Send workers their site documents by WhatsApp
The Site Book can now send workers their personal portal link and site file updates by WhatsApp, with Sent, Delivered and Read shown to you and email as the fallback.
3 min read
TL;DR
On Business and above, owners and admins can now send a worker their personal portal link, or tell them about a new site file, by WhatsApp. Messages come from The Site Book's own business number and name you and your company. You see Sent, Delivered, Read or Failed, a failed message falls back to email, and workers can reply STOP to opt out.
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4 min · AI narration — the article below stays the full, up-to-date source. Also available on the podcast page.
Transcript
The practical question: How do you actually get a worker to open and sign their RAMS, induction and toolbox talks before they turn up at the gate? Most of the people on your site already live on WhatsApp. Until now, getting someone their portal link meant copying it out of The Site Book and pasting it into a message yourself. Now The Site Book can send that link for you by WhatsApp, and tell you when it has been delivered and read. The link takes the worker straight into their portal to read and sign the documents for the job. Nothing changes about the sign-off itself. It is still recorded against the exact document version each worker signed.
Why WhatsApp: Ask a site manager how they reach their gang and the answer is almost always WhatsApp. Email tends to get read in the van at the end of the day, if at all. A text from an unknown number can look like a scam. A WhatsApp message lands in the same place as the rest of the job's chat, usually gets opened quickly, and shows two blue ticks once it has been read. That matters for safety paperwork. A RAMS nobody has opened is a RAMS nobody has read. The sooner a worker taps their link, the sooner they have read the method statement, signed the induction and cleared the toolbox talk, and the less time you spend chasing signatures on the morning they start.
A typical morning: Here is how it can play out. A new labourer starts on Monday. On Friday afternoon you add them as a portal user on the job, with their name, company and mobile number, then click Send by WhatsApp. Within a minute the status beside the button moves from Sent to Delivered, and on Saturday morning it shows Read. By the time they arrive on Monday, the RAMS and site induction are already signed, and you can see it in the sign-off register. Mid-week, say the scaffold design changes. You upload the revised drawing as a site file and click Notify all. If you have made WhatsApp the company default, everyone with a mobile number gets a WhatsApp message pointing at the new drawing in their portal, and anyone without one gets the usual email. This example is illustrative, but it shows the pattern: nobody has to copy and paste a single link.
What you can send, and who it comes from: There are two things you can send by WhatsApp. First, a worker's portal link. On the project's Access tab, each portal user with a mobile number has a Send by WhatsApp button next to Copy and Rotate link. Second, site file updates. When you notify people about a new drawing, procedure or health and safety document, each worker in the list of shareable links can be sent their link by WhatsApp. An owner or admin can also make WhatsApp the company default in Settings, under Integrations. Site file notifications then go by WhatsApp to workers with a mobile number saved, and by email to everyone else. The messages come from The Site Book's own WhatsApp business number, so there is nothing to connect and no WhatsApp account needed on your side. Because the number is ours, every message names you and your company, so the worker knows who sent it and why.
Delivery, consent and opting out: You can see whether a message arrived. Beside the button, and on the WhatsApp row in Settings under Integrations, each message shows its status as WhatsApp reports it: Sent, Delivered, Read or Failed. If WhatsApp cannot deliver a message, for example because the number is not on WhatsApp, The Site Book emails the worker the same link instead, as long as they have an email address saved. On consent, a few things are worth knowing. A message only ever goes to the mobile number saved on the worker's portal record. You cannot type a different number at send time. If a worker replies STOP, they are opted out straight away, get a confirmation, and will not be sent another WhatsApp message to that number. Their links still go by email, and replying START opts them back in. Each message also asks the worker not to forward their link. If one is ever shared by mistake, Rotate link stops the old one working at once.
Getting started and takeaway: To get going, first make sure each worker's portal record has their mobile number, using Edit on their row in Portal users on the project's Access tab. Then click Send by WhatsApp next to Copy and Rotate link to send one worker their link. To make WhatsApp the default for site file notifications, open Settings, go to Integrations, choose your company and tick the option to send worker links by WhatsApp by default in the Messaging section. A quick note on availability: WhatsApp sending works wherever Site Access portal users are, on Business and above, and each company has a monthly WhatsApp allowance shown on the WhatsApp row in Settings under Integrations. The WhatsApp message itself is in English for now, though workers can switch their portal and inductions to their own language once they are in. The takeaway is simple. Put the link where people already look, and you cut the morning scramble for signatures. The full article walks through every step in detail.
In this guide
Most of the people on your site already live on WhatsApp. Until now, getting a worker their portal link meant copying it out of The Site Book and pasting it into a message yourself. Now The Site Book can send it for you, by WhatsApp, and tell you when it has been delivered and read.
The link takes the worker straight into their portal, where they read and sign the RAMS, induction and toolbox talks for the job. Nothing changes about the sign-off itself: it is still recorded against the exact document version each worker signed.
Why WhatsApp
Ask a site manager how they reach their gang and the answer is almost always WhatsApp. Email gets read in the van at the end of the day, if at all. A text from an unknown number looks like a scam. A WhatsApp message lands in the same place as the rest of the job's chat, gets opened in minutes, and shows two blue ticks when it has been read.
That matters for safety paperwork. A RAMS nobody has opened is a RAMS nobody has read. The sooner a worker taps their link, the sooner they have read the method statement, signed the induction and cleared the toolbox talk, and the less time you spend at the gate chasing signatures on the morning they start.
A typical morning
A new labourer starts on Monday. On Friday afternoon you add them as a portal user on the job, with their name, company and mobile number. You click Send by WhatsApp. Within a minute the status beside the button moves from Sent to Delivered, and on Saturday morning it shows Read. By the time they arrive at the gate on Monday, the RAMS and site induction are already signed, and you can see it in the sign-off register.
Mid-week, the scaffold design changes. You upload the revised drawing as a site file and click Notify all. If you have made WhatsApp the company default, everyone with a mobile number gets a WhatsApp message pointing at the new drawing in their portal, and anyone without one gets the usual email. Nobody has to copy and paste a single link.
What you can send by WhatsApp
- A worker's portal link. On the project's Access tab, each portal user with a mobile number has a Send by WhatsApp button next to Copy and Rotate link.
- Site file updates. When you notify people about a new drawing, procedure or H&S document, each worker in the list of shareable links can be sent their link by WhatsApp.
An owner or admin can also make WhatsApp the company default in Settings → Integrations. Site file notifications then go by WhatsApp to workers with a mobile number saved, and by email to everyone else.
Who the message is from
Messages come from The Site Book's own WhatsApp business number, so there is nothing to connect and no WhatsApp account needed on your side. Because the number is ours, every message names you and your company, so the worker knows who sent it and why.
See whether it arrived
Beside the button, and on the WhatsApp row in Settings → Integrations, each message shows its status as WhatsApp reports it: Sent, Delivered, Read or Failed. If WhatsApp cannot deliver a message, for example because the number is not on WhatsApp, The Site Book emails the worker the same link instead, as long as they have an email address saved.
Consent and opting out
- Only the number you recorded. A message only ever goes to the mobile number saved on the worker's portal record. You cannot type a different number at send time.
- STOP means stop. A worker who replies STOP is opted out straight away, gets a confirmation, and The Site Book will not send that number another WhatsApp message. Their links still go by email. Replying START opts them back in.
- The link stays personal. Each message asks the worker not to forward their link. If one is ever shared by mistake, Rotate link stops the old one working at once.
What workers see
The worker receives a short message from The Site Book's WhatsApp business profile: hello by name, who has sent it, which company and which job, and their personal link. Tapping the link opens their portal in the phone's browser. There is no app to install and no account to create. At the bottom of every message is a reminder that they can reply STOP at any time.
Workers whose first language is not English can still switch their portal and inductions to their own language once they are in. The WhatsApp message itself is in English for now.
Getting started
- Make sure each worker's portal record has their mobile number. Use Edit on their row in Portal users, on the project's Access tab.
- Click Send by WhatsApp next to Copy and Rotate link to send one worker their link.
- To make WhatsApp the default for site file notifications, open Settings → Integrations, choose your company and tick Send worker links by WhatsApp by default in the Messaging section.
Which plans include it
WhatsApp sending works wherever Site Access portal users are, on Business and above. Each company has a monthly WhatsApp allowance, shown on the WhatsApp row in Settings → Integrations. The Help Centre guide walks through every step, and the integrations page lists everything else The Site Book connects to.
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Start with one real job: RAMS, CPP, site induction and sign-off evidence. No card required. Review everything before you use it.
Create my free job pack →Frequently asked questions
Do I need a WhatsApp Business account?
No. Messages come from The Site Book's own WhatsApp business number, and each one names you and your company. There is nothing to connect on your side.
Which number does the message go to?
Only the mobile number saved on the worker's portal record. You cannot type a different number when sending, and the Send by WhatsApp button only appears for workers with a number saved.
What happens if a worker replies STOP?
Their number is opted out straight away and they get a confirmation. The Site Book will not send that number another WhatsApp message, and their links go by email instead. Replying START opts them back in.
What if WhatsApp cannot deliver the message?
The status shows Failed and The Site Book emails the worker the same link instead, as long as they have an email address saved.