This applies to sub-accounts with several numbers (multi-user). With one number, every message goes from that number.
The order (first match wins)
WAGHL works down this list and uses the first rule that produces a number.
| # | Rule | How you set it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manual override | Put {wa#<number>} anywhere in the message. It is removed before sending and applies to that one message only. | Hi John {wa#13079982878} |
| 2 | Contact tag | Tag the contact wa#<number>. The easiest way is to pick the number in the WhatsApp number picker in Conversations. Every message to that contact uses it, including workflow messages. | tag wa#13079982878 |
| 3 | Assigned user | The number of the GHL user the contact is assigned to, as set up for your team in the WAGHL panel. | contact assigned to Priya → Priya's number |
| 4 | Logged-in user | When a user sends from Conversations, their own number is used if they have one, even if the contact is assigned to nobody. Workflows have no logged-in user. | Raj sends to an unassigned contact → Raj's number |
| 5 | Default number | The number marked Default in the WAGHL panel. | — |
| 6 | Any available number | If switched on, any connected number of the sub-account. | — |
- Format: country code + number, with no spaces. A
+is accepted ({wa#+13079982878}). Upper case works too ({WA#13079982878}). - Quick insert: type
wa#in the message box to pick from your numbers. The number picker inserts{wa#<number>}for you (see WAGHL JavaScripts). - If nothing matches: with no Default and Any available off, a message to a contact that matches no rule is not sent (it shows as failed). Set a Default number to avoid this.
Set the Default number
Open your Device Numbers list
Open WAGHL from GHL's left menu (or log in to the WAGHL panel). Go to your sub-account's Device Numbers list.
Tap the star on the number you want
Each number has a ★ Default star next to it. Click the star to make that number your Default — it fills in to show it's selected.
Include All Failures is ticked for you
As soon as you pick a Default, an Include All Failures tick box appears below it, already ticked. That makes the Default a backup too — more on it in the next section. You can untick it any time.
Change or remove the Default
- Move it to another number: click the star on a different number. The old one clears automatically — only one number can be the Default — and your Include All Failures choice is kept.
- Remove it: click the star on the current Default again to unselect it. It empties out, and the number has no Default.
The Default number steps in whenever rules 1–4 don't pick a number. It never overrides a contact's tag, their assigned user, or a {wa#…} override — those always come first.
Only numbers with Use Device switched on can be the Default.
Include All Failures (backup)
Tick Include All Failures and your Default number becomes a safety net: when the number that would normally send a message can't, the Default sends it instead — so the message still gets through.
What happens depends on why the first number couldn't send:
| Why the chosen number can't send | What the Default does |
|---|---|
| It's disconnected (shown as logged out in your numbers list) | The Default sends it straight away |
The number in a {wa#…} override or wa# tag isn't one of this sub-account's numbers | The Default sends it straight away |
| The number is temporarily restricted by WhatsApp from messaging new contacts | The Default sends it straight away |
| The number looks connected but the send errors out | WAGHL retries on that number a couple of times first; if it still won't go, the Default picks it up a few minutes later |
| The contact's number is not on WhatsApp | Nothing switches — another number wouldn't help either. The usual "not on WhatsApp" handling applies. |
- Left unticked: a message that can't send stays failed on its chosen number — the Default doesn't step in.
- SMS fallback: if you also use an SMS fallback option ("SMS on any failure" and similar), it only kicks in after the WhatsApp numbers have been tried.
If the chosen number is already offline, the Default takes over immediately — no waiting. The only case that waits a few minutes is a number that looks connected but fails mid-send, because that's often a brief hiccup worth retrying.
Any available number
- Where: the Number selection box under the numbers list, with an Any available number switch.
- When it's on: any connected number of the sub-account sends when no rule picks a number, or when the picked numbers and the Default all fail.
- No Default needed: it works without one. If a Default is set, the Default is always tried first.
- What it doesn't do: it never overrides an override, a tag, an assigned user or a logged-in user that works.
Examples
- Default only. A workflow messages a new, unassigned contact. → It goes from the Default number.
- Assigned user's number is offline. The contact is assigned to Priya, her number is disconnected, and Include All Failures is ticked. → The Default number sends it straight away.
- Override to a number you don't own. The message contains
{wa#19999999999}and Include All Failures is ticked. → The Default number sends it at once. - Default is offline too. Any available number is switched on. → Another connected number sends it.
- Contact isn't on WhatsApp. → It fails as "not on WhatsApp". No other number is tried.
For developers
Custom outbound webhooks report the number that actually sends the message in device.number, including a Default or backup number. The {wa#...} text is removed from the webhook's message text.
FAQ
Does the override change the contact's tag?
No. It applies to that one message only.
I removed the wa# tag. Which number is used now?
The next rules apply: assigned user, logged-in user, Default, any available.
Can two numbers be Default?
No, only one per sub-account.
How do I remove the Default number?
Click the Default star on that number again to unselect it. To move the Default instead, just click the star on a different number — the old one clears on its own.
My chosen number is offline — will the message still go out?
Yes, if you have a Default number with Include All Failures ticked (or Any available number switched on). When the chosen number is already offline, the backup sends the message straight away — there's no wait.
Is "Include All Failures" on for me?
It's ticked automatically the first time you mark a Default. You can untick it any time, and moving the Default to another number keeps your choice.
What's next?
- WAGHL JavaScripts — the number picker and other in-GHL tools
- Multi-Number — connect several WhatsApp numbers per sub-account
- Number sharing — share one number across sub-accounts