Keep a shop's restock order list in a WhatsApp group

What you get

SampleA made-up example. The names, items and times are not from a real customer.

How to set up the order list, step by step

1. 1

   Start a chat with Cole on WhatsApp

   Tap Chat with Cole on WhatsApp on this page and send the first message below. If your number has no Pocodot account yet, Cole replies with a link to sign up: sign up, reply YES when Cole asks in the chat, and Cole answers your message.

   Do I need a paid plan?

   No. You start with 150 free credits, no card needed. Each item Cole adds and each list it reads back uses a few credits. When you need more, credit packs start at US$3, and the monthly plans are on the pricing page.

   See pricing

2. 2

   Add Cole to the shop's WhatsApp group

   Save Cole's number as a contact, then add Cole to the group through Group info and Add members, the way you add anyone. Cole cannot join through an invite link, and if only admins may add members, ask a group admin to do it.

3. 3

   Say hello in the group

   From the WhatsApp number connected to your account, send this in the group. Cole answers, then asks you once, in your private chat, whether your account will pay for this group. Say yes, and everyone in the group can ask Cole. Nobody becomes the payer without saying yes, and the group is not told who pays.

   @Cole hello

   Who can see the messages, and does Cole read the whole group?

   Everyone in the group sees what Cole posts there, like any member's messages. Cole replies only when someone tags it, calls it by name or replies to one of its messages. In WhatsApp groups, what members write still reaches Cole as background, including messages that do not mention it, so tell the group before you add Cole. Cole's notes from the group never show up in another group, though members who have written there can ask Cole about it in their own private chat, and nothing from your private chats comes into the group. No human at Pocodot reads your messages as part of normal work.

   How Cole works in group chatsSecurity and privacyPrivacy Policy

4. 4

   Tell Cole how the list works

   Send one message in the group that sets the rule. Cole saves it as a rule for this group and says so, so you only write it once.

   @Cole keep our restock order list here. When someone tells you an item or sends a photo of it, add it under their name with the time, and show the list for a day when asked.

5. 5

   Staff add items as they run out

   Anyone in the group tags Cole with the item, or sends a photo with @Cole in the caption. Cole replies with what it added, who added it and the time, so everyone can see it went on the list. If a photo is unclear, a few words in the caption help.

   @Cole out of oat milk, need 2 crates

   What if Cole gets an item wrong?

   Cole replies with each item as it understood it, so a wrong one shows straight away. Tag Cole with the correction, for example "@Cole that was the 1 kg bag, not 5 kg", then ask for the list again to check it.

6. 6

   Check the list for a day

   Tag Cole and ask for today's list or a given day's. Cole posts each item with who added it and when. The times are in the time zone Cole has for your account; if they look off, tell Cole in your private chat which city the shop is in.

   @Cole what's on today's order list?

7. 7

   Change it or stop it

   To change how the list works, tag Cole with the new rule, for example to also note the supplier. To stop, tag Cole and say so. To pause Cole in the group, write "turn off Cole in" and the group's name in your private chat with Cole, or remove Cole through Group info like any member.

   @Cole stop keeping the order list

   What happens when the credits run out?

   Cole pauses and says the credits are used up, with where to add more: pocodot.ai/billing. Before that, the account that pays gets a heads-up in its private chat as the credits run low, offering to add credits, turn Cole off in a group or set limits. A member who has their own Pocodot account with credits can still be answered on their own credits until the payer tops up.

   See pricing

When you don't need Cole

If one person does all the ordering, a shared note or a list on the wall is enough, and you don't need Cole.

What Cole adds:

• Everyone on staff adds to one list from the group chat they already use, with no new app.
• Each item carries the name of the person who added it and the time.
• The list for any day is one message away, for whoever does the ordering.