How to get a headcount in a WhatsApp group

Use an Event for the headcount. It holds the date, time and place, and members answer Going, Maybe or Not going (WhatsApp Help Center). Everyone in the group sees who is coming (WhatsApp).

Use a poll for a side question, such as which Saturday suits or veg or non-veg. A poll takes up to 12 options (WhatsApp Help Center).

1. Step 01

   Tap + then Event

   Open the group, tap +, then Event. It works in one-to-one chats too (WhatsApp Help Center). In a Community’s announcement group, only admins can post one.

2. Step 02

   Add the date, the place and a deadline

   Say why you need numbers: “We’re ordering food on Wednesday, so please answer by Tuesday night.”

3. Step 03

   Allow guests, then pin it

   Turn on Allow guests if partners are welcome. Each member can then bring one (WhatsApp Help Center). Pin the Event so the replies don’t bury it. Only you can edit, cancel or pin it.

• ·Count Going as one and Going with guest as two.
• ·Decide before your deadline whether a Maybe counts, and tell the group.
• ·Don’t count silence. Some members never saw the Event.

Members who join after you post can’t see the Event, and you can’t forward it outside the chat. Ask late joiners directly. To plan before the answers come in, see what percentage of guests attend.

Open the group info, compare the member list with the answers, and message each missing person privately. A reminder in the group either names the late people or pings everyone who already answered.

If you used a poll, leave Hide voter names off. With it on, nobody, including you, sees who voted, and you can’t change it after you send the poll (WhatsApp Help Center).

WhatsApp notifies members who said Going or Maybe when the event starts, and you can set earlier reminders too (WhatsApp). The @all mention pings every member, and in groups of more than 32 only admins can use it (WhatsApp Help Center). For wording, see RSVP reminder message examples.

An Event allows one guest per member. For families, add a poll, “How many of you are coming?”, with one answer allowed. A poll works for a meal choice, but ask members to message you about allergies privately. Our guide to collecting dietary requirements has an option list.

Ask guests one at a time when they aren’t all in one group, when you pay per head, when the numbers go to a caterer or venue, or when some guests shouldn’t see who else is coming. See how to collect RSVPs over WhatsApp, or what a WhatsApp RSVP bot does for you.

1. Step 01

   You connect a guest list

   Your guest list sits in your Google Drive, with a name and phone number for each guest, up to 250 per event.

2. Step 02

   Each guest answers privately

   Avently messages every guest by name with Yes and No buttons, so nobody sees who else is coming. The guests who say yes answer your questions and get the event page link.

3. Step 03

   You see who hasn’t answered

   Answers land in your guest list as they arrive, so the gaps show without matching names. You remind those guests from the dashboard, up to twice each.