What is Qnect?
Qnect is a WhatsApp-first commerce platform for retailers and charities. With Qnect, you can connect with customers through WhatsApp and our AI agent handles conversations, takes orders, and processes payments on your behalf. You manage everything from a single web dashboard.
What types of vendors can join Qnect?
Qnect supports three vendor types:
- Food & Beverage — cafés, restaurants, and food sellers taking orders via WhatsApp
- Retail — shops and product sellers managing a product catalogue and orders
- Charity — registered charities accepting one-time or recurring donations, with optional Gift Aid
How do I sign up as a vendor?
The signup process is a guided multi-step flow:
- Click here to begin the Sign Up process.
- Enter your email address and verify it with a one-time code (OTP) sent to your inbox.
- Create a password (minimum 6 characters, one uppercase letter, one special character)
- Choose your vendor type (F&B, Retail, or Charity)
- Select your country. This will begin your sign up process with Stripe, one of Stripe's payment partners.
- Select your role: Owner, Director, Employee, or Self-employed
- Search for your business using Companies House (UK businesses) or the Charity Commission (charities)
- Confirm your business details: name, registration number, incorporation date, phone, address, and website.
- Confirm any beneficial owners with more than 25% ownership
- Provide your bank details: sort code, account number, account holder name, and payment reference
Once complete, you'll be guided to connect your WhatsApp Business Account.
Do I need a UK-registered business to sign up?
No. Non-UK registered companies can sign up as sole traders or freelancers. Businesses registered outside the UK can still sign up via this flow by using a Stripe Express account, which we'll guide you through in the process.
What happens after I sign up?
After completing the signup form, you'll be introduced to your dashboard, where a series of final steps will be presented to you. First, you will be prompted to set up a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), which Qnect will walk you through. Through this step, you will be able to pick a phone number dedicated to your Qnect WhatsApp agent. For Enterprise customers who would like to keep an existing landline or mobile number associated with the business, contact us here.
Meta will take anything from a few minutes to 3 working days to review your application to use WhatsApp for Business. Your Qnect dashboard will alert you when this process has been successful. If it has not been successful, check your email for more information from Meta on the reason for failure, and any steps you can do to rectify your application. If you do not see an email, it may be in your Junk/Spam folder.
Once Meta has accepted your application, your AI agent will go live and customers can start messaging you on WhatsApp. Note: you will need to ensure you are subscribed to the Qnect plan, which will also be alerted to you in the dashboard — see here for pricing.
Can I invite my team to the dashboard?
Yes. From Settings → Team, you can invite other people to manage your Qnect account. Team members can help manage products, orders, and customer communications.