Order accepted and being prepared: WhatsApp templates
Updated October 20, 2026
An "order accepted" or "being prepared" WhatsApp message is a utility template: it reports where the customer's own order stands. Use it when you accept an order, so the customer knows a person has seen it and the kitchen has started. It costs about US$0.0034 per message to a US number on Meta's rate card effective October 1, 2026, and about US$0.022 to a UK number, so in the UK many restaurants skip it and send only the ready or dispatched update. In Menuthere the Order accepted flow sends it when you press Accept.
In short
- Category: Utility. A status update with no offer attached.
- Its real job: to end the "did you get my order?" calls. After acceptance the customer can no longer cancel from the order page, so tell them it is in the kitchen.
- In Menuthere: the Order accepted flow, "Order Accepted!" with the order number. It starts switched off.
- In the US, WhatsApp can send order updates but not promotions; use email for offers.
Three "order accepted" wordings
{{customer_name}}, {{order_id}} and {{store_name}} come from Menuthere's order flows. {{eta}} is not a flow value: type your usual time, such as "25 minutes", or use wording 1.
1. Short
Hi {{customer_name}}, {{store_name}} has accepted your order #{{order_id}}. The kitchen is preparing it now.2. With a time
Header: Your order is being prepared
Good news, {{customer_name}}: your order #{{order_id}} is being prepared at {{store_name}}. Expected time: about {{eta}}. We'll message you at the next step.3. Minimal
Order #{{order_id}} accepted. {{store_name}} is preparing your food now.The template to submit to Meta
Wording 2 as a Meta template. It has three values in 30 words, comfortably inside Meta's "not too many values for the length" rule:
Name: order_accepted_time
Category: Utility
Language: en_US
Header (text): Your order is being prepared
Body:
Good news, {{1}}: your order #{{2}} is being prepared at {{3}}. Expected time: about {{4}}. We'll message you at the next step.
Body examples:
{{1}} = Maria
{{2}} = 1042
{{3}} = Luna Taqueria
{{4}} = 25 minutesWhen to send it, and when to skip it
| Your order flow | Send "accepted"? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Orders wait for a person to accept them | Yes | It is the first sign a human saw the order |
| Pickup orders ready in under 10 minutes | Skip it, send "ready" instead | Two messages in 10 minutes add cost without adding news |
| UK numbers (US$0.022 each) | Usually skip | The tracking page already shows "Accepted" at no cost |
| Busy nights with long waits | Yes, with a time | A time in the message prevents the follow-up call |
What it costs per send
| Customer's number | Utility rate per message | Per 1,000 sends |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | US$0.0034 | US$3.40 |
| United Kingdom | US$0.022 | US$22.00 |
| India | US$0.0014 | US$1.40 |
| Brazil | US$0.0068 | US$6.80 |
| United Arab Emirates | US$0.0157 | US$15.70 |
Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026, read on October 20, 2026. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account; Menuthere adds no markup. Check any other country in the WhatsApp cost calculator.
What happens in Menuthere when you accept
| Step | What the customer sees |
|---|---|
| You press Accept on the order | The Order accepted flow sends "Order Accepted!": "{{store_name}} has accepted your order {{order_id}}", then "We're getting started" |
| Their order page | The status banner changes from Pending to Accepted |
| Cancel button | Gone: only Pending orders can be cancelled, by the customer or by you |
The default is a chat message. Website-only customers who never wrote to you need the template on a window_open branch, as described in the 24-hour window.
Worked example: an Austin coffee bar with 1,200 pickup orders a month
The coffee bar's orders are ready in about 8 minutes on weekdays, but up to 25 minutes at weekend brunch (about 300 orders).
| Message plan | Messages a month | Meta fee to US numbers |
|---|---|---|
| "Accepted" and "ready" on every order | 2,400 | 2,400 × US$0.0034 = US$8.16 |
| "Ready" on every order, "accepted" with a time only at brunch | 1,500 | 1,500 × US$0.0034 = US$5.10 |
| The same plan for a UK café (US$0.022 each) | 1,500 | US$33.00 |
The second plan sends the accepted message only when it carries news: a wait longer than the customer expects. Related: how to send being-prepared and ready-for-pickup messages and how to give a delivery time estimate on WhatsApp.
FAQs
Is an order accepted message a utility template?
Yes. It reports the status of the customer's own order, which Meta files as utility as long as no offer or promotion is added to it.
Should a restaurant send a message when it accepts an order?
Send it when orders wait for a person to accept them or when the wait is long. For fast pickup orders, one ready-for-pickup message is enough and costs half as much.
Can a customer cancel after the order is accepted?
Not from the Menuthere order page. Only Pending orders can be cancelled, so the accepted message is the point after which the customer should call or reply instead.
How much does an order accepted message cost on WhatsApp?
About US$0.0034 to a US or Canadian number and US$0.022 to a UK number on Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026. Menuthere adds no markup.
Sources (5)
- Meta for Developers, Template categorization (utility = non-promotional and specific to or requested by the user; mixed content = marketing; examples by category; utility submitted but judged marketing is approved as marketing since April 9, 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization (accessed 20 Oct 2026; the page shows no date)
- Meta for Developers, Template components (text header 60 characters and 1 parameter; body 1,024; footer 60; up to 10 buttons; URL buttons up to 2, label 25, one variable appended to the end of the URL): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/components (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Template review (rejection reasons: mismatched braces, non-sequential parameters, too many parameters for the length, template starts or ends with a parameter, duplicates; decisions can take up to 24 hours): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-review (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (per delivered message, by category and the recipient's country calling code; utility in the customer service window billed as regular from October 1, 2026; 1,000 free service messages per business number per month): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Per-user marketing template message limits ("WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to WhatsApp users with United States phone numbers", defined as +1 with a US area code): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits (accessed 20 Oct 2026)