WhatsApp quoting for South African businessesComing soon
WhatsApp quoting is coming to Stubie.
Your customers already ask for prices on WhatsApp. Stubie already reads emailed enquiries, prices them from your own list and drafts the quote for you to approve. WhatsApp enquiries will get the same treatment, and we're an approved Meta Tech Provider.
Why quoting on WhatsApp breaks down
For thousands of South African businesses, WhatsApp is the order desk. A customer sends “howzit, how much for 25 golf shirts with our logo?”, then a voice note, then a photo. The owner reads it between jobs, works the price out from memory or a spreadsheet, and types the quote at night.
It works until it doesn’t. Enquiries get buried under family chats. Quotes go out a day late, priced slightly differently every time. Deposits get chased when someone remembers, and a job sometimes starts before the money has reflected. None of that is a WhatsApp problem: it’s the typing and the chasing.
Why reply speed matters
The first business to reply with a proper price usually wins the job. International research backs that up: a Harvard Business Review study found firms that responded to an enquiry within an hour were about seven times more likely to qualify the lead than those that waited longer. On a live Stubie order, the priced draft was ready 51 seconds after the enquiry arrived.
What works today: email
Until WhatsApp is switched on, Stubie works from the email address you already quote on. Customers email as they do now; Stubie reads the message and its attachments (photos, PDFs, spreadsheets), prices it from your list and puts the draft in your approval queue. Once you approve, the customer gets a quote page to accept and pay.
How WhatsApp quoting will work with Stubie
The same four steps email follows today. Only one of them is yours.
The message lands
On your business's WhatsApp number. Text, a photo of a sketch, a PDF of a drawing: the same things Stubie already reads in an email.
Stubie prices it
Line by line from your own price list, with your quantity breaks, set-up fees and extras. Anything not on the list waits for you.
You approve
Enquiry and draft on one screen. Approve it and the quote goes back in the same chat, from your number, under your business name.
The customer pays
They accept on the quote page and pay by card or Instant EFT through PayFast, or by EFT with the order's own reference.
What a good WhatsApp quote includes
Whether you use Stubie or not, a quote sent on WhatsApp should carry everything a customer needs to say yes and pay:
- Your business name and contact details at the top, not a forwarded screenshot
- Every line itemised: quantity, description, unit price and line total
- VAT shown separately (15%) if you're registered, and a clear total
- A valid-until date, so last month's price doesn't come back to bite you
- Payment terms: deposit or full amount, and when
- Banking details with a reference unique to this order, so the payment can be matched
- Collection or delivery, and what delivery costs
- One link the customer can open, accept and download, instead of a blurry photo of a PDF
Stubie puts all of that on a hosted quote page with your name at the top and one Accept button. See the quote page.
WhatsApp Business app, shared inbox, or Stubie?
Three ways to handle WhatsApp enquiries. Stubie's column is how it will work once WhatsApp is live.
| Compared on | WhatsApp Business app | Shared inbox tool | Stubie (coming soon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes the quote | You, by hand, usually after hours | Whoever picks up the chat, by hand | Stubie drafts it from your price list; you approve |
| Pricing | From memory or a spreadsheet | From memory or a spreadsheet | Your price list, breaks and set-up fees applied the same way every time |
| Photos & drawings | You read them and type | Someone reads them and types | Read and turned into quote lines |
| The quote itself | A typed message or a PDF photo | A typed message or a PDF | A branded quote page with Accept and PDF |
| Getting paid | Banking details, then checking statements | Banking details, then checking statements | Card or Instant EFT through PayFast, or EFT with a reference per order |
| After hours | Waits until you're free | Waits until someone's on shift | Drafted at once, waiting for your approval |
A shared inbox (tools like Wati or respond.io) is the right choice if you need several people answering general chats. Stubie is for businesses whose chats are mostly requests for a price.
Quoting, by industry
Printing & branding
Garments, print positions and quantity breaks.
Quoting for printing & brandingSignage shops
Boards, banners, vehicle branding and site visits.
Quoting for signage shopsEngineering & fabrication
Drawings in, RFQs priced, certificates added.
Quoting for engineering & fabricationParty & event hire
Tents, chairs and tables, delivery and deposits.
Quoting for party & event hireCatering
Per-head menus, staff and crockery.
Quoting for cateringSecurity installers
CCTV, alarms, fencing and call-outs.
Quoting for security installersWhatsApp quoting questions
When can I quote on WhatsApp with Stubie?
WhatsApp is being built now, and we're already an approved Meta Tech Provider. Until it is switched on, Stubie quotes the enquiries that arrive at your quoting email address. Tell us on the demo call that you want WhatsApp, and your desk will be among the first to get it.
Is it allowed to quote through software on WhatsApp? Will my number get blocked?
We're an approved Meta Tech Provider, and Stubie will use the official WhatsApp Business Platform from Meta, which is the sanctioned way for software to send and receive messages on a business number. It won't rely on unofficial apps or grey-market gateways.
Can I keep my existing number?
You'll quote from your business's number. Depending on how you use WhatsApp today, we'll either connect the number you already have or set up a dedicated business number for quoting. We'll work out which suits you on the demo call.
Will customers know they're talking to software?
A person checks every quote before it is sent, and quotes arrive from your business. Stubie never pretends to be a person.
Does it understand Afrikaans?
Enquiries in English, Afrikaans or a mix of both are read and priced. Replies go out in the language the customer used.
What does it cost?
From R 5 500 a month with a once-off setup, or R 6 999 a month all-inclusive with no setup fee. No per-quote charges and no percentage of your orders.
Your next emailed enquiry, already priced.
Email us three real enquiries. Get three priced quotes back the same day, on a starter price list we build with you.
Send three enquiriesFrom R 5 500 / month · no percentage of your orders, ever