If you run more than one location, more than one brand, or simply several businesses that need WhatsApp coverage, you already know the problem: separate phones for each location, no one quite sure who's answering what, and when someone on the team changes roles (or leaves), that location's conversation history leaves with them. Managing two, three, or ten locations this way doesn't scale.
InBoxIA's Multi-Business feature exists exactly for this: it centralizes management of all your businesses or locations in a single panel, without any of them losing their own identity.
What "centralizing" means without losing independence
The idea isn't to merge everything into one generic agent that answers the same way for every location. Each business keeps what's its own:
- Its own WhatsApp number (a physical line or a virtual number — also see virtual number vs physical SIM if you're deciding how to set up new locations).
- Its own AI agent, trained on that specific location's information: services, prices, hours, staff.
- Its own calendar, with independent availability — the system filters appointments by business with tabs, so one location's schedule never mixes with another's.
- Its own metrics, so you can compare performance across locations.
What does get centralized is the management: you set up each business from a single account, review every conversation from a single panel (with the option to filter by location), and you're no longer dependent on a specific employee having a particular location's phone in their pocket.
A real example
A InBoxIA customer running three hair salons puts it this way: "I manage 3 locations from a single InBoxIA account. Each one has its own agent with different hours and services. The multi-business feature is exactly what I needed." Each salon keeps its own number, its own appointment calendar, and its own prices — but she doesn't need to log into three separate panels or ask each manager for their phone just to see how the week is going.
Who this makes sense for
You don't need to be a big chain. This feature fits just as well for:
- Franchises or chains with several physical locations: each store, restaurant, or clinic with its own WhatsApp, but centralized management.
- One owner running several distinct businesses (say, a hair salon and a beauty center, or two restaurants with different concepts): each brand keeps its own tone and catalog.
- Agencies or managers handling WhatsApp for multiple clients: a single panel to serve several businesses without mixing up their conversations or information.
- Growing businesses: you start with one location and add the next without rebuilding your customer-service setup from scratch each time.
How to set it up
- Add each business or location to your InBoxIA account, with its own name and associated WhatsApp number.
- Upload each one's specific information: catalog, prices, hours, its own FAQs — each location's agent learns only from what applies to it.
- Set up availability and calendar per business separately, so appointments never overlap between locations.
- Assign who can see what: if you have a manager per location, they can get access to just their business; you, as the admin, see the full picture.
- Review compared performance across locations from the central panel: which location gets more inquiries, which converts better, where something needs reinforcing.
FAQ
Does each location need its own WhatsApp number? Yes, each business or location operates with its own number (which can be a virtual number — see the virtual number guide), but they're all managed from the same InBoxIA account and panel.
Can locations have different hours and catalogs? Yes, that's exactly the point of the feature: each business keeps its own hours, services, prices, and agent configuration, even while sharing an account.
Can I see all conversations from all locations in one place? Yes, the panel centralizes the view across all locations, with the option to filter by business when you need to dig into a specific one.
Is this available on every plan? The Multi-Business feature is part of the Pro and Elite plans. You can check the exact details on the pricing page.
If you're opening a new location and need a number to get started, check out what a virtual number for WhatsApp Business is before setting up the new line. And when you're ready to see Multi-Business in action, try InBoxIA free.
