WhatsApp Business labels (lists): how to organize chats by sales stage, with a simulator

A good label doesn't describe the customer, it tells you what's next: "Awaiting payment" means "remind them", "Paid" means "ship it". Every morning you filter one list and know exactly who to message.

Tap the lists above the chats to filter. Tap a chat to change its labels. Switch tabs to load the system for your type of business and copy the names you need.

Illustrative recreation based on the WhatsApp Help Center (checked October 9, 2026). Menus can vary by app version and country.

1. Go to Tools > Lists > Add new list.
2. Type the name and tap Create list (up to 20).
3. In a chat, open the menu and tap Add to list; pick the labels and tap Done.
4. To see a label's chats: Tools > Lists and tap the label, or swipe down in Chats.

Besides your labels, the app has default lists: All, Unread, Favorites and Groups.

1. Filter Unread and answer what's new (use quick replies).
2. Filter Awaiting payment and send a friendly reminder to anyone waiting more than 24 hours.
3. Filter Paid, pack orders and move the label to Shipped.
4. Once a week, check Regular customer and tell them what's new.

Labels also work as audiences: you can create a broadcast list from a label and, where available, send marketing messages to every customer in a label at once. We explain it in broadcast lists vs. business broadcasts.

Labels live on one phone and someone has to move them by hand. They don't tell you how much you sold, how long each stage takes or who on the team owns each chat. That's the job of a sales pipeline: stages, an owner per chat, reminders and reports, connected to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Help Center: how to use labels · about lists · broadcast lists. Checked October 9, 2026.