# Choosing a number for your community > Which phone number to use for your community's WhatsApp Business account: new or existing, landlines, other platforms, display name, limits and costs. Source: https://milvao.com/help/team-and-settings/choosing-a-number-for-your-community · Updated 2026-11-06 ## Key takeaways - Use a new number kept only for Milvao. A number that is on the WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app must have that account deleted first, and the chats on that phone are lost. - A landline works if it can take a voice call. Meta sends the 6-digit code by text message or phone call. - A number works with one platform at a time, so it can't stay connected to Wati, Interakt or another tool while it is connected to Milvao. - Put the number in a new WhatsApp Business Account under your community's own Meta business portfolio. The number, templates and Meta's charges then stay with your community. - Meta bills message charges to your community's account, separately from Milvao's plan. Members never pay. Your members message one WhatsApp Business number to join, ask for introductions and answer offers. The best choice is a **new number that your community keeps only for Milvao**, in a WhatsApp Business Account under your **community's own Meta business portfolio**. This article helps you pick that number before you connect it. The steps to connect it are in [Connect your WhatsApp number](/help/team-and-settings/connect-your-whatsapp-number). ## The short version | Question | Answer | |---|---| | New or existing number? | New is simplest. An existing number must be removed from the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app first, and its chats are lost | | Can it be a landline? | Yes, if it can receive a voice call for the 6-digit code | | Can it stay on Wati, Interakt or another platform? | No. A number works with one platform at a time | | Can it be someone's personal number? | No. Once connected it only works through Meta's Cloud API, not in an app on a phone | | Whose Meta account should it be in? | Your community's own business portfolio, not a person's and not Milvao's | | Who pays Meta? | Your community, through the payment method on its WhatsApp Business Account | ## Why a dedicated number - **Members see your community's name.** The number shows your approved **display name** at the top of the chat, so members know who they are talking to. - **It works through software only.** A number connected to Milvao uses Meta's Cloud API. You can't also open it in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app on a phone. - **Your team shares it.** Operators see requests on the Milvao dashboard, so nobody needs to hold the phone. - **Personal chats stay personal.** Using your own number would mean deleting its WhatsApp account and losing its chats, and members would be writing to you, not to the community. ## New number or existing number ### A new number (recommended) Buy a new SIM or use a spare number that has never been on WhatsApp. It needs to receive one **text message** or **phone call** with the 6-digit code when you add it in Meta. ### A number already on the WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app You can use it, but only after deleting its WhatsApp account: 1. On the phone that uses the number, open WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business. 2. Go to **Settings → Account → Delete account** and confirm. 3. Wait a few minutes before adding the number in Meta. Deleting the account removes the chats on that phone. Back up anything you need first. Meta documents a way for some WhatsApp Business app numbers to connect to its platform while staying on the app, with restrictions. Milvao doesn't use it: it asks for a number used only on the platform. ### A landline A landline works. When you add the number in Meta, choose **Phone call** instead of **Text message** and enter the 6-digit code you hear. The same applies to any number that can't receive SMS. ### A number another platform uses A number works with **one platform at a time**. If Wati, Interakt or another provider is connected to the number today, it can't also be connected to Milvao. You have two options: - **Use a different number for Milvao** (simplest), and keep the other tool on its own number. - **Stop using the other platform on that number first.** Ask that provider how they release it, then talk to Milvao support before you connect it. Don't add your number to a WhatsApp Business Account that another platform manages for you. That provider could read your members' requests. Create a new account in your own portfolio instead. ## Display name The display name is what members see at the top of the chat. Set it to **your community's name as people know it** when you create the WhatsApp Business Account. - Meta reviews it, usually within a day or two. - Until Meta approves it, members see the number instead. Messages still work while it is in review. - Milvao's check shows it as **Display name approved** once it passes. This check is advisory. - If Meta declines it, edit it in WhatsApp Manager so it matches your community's public name, and resubmit. ## Business verification and messaging limits Meta limits how many different people a business can **message first** in a moving 24-hour period. When we read Meta's documentation on 5 November 2026, new business portfolios started at 250 people, which could rise to 2,000 after business verification and then grow automatically with good quality. Meta may change these figures. - Members who message your number first can always get replies. Joining, asking for help and answering offers all start with the member, so the limit mostly affects messages Milvao sends first, such as offers to members who haven't written recently. - **Start business verification early.** In Business settings open **Security Centre → Start verification**, ideally as soon as you create the portfolio. - Keep messages relevant. If your number's quality rating isn't green, invites to [imported members](/help/community/importing-members) pause on their own until it is green again. ## What the number costs Milvao's price doesn't include WhatsApp charges, and Milvao doesn't mark up messages. - **Meta charges per delivered message**, by message category and the country of the member's number. Messages members send to you are free. - **Your community pays Meta directly.** Meta bills the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Add one in WhatsApp Manager under **Overview → Add payment method** before you go live. - For current Indian rates and a worked example, read our guide to [WhatsApp Business API pricing in India](https://milvao.com/whatsapp-business-api-pricing-india). Milvao's own plans are in [Plan and billing](/help/team-and-settings/plan-and-billing). - Members never pay anything, to Meta or to Milvao. ## Who should own the Meta business portfolio The number belongs in a **new WhatsApp Business Account** inside your **community's own Meta business portfolio** (business.facebook.com). | Owner of the portfolio | Why or why not | |---|---| | **Your community** (recommended) | The number, its templates and Meta's billing stay with the community, even if the person running it changes or you stop using Milvao | | One person's private portfolio | Works, but the community depends on that one person's Facebook login | | Milvao | Not offered. Milvao never holds your number | | Another platform's portfolio | Avoid. That provider could read your members' requests | Whoever connects the number needs **full control** of the portfolio. Milvao's app only gets access to the WhatsApp Business Account you assign to its system user, nothing else in your business. It's sensible to give a second trusted person from your committee admin access to the portfolio in **Business settings**, so the community isn't locked out if one person leaves. ## What Milvao staff can do for you - **Go through the Meta steps with you** during pilot setup: the business portfolio, the WhatsApp Business Account, the number and the display name. - **Approve your request** to connect Milvao's app to your business, usually within a working day. - **Connect the number** from their side if you prefer. Even then, never send the access token by email or chat. Paste it into **Settings → WhatsApp number** yourself. - **Test and switch it on.** After your check passes, staff confirm a reply reaches you and set the number to **Active**. - **Help when something is wrong**, such as a declined display name or a rejected template. Milvao staff can't see your access token. It is encrypted when saved and never shown again, to anyone. ## Before you connect: a checklist 1. A number that is new, or whose WhatsApp account you have deleted. 2. It can receive a text message or a phone call. 3. It isn't connected to any other platform. 4. Your community's own Meta business portfolio, with full control for the person connecting. 5. Business verification started in **Security Centre**. 6. A payment method ready for WhatsApp Manager. Then follow [Connect your WhatsApp number](/help/team-and-settings/connect-your-whatsapp-number). Connecting the number is the first step on the [pilot setup checklist](/help/getting-started/pilot-setup-checklist). ## Frequently asked questions ### Can we use the number our community already shares in groups? Yes, if you delete its WhatsApp account first. The chats on that phone are lost, and the number then works only through Milvao. A new number lets the old one keep working as before. ### Can our business number be a landline? Yes. Choose **Phone call** when Meta asks how to send the code. ### We already use Wati or Interakt. Can Milvao use the same number? Not at the same time. A number works with one platform at a time. Use a new number for Milvao, or stop using the other platform on that number first and talk to Milvao support. ### Does Milvao need access to our whole Facebook business? No. Milvao's app only works with the WhatsApp Business Account you assign to its system user. ### What happens to the number if we stop using Milvao? It stays in your community's Meta business portfolio, with its WhatsApp Business Account and templates. ### Can we change the number later? Yes. The owner connects the new one in **Settings → WhatsApp number**. Members then need to message the new number. See [Connect your WhatsApp number](/help/team-and-settings/connect-your-whatsapp-number).