Getting Started

Quick WhatsApp + Telegram setup

Connect WhatsApp Business via Meta Embedded Signup, create a Telegram bot with BotFather, link your personal Telegram, and customize the auto-sent notification templates. Roughly 30 minutes end-to-end.

After you've completed the Quick Start, the next high-value step is connecting your messaging channels. WhatsApp lets customers chat with the CRM and receive event notifications; Telegram lets your team manage records hands-free from any device.

What you'll have at the end

  • WhatsApp Business Account connected — customers can start loan inquiries via WhatsApp; templated notifications fire for every key event.
  • Telegram bot active — team members chat naturally with the CRM ("show me my pending tasks", "search lead Anand", "create a callback").
  • Notification templates configured and Meta-approved — system messages go out automatically as files move through the workflow.

Step 1 — Connect WhatsApp (10 minutes)

Open Admin → WhatsApp Setup.

Click Connect WhatsApp. Meta's Embedded Signup pop-up opens. Walk through six screens:

  1. Facebook login — sign in with the Facebook account that will own the WhatsApp Business Account (a director's personal account is fine).
  2. Allow SigmaDSA permissions — whatsapp_business_management, whatsapp_business_messaging, business_management.
  3. Pick or create the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) — select existing or create new with business display name + time zone + currency.
  4. Business profile — legal name, address, email, website, category (Financial Services → Loan Agency), description.
  5. Phone number — pick existing or add new. Verify via SMS or voice OTP. The number must not be on regular WhatsApp/WhatsApp Business app.
  6. Display name — what shows above the chat thread (Meta approves in 1–3 hours).

The pop-up closes; SigmaDSA stores the access token + phone-number ID. Status on the Setup page flips to Connected.

→ Full guide: WhatsApp Setup

Step 2 — Create the Telegram bot with BotFather (5 minutes)

On any Telegram app (mobile or desktop):

  1. Search for @BotFather (the official verified bot with a blue tick).
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. BotFather asks for a friendly name — type ABC Loans Helper (spaces allowed).
  4. BotFather asks for a username — must end in bot. E.g., abc_loans_helper_bot. Must be globally unique.
  5. BotFather replies with the bot's token — a long string like 1234567890:ABCdef.... Copy this token.

Step 3 — Add the token in SigmaDSA (2 minutes)

Open Admin → Telegram Bots → Add Bot.

  • Bot Token — paste the BotFather token.
  • Display Name — friendly name shown in your bots list (e.g., "Main Bot").

Click Save. SigmaDSA validates the token, registers the webhook with Telegram, and the bot appears in the table with status Active.

→ Full guide: Telegram Bots

Step 4 — Each user links their personal Telegram (2 minutes per user)

Each team member who wants to use the bot must bind their personal Telegram account to their CRM login.

For each user:

  1. Click the avatar in the top-right header → Link Telegram.
  2. The Link Telegram page opens. Click Generate link code — a 6-digit code appears (valid 10 minutes).
  3. Open Telegram → find your tenant's bot (e.g., @abc_loans_helper_bot).
  4. Send /link 123456 (replace with your code).
  5. Bot confirms the link. Done.

The user can now type natural-language commands to the bot — "my tasks", "search lead Nitin", "create callback with Anand tomorrow 5pm" — and the bot acts on their behalf with their permissions.

Step 5 — Customize notification templates (10 minutes)

Open Admin → Notifications.

The tenant ships with 25 default templates across the workflow — Lead Created, Lead Assigned, Callback Reminder, File Stage Changed, Sanction Received, Disbursal Completed, etc. They cover both Customer-facing and Employee-facing notifications.

For each template you want to use:

  1. Click the row → Edit.
  2. Review Message Body — customize the wording to match your brand voice. Use variables like {{file_id}}, {{lender_name}}, {{customer_name}} to personalize.
  3. Confirm Recipients (Customer / Assigned Employee / Admin Users).
  4. Set Status = Active.
  5. Save.

For WhatsApp templates, SigmaDSA auto-submits to Meta. The Meta Status column shows:

  • PENDING — submitted, awaiting review (typical 1 hour).
  • APPROVED — ready to send.
  • REJECTED — needs editing (Meta's reason is in the row detail).

→ Full guide: Notifications

What works after all 5 steps

CapabilityAfter this article
Customer can WhatsApp your firm✓
Customer receives an alert when their file moves stage✓
Sales rep receives an alert when a new lead is assigned to them✓
Sales rep chats with the bot from Telegram (search, callbacks, tasks)✓
Manager receives an alert on every Disbursal✓
Audit trail of every notification sent✓ — see Notification Logs

Total time

  • WhatsApp setup: 10 min
  • Telegram bot setup: 5 min
  • Per-user Link Telegram: 2 min × team size
  • Notification template customization: 10 min

End-to-end: ~30 minutes for a fully wired messaging stack.

Next steps

Quick Start — first 30 minutes

Set up a fresh SigmaDSA tenant end-to-end — Branding, Email Domain, Email Accounts, Roles, Users, and your first lead. The complete onboarding path with rough timings for each step.

AI Features

Tour of the SigmaDSA AI Employee — document upload triggers OCR + Bank Statement Analyzer + GST parser automatically; extracted fields land on each document with confidence scores, and a one-click Assign sends each value to the right applicant or co-applicant field.

On this page

What you'll have at the endStep 1 — Connect WhatsApp (10 minutes)Step 2 — Create the Telegram bot with BotFather (5 minutes)Step 3 — Add the token in SigmaDSA (2 minutes)Step 4 — Each user links their personal Telegram (2 minutes per user)Step 5 — Customize notification templates (10 minutes)What works after all 5 stepsTotal timeNext steps