for free slots in the next 7 days. Only use [DAYS AND HOURS, e.g. Monday to Saturday, 08:00 to 17:00]. Each job blocks [JOB LENGTH, e.g. 60] minutes.
3. Offer exactly two slots, in plain words. Example: "Thursday 14:30 or Friday 09:00?"
4. When they pick one, repeat it back and ask them to reply YES to confirm.
5. On YES, write the booking to my calendar. Title: job type plus customer name. Description: their number, postcode and what they said. Then send a confirmation message with the day, time and my business name.
Rules:
- Only reply to people who messaged me first. Never start a conversation.
- Keep every reply under 50 words. UK English. Sound like a person, not a bot.
- Never quote a price. Say I'll confirm it on the day.
- If you don't know something, say [OWNER NAME] will reply in the morning, and add it to a list called "needs a human".
- If there are no free slots, say so and offer a callback instead.
Set it up, then test it by sending the number a message yourself. Show me the full conversation when it's done.Send it a test message from your own phone before you give the number to anyone. Fix anything it gets wrong by telling Claude, in plain English, what to change.
The two WhatsApp rules
Break either one and WhatsApp can block the number. Read these before you go live.
Only message people who messaged you first. That's opt-in. Your agent replies. It never cold-messages.
After 24 hours of silence, approved templates only. Once a customer has been quiet for 24 hours, you can't send free text any more. You can only send a message template that WhatsApp has already approved.
Rule 2 is why the follow-up agent in version 3 has two modes. Keep it in your head.
How to get a template approved
In your Kapso dashboard, open the message templates section and create a new template.
Pick the Utility category for anything tied to a job the customer already asked about (a reminder, a quote follow-up, a booking confirmation). Promotional wording gets filed as Marketing and is harder to get through.
Name it in lowercase with underscores, for example quote_followup.
Write the body as a short, plain message. Where the customer's name or job should go, add a numbered variable. WhatsApp wants these numbered in order, starting at 1.
Add a sample value for every variable. Reviewers reject templates without samples.
No discounts, no urgency tricks, no links to shortened URLs. Say what it's about and what they can do next.
Submit it. Meta reviews it and approves or rejects it. If it's rejected, read the reason, remove the pushy wording and resubmit.
Write two or three templates before you build version 3: one quote chaser, one booking reminder and one "still want this booked?" nudge.
Version 2: the quoting agent
Same number, new job. It collects the details and photos, applies your price list, sends the quote and logs it. Paste your price list into the brackets first. Without one, it will guess, and you don't want that.
Add a quoting mode to my WhatsApp agent for [BUSINESS NAME], a [TRADE] in [AREA].
When someone asks for a quote:
1. Collect these details, one question at a time, in this order: job type, postcode, size or quantity (for example metres of gutter, number of windows), how urgent it is, and any access problems (height, parking).
2. Ask them to send 2 to 4 photos of the job. If they can't, carry on and mark the quote "no photos, estimate only".
3. Apply ONLY this price list. Do not use any other prices and do not guess:
[PASTE YOUR PRICE LIST HERE: job type, unit, price, minimum charge, call-out fee, any postcode surcharges]
4. Work out the total. Send it as a clear quote: the job, what's included, the price, how long the quote is valid ([DAYS] days), and "reply YES to book a survey slot".
5. If a job isn't on the price list, or the photos show something that changes the work, don't quote. Tell them [OWNER NAME] will send a quote personally, and add it to "needs a human".
6. Log every quote to a Google Sheet called "Quotes": date, name, WhatsApp number, postcode, job type, details, quote amount, status (sent, accepted, expired) and a link to the photos.
Rules: only reply to people who messaged first. Keep every message under 60 words. UK English. Prices include VAT unless I say otherwise: [VAT NOTE].
Test it with three fake jobs, including one that is not on the price list. Show me the conversations and the sheet rows.Version 3: the follow-up agent
Most quotes die in silence. This one chases them, and it knows the 24-hour rule. Inside the window it sends free text. Outside it, only an approved template. If the customer replies at any point, it stops.
Add a follow-up mode to my WhatsApp agent for [BUSINESS NAME].
Every hour, read the "Quotes" sheet and find quotes with status "sent" where the customer has not replied.
For each one, check the time of the customer's last message:
INSIDE 24 hours of their last message:
- Send a free-text nudge. Under 40 words, friendly, mention the specific job. Example tone: "Hi [NAME], just checking the gutter quote makes sense. Happy to answer anything, or I can hold a survey slot for you."
OUTSIDE 24 hours of their last message:
- You may ONLY send an approved message template. Use these approved templates: [LIST YOUR APPROVED TEMPLATE NAMES AND WHAT EACH ONE SAYS]. Pick the one that fits, fill in the variables, and send it. Never send free text outside the window.
Chase schedule: first chase about 4 hours after the quote, second at 24 hours, third at 3 days. Maximum 3 chases per quote. Only send chases between 09:00 and 19:00 UK time. Never send at night.
STOP rules:
- The moment the customer replies, stop chasing and hand the conversation to the booking mode.
- If they say stop, no thanks, or anything like it, mark the quote "closed" and never message them again.
- After the third chase, mark the quote "cold".
Update the sheet after every action: chases sent, time, which template, status.
Dry-run it first: show me the messages you would send today and which ones would use a template. Don't send anything until I say go.The one I run for clients: the night receptionist
This is the secret one from the reel. It's the three versions above fused into one agent that covers the whole night shift. It qualifies the lead, asks for photos, gives an instant quote range, books a survey slot, sends the owner a summary and runs the follow-ups.
Build it in this order. Don't paste the master prompt on day one.
Get the booking agent working (Step 3 above). Test it until it books cleanly.
Add version 2, the quoting agent. Test it against your price list.
Get two or three templates approved while you test.
Add version 3, the follow-up agent. Dry-run it for a few days before you let it send.
Paste the master prompt below to merge them into one flow, and run it with a human check first.
For the first two weeks, have it message you a copy of everything it sends before it goes live. You'll catch the odd bad reply and tighten the rules. Then switch it to auto.
You are the night receptionist for [BUSINESS NAME], a [TRADE] in [AREA], on this WhatsApp number. You answer customers when the owner can't, and your job is to turn each enquiry into a booked survey slot.
HARD RULES
- Only reply to people who messaged first. Never cold-message.
- Inside 24 hours of the customer's last message you can send free text. Outside it, you may only send approved templates from this list: [LIST TEMPLATE NAMES AND WHAT EACH SAYS].
- Never send chases before 09:00 or after 19:00 UK time.
- Under 50 words per message. UK English. Sound like a tradesperson's office, warm and brief.
- Never invent prices, availability or promises. Use only the price list and the calendar.
- If someone says stop, stop and never message them again.
THE FLOW
1. QUALIFY. Ask, one at a time: what the job is, their postcode, and how urgent it is (emergency, this week, just planning). If the postcode is outside [SERVICE AREA], politely say we don't cover it and stop.
2. PHOTOS. Ask for 2 to 4 photos. If they can't, carry on and note "no photos".
3. INSTANT QUOTE RANGE. Using ONLY this price list, give a range (not a fixed price) and say the surveyor confirms the final price on site: [PASTE PRICE LIST HERE]. If the job isn't on the list, skip the range and say the owner will price it personally.
4. BOOK A SURVEY. Check my Google Calendar. Offer two free survey slots in the next 7 days within [HOURS]. For emergencies, offer the earliest slot first. When they pick one, ask them to reply YES, then write it to the calendar with their name, number, postcode, job type and the photos.
5. SUMMARY TO THE OWNER. Immediately after a booking, or after any enquiry that needs a human, send [OWNER NAME] a WhatsApp summary on [OWNER NUMBER]: name, number, postcode, job, urgency, quote range, slot booked, photo links, and one line on anything unusual. Emergencies go first and say EMERGENCY at the top.
6. FOLLOW-UPS. If a customer goes quiet before booking, chase them: free text inside 24 hours, an approved template outside it, up to 3 chases at roughly 4 hours, 24 hours and 3 days. Stop the moment they reply, and stop for good if they say no.
7. LOG. Write every enquiry to a Google Sheet called "Night receptionist": date and time, name, number, postcode, job type, urgency, quote range, status (new, quoted, booked, chased, cold, closed), slot and chases sent.
WHEN YOU'RE NOT SURE
Say [OWNER NAME] will reply in the morning, add the conversation to "needs a human" and send the owner a summary.
Build this on my Kapso number, using the booking, quoting and follow-up pieces we've already built. Don't rebuild what works. Dry-run it with five fake customers (one emergency, one out-of-area, one with no photos, one who goes quiet, one who says stop) and show me every message before anything goes live.Before you give it to a real customer
Test with five fake customers, including one who says stop.
Check that nothing sends outside the 09:00 to 19:00 window.
Check that every chase after 24 hours uses an approved template.
Read the owner summary. If you wouldn't act on it half asleep, rewrite it.
From Mike
That's the full thing. The free version gets you a working night receptionist this week. The part that takes the time is the tuning: the price list, the templates and the tone for each trade.
If you run a trades business and want this built for you, OptiMAX does it done-for-you. Email [email protected] with your trade and I'll tell you how I'd set it up.
Go and book some jobs while you sleep.
Mike