Send WhatsApp messages from an Excel or CSV sheet

Your spreadsheet is already a contact list

Fee lists, customer ledgers, student registers, guest lists and order sheets all live in Excel. The data you need for a message is already there: the person's name, their phone number, the amount due, a date, a city. Copying it into WhatsApp one chat at a time is slow and full of mistakes, like the wrong amount sent to the wrong parent.

Rapid Sender turns each row of your sheet into one message. The column names become fill-in codes, so a single message like 'Hi {{name}}, your fees of Rs {{amount}} are due on {{due_date}}' becomes 'Hi Priya, your fees of Rs 4,500 are due on 10 November' for one row and 'Hi Ravi, your fees of Rs 3,200 are due on 12 November' for the next.

How to set up your sheet

Keep it simple. The first row holds the column names and every row below it is one person. Rapid Sender only needs a phone column; everything else is up to you.

• phone (or mobile): the WhatsApp number. 10-digit Indian mobiles are fine as they are, for example 9876543210.

• name: used for {{name}} and shown in the report, so you can see who got the message.

• Any other column you want to use in the message, such as amount, due_date, city, course, order_id or class.

• country_code (optional): for lists with numbers from several countries, put 91, 44, 971 and so on per row.

• File types: .xlsx, .xls and .csv. Not sure where to start? Download the sample sheet in the app and replace the rows with your own.

How to send WhatsApp messages from Excel, step by step

1. 1

   Upload the sheet

   Open Rapid Sender and drop in your .xlsx, .xls or .csv file. You see the rows in a table straight away, with the column names from your first row.

2. 2

   Check the phone numbers and country code

   Choose the country code for numbers written without one (India +91 is the default). Numbers that start with + or 00 are kept as they are, and a country_code column is used row by row if your sheet has one.

3. 3

   Write the message with your columns

   Type your message and click the column buttons, such as + Name or + Amount, to insert {{name}} or {{amount}}. If you type a code that does not match any column, like {{nmae}}, Rapid Sender warns you before you send.

4. 4

   Preview a few rows

   The live preview shows the finished message for any contact in the sheet. Click through a few rows to check that amounts, dates and names come out right.

5. 5

   Link your WhatsApp and send

   Scan the QR code from WhatsApp, Linked devices on your phone (or use a pairing code), then press send. Messages go out one by one with a short random pause, and the report fills in as they are sent.

6. 6

   Download the report as Excel

   When it is done, download the report. It lists every row as sent, sent to alternate, failed with the reason, or not sent, which is handy for your records or for a second round.

Phone number formats that work

Real sheets are messy, and that is fine. Spaces, dashes and brackets in a number are ignored, so 98765-43210 and (98765) 43210 both work. A local number with a leading 0, such as a UK 07911 123456, has the zero dropped when the country code is added.

A few things still need a minute of attention. Excel sometimes shows long numbers in scientific form, like 9.19877E+11. Format the phone column as Text (or save as CSV) before uploading so the full number is kept. Rapid Sender does not remove duplicate rows for you, so if the same parent appears twice, use Data, Remove Duplicates in Excel first. Landline numbers and numbers not on WhatsApp are checked before sending and simply show as failed in the report.

Give every person their own amount, date or link

Any column can be used in the message, not just the name. This is what makes a spreadsheet-based send so useful for reminders and updates, where each person needs different details.

• Coaching classes: 'Dear {{parent}}, {{student}} scored {{marks}} in the {{test}} test.'

• Shops: 'Hi {{name}}, your order {{order_id}} is ready for pickup at our {{branch}} branch.'

• Societies: 'Flat {{flat}}: maintenance of Rs {{amount}} for {{month}} is due.'

• Events: 'Hello {{name}}, your seat is {{seat}} at the {{city}} meet on {{date}}.'

• Column names are not case-sensitive, so {{Name}} and {{name}} both work. Keep column names short and without symbols so they are easy to type.

Compared with VBA macros, formulas and scripts

Search for this topic and you will find VBA macros, Python scripts and long formulas that build wa.me links in a column. They work for people who enjoy that kind of thing, but each comes with a catch. Macros need the right Excel version and security settings. Scripts need Python installed and break when WhatsApp Web changes. A column of wa.me links still means clicking every link and pressing send by hand.

Rapid Sender is built for people who just want the messages sent. There is no code, no macro, no add-in and no download. You do not even need Excel installed, because the file is read in your browser. You get a preview of each message, a warning for wrong codes, numbers checked before sending, and a report you can download at the end. And because your work is saved in the browser, a refresh does not lose your sheet or your place in the send.

As with any bulk sending from your own number, keep it to people who expect to hear from you, like your students' parents or your own customers. Keeping the default pause between messages also lowers the risk of your number being limited.

Frequently asked questions