Send invitations on WhatsApp and SMS

Every guest gets their own invitation: their name on the card, the event details, and RSVP buttons they can tap. This guide walks you through your first send and the sends that follow (reminders, contribution requests and updates).

Before you send

Check these first:

1. Your card is published. On a new event, the panel next to your card says Publish your card. Tap Publish card. Invitations can only go out once the card is published. Use Preview first if you want to see it.
2. Your guests are added with names and phone numbers. See Add guests.
3. The event details are filled in (venue, time, hosts, dress code, RSVP contacts). If the template you pick uses a field that is still empty, Shereko stops and shows Complete event details so guests never see a blank. Fill it in and tap Save & send.
4. Try it on yourself. In the card editor, tap Test (Send test card) to receive the card on your own WhatsApp. New accounts get a few free tests; after that tests are charged from your wallet.

Send your invitations

1. Open the event. When guests are waiting, the panel shows Ready to send and how many guests have not been invited yet.
2. Tap Send to [number] guests (or Send by SMS for a text-only send).
   • You can also send from the Guests table: tick some guests and tap Send to selected, or tap Send to all.
3. Under What are you sending?, choose Invitation, then pick one of the Approved templates. Need a different wording? Create a new template opens your templates in a new tab. See WhatsApp templates.
4. Choose the Default channel for all guests: WhatsApp, SMS or Both. You can still change the channel for individual guests in the guest table.
5. Leave Include RSVP buttons on so guests can reply with one tap. It costs nothing extra (WhatsApp only).
6. Give the send a name under Name this send (for example "Wedding invitation") so you can find it later.
7. Switch to Guest preview at the top of the window to check the message for any guest.
8. Review the Cost breakdown and Total, then tap Pay [amount] & Send.

You will see Sending [number] cards… and then a confirmation. Delivery status appears in the guest table: Sent, Delivered, Read or Failed.

Paying for a send

Sending is charged per message from your wallet. The price per WhatsApp message and per SMS part is shown in the send window before you confirm; current prices are on the pricing section. New accounts get their first WhatsApp invitations free, shown as free WhatsApp in the cost breakdown.

• Pay from wallet uses your balance and shows what is left afterwards.
• If your wallet is short, choose Pay now with mobile money (M-Pesa, Airtel Money, HaloPesa, Mixx) or card. Confirm the prompt on your phone with your PIN and the cards go out automatically once payment arrives.
• Or tap Top up wallet first. See Top up your wallet.

SMS and Both

SMS reaches any phone, even without WhatsApp. One SMS part holds 160 characters (70 if the text has emoji or special characters), and each extra part is charged again. The counter under the message shows characters, parts and how many characters are left. Use the Insert chips to add the guest's name, card type or card number.

Both sends the WhatsApp card and an SMS to each guest, so the invitation still arrives if WhatsApp fails. The send window shows the extra cost before you choose it.

Guests who share one phone number

Families often share a number. WhatsApp rejects many messages to the same number in a short time, so Shereko sends cards to a shared number one at a time, about a minute apart. The send window tells you how many guests share a number and roughly when the last card will go out. You can close the page; sending continues and progress shows when you come back. Guests in the queue show Waiting its turn.

Reminders and other sends

After the invitation, use the Messages section of the event:

• Messages (event sends) lists saved messages. Tap + New WhatsApp send or + New SMS send, then choose Reminder, Contributions or Other update.
• Sent messages shows every send with how many were sent and failed. Pick a previous send to reuse its message.

FAQ

Why is the Send button missing?

The card is not published yet, or the event has no guests. Publish the card and add at least one guest.

Can I send to just a few guests?

Yes. In the Guests table, tick the guests and tap Send to selected.

A guest says they did not get the card. What now?

Check their status in the guest table. If it says Failed, see Fix delivery failures. To resend one card, use Retry options on that guest's row; for a guest who was never sent a card, use Send card.

Can I send an invitation again to someone who already got it?

Yes. Each new send is charged as a new message, so check the guest's status first to avoid paying twice.