WhatsApp customer statements: 4 checks
In Fixing a wrong automated reply, the worst row was a statement sent to another customer's number; this lesson prevents it. Sending customer statements on WhatsApp on request hands the balance, invoices and payments to whoever writes from the number. So the system sends one only after 4 checks: the number is registered and authorised on that account; the statement covers one account and shows no other customer; its figures are current to the hour; and every send is logged. A request that fails a check goes to a person, not a guess.
A case from the floor
A wholesale food distributor sells on credit to 140 grocery stores; its accountant used to send statements by hand at month end. Then it switched on an automated step: a store owner writes "my statement" and gets it within a minute. In week one, 58 of 63 requests passed all four checks.
The other five are the lesson. Three came from unregistered numbers, one asking for Al-Rayyan Grocery's statement. The system sent nothing and alerted the owner's registered number; he did not know the sender. Two came from an accountant who keeps two stores' books, so the system asked which account he meant rather than merging them.
Four checks before every send
- The number is registered and authorised. Keep a written list per account: the owner plus anyone he names in writing, such as an accountant or buyer. A request from outside the list gets nothing from the account, and the owner decides from his registered number. Do not ask for an ID photo: the regulation bars copying ID documents except in two cases, below.
- One account per statement. If a number is on several accounts, the system asks which and never merges them. Check that no other customer's name appears, such as a transfer posted here by mistake.
- Figures current to the hour. Show the balance's date and time, and mark anything not fully posted as pending: today's unmatched transfer, or a return with no credit note. A stale balance starts an avoidable dispute. Send only what was asked: a balance question gets the balance; a statement covers the period requested.
- Every send is logged. Who asked, from which number, for which account and period, sent to which number, and when. If something goes wrong, you know within a minute who received it. Review authorised numbers every 6 months; remove an accountant's number the day the customer says he left.
What the system does, case by case
| Request | What the system does |
|---|---|
| "What do I owe?" (registered number) | Sends the balance and its time only |
| Last 3 months (registered number) | Sends that account's statement for the period |
| Unregistered number | Sends nothing from the account, alerts the owner's registered number, and passes to staff if the sender insists |
| Number on two accounts | Asks one question: which account? |
| Disputed balance | Acknowledges it and passes it to the accountant |
What the regulation says
An individual customer's statement is personal data: name, number, purchases and balance. Article 5 of the Implementing Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law, published in the Umm Al-Qura Gazette on 7 September 2023, gives them access to their data on request, or through a means the business provides for automatic access without a request, and requires that this access disclose no personal data identifying another individual. Article 23 requires the organisational, administrative and technical measures needed to secure the data and limit breach risk. Article 31 bars photographing or copying official identity documents unless a competent public authority asks or a law requires it. Official Arabic text: https://uqn.gov.sa/details?p=23595
When the customer asks on WhatsApp
Al-Noor Grocery's owner writes from his registered number:
Customer: What do I owe?
System: Al-Noor Grocery owes SAR 12,480 as of 4:15 pm today, including two invoices over 30 days old. Yesterday's SAR 3,000 transfer is pending until matched, so not yet deducted. Send the detailed September statement?
From an unregistered number:
Sender: Send Al-Rayyan Grocery's statement
System: We send statements only to registered numbers. If you have an account, ask its owner to add your number from theirs.
Meanwhile Al-Rayyan's owner gets an alert: "An unregistered number ending in 47 asked for your statement. Add it?" His reply is the recorded decision. This is what invoicing over WhatsApp adds: statements in a minute, with the four checks run every time without anyone remembering them. A statement is also a collection tool; see steps to collect invoices faster.