Number-based Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram via E-chat

E-chat connects your company's ordinary phone number in Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram to the CRM — no bot involved. Customers write to a number they already know and get the reply from that same number, while your team answers from X10 CRM, with the conversation sitting next to the lead, its calls and SMS. This page covers what to do in the E-chat account, what to do in the CRM, and how to check that everything works.

#How it works

1. 01

   Number in E-chat

   Your business number is activated in the E-chat account for the messenger you need, and E-chat issues an API key.

2. 02

   Channel in the CRM

   An admin adds the number and key to X10 CRM and clicks “Connect channel” — the CRM passes E-chat the address to send messages to.

3. 03

   Messages land in the CRM

   Incoming messages, replies sent from the phone, delivery statuses and calls arrive within seconds.

4. 04

   Reply from the CRM

   Your team writes from the CRM chat or the lead card — the customer receives it from the company number.

#What you need

• A company phone number running the messenger you need (Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram), and access to that phone during activation
• An E-chat account with an active plan for that messenger
• An X10 CRM user allowed to manage social channels (an admin or a role with access to “Social”)
• The list of team members who should see conversations from this number

#Step 1. Number and API key in E-chat

1. Sign up in the E-chat account and pick a plan for the messenger. You don't have to select the X10 CRM integration — E-chat recognises it automatically.
2. Add the company number and complete activation in the messenger as the E-chat account asks (usually a confirmation on the phone with that number).
3. Wait until the number shows as active.
4. Copy the E-chat API key. Treat it like a password — it grants access to the number's conversations.

#Step 2. Channel in X10 CRM

1. CRM → Settings → Social → E-chat.
2. Pick the messenger tab: Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram.
3. Channel name — how the channel is labelled in chats, e.g. “Viber Sales”.
4. Number — international format without “+”, e.g. 380671234567.
5. E-chat API key — paste the key from step 1. Once saved, the CRM never shows it again; to change it, enter a new one.
6. CRM project — the project where leads and conversations from this number appear.
7. Click “Save”, then “Connect channel”.

After “Connect channel” the number should show “Connected”. If you see an error instead, its text tells you why: a wrong key, an unpaid plan or a number that isn't activated (see Troubleshooting).

#Step 3. Who sees the conversations

A company number is often shared, so channel access is set separately from roles:

#Step 4. Handling rules

• Auto-reply to the first message — the customer immediately gets something like “Thanks, a manager will reply in a few minutes”. Sent once per conversation and marked “auto-reply” in the chat.
• Auto-assignment — new conversations go to the channel's team in turn.
• Auto-close — a conversation with no new messages closes after the set time; a new message from the customer reopens it.
• AI consultant — can reply first, at night or when nobody answered in time. Configured separately: Social → AI consultant.

#How your team works with it

• All conversations are in the CRM's Social section, each with its messenger icon.
• A conversation is linked to the customer's lead by phone number. A new number creates a lead; a known one goes to the existing lead.
• From the lead card — “Write in Viber” (and the same for WhatsApp): the CRM takes the customer's number itself, even when the number is hidden from that manager.
• A reply sent from the phone with this number also shows up in the CRM — the history stays complete.
• Each of your messages shows a delivery status; if the customer's number doesn't use the messenger, the CRM shows a delivery error.

#Step 5. Test run

1. From your personal phone, message the company number in the messenger. Within seconds the conversation appears in the CRM — with a lead, if the number is new.
2. Reply from the CRM — it arrives on your phone from the company number, and the CRM marks it “delivered”.
3. Reply from the company phone — it also appears in the CRM conversation.
4. Open any lead with a number and click “Write in Viber” — the message reaches the customer.

#Webhook address

When you click “Connect channel”, the CRM passes E-chat the address for messages, calls and statuses — nothing to copy. The address is shown in the channel settings under “Settings and webhook” for diagnostics, together with the time of the last event and the number of errors in the past 24 hours.

#Troubleshooting

Every hour the CRM checks the channel on its own: if E-chat stopped serving it (key, payment, activation), admins get a CRM notification with the reason.

#Final checklist

• The number is active in the E-chat account and the plan is paid
• The channel is added in the CRM: number, API key, project
• Channel status is “Connected”
• Owner and team access are set
• Auto-reply and assignment are on if you need them
• A test message went through both ways