How to sell on Kola
Manage your orders, products, earnings, and shop settings, all from WhatsApp. Some actions can also be done on your dashboard or storefront.
Check your orders
View incoming orders, accept or reject them, dispatch, and mark as done. You can also manage orders from your dashboard.
Kola BotordersShows a numbered list of your pending orders with items, quantities, and totals.
“pending orders”“my orders”acceptAccepts the next pending order. The customer gets a notification that their order is being prepared.
“accept KO-A1B2”“accept #1”rejectDeclines an order. You can add a reason and the customer is notified with it.
“reject KO-A1B2”“reject #1”dispatch / sentMarks an order as dispatched. The customer sees a live status update that their delivery is on the way.
“sent KO-A1B2”“dispatched”readyMarks an order as ready for pickup. The customer gets notified to come collect it.
“ready for pickup”“ready KO-A1B2”done / deliveredMarks an order as completed. The order moves to your history and the funds become available for cash out.
“done KO-A1B2”“delivered”refund <order> <amount>Sends a full or partial refund for an order back to the customer. You can specify an amount or leave it for a full refund.
“refund KO-A1B2”“refund the last order”“refund #1 500”
Manage your products
Add, edit, price, rename, hide, or delete products. Many of these can also be done on your storefront.
Kola BotaddStarts the add-product flow. The bot asks for a name, price, and optional photo one step at a time.
“add a product”“create new item”“upload a product”“list a new item”menu / productsLists all your products with their prices, stock, and visibility status.
“my products”“my items”“catalog”view <product>Shows full details for a specific product: name, price, description, stock, and photo.
“show me jollof”“details jollof”price <item> <amount>Changes a product's price instantly. The new price appears on your menu immediately.
“jollof price 2500”“change price of jollof to 3000”“jollof 2500”rename <old> to <new>Renames a product. The new name shows up on your menu and in future orders.
“rename jollof to party jollof”“change jollof name to party rice”“call it party jollof”desc <item> <text>Sets or updates a product's description. Use "desc jollof auto" to let AI generate one for you.
“describe jollof smoky party rice”“desc jollof: smoky party rice”“desc jollof auto”photo <item>Arms the product for a photo. Send an image next and it becomes the product's picture.
“add photo jollof”“image jollof”“pic jollof”share <product>Generates a short shareable link for a product that you can send to customers directly.
“share jollof”hide <item>Hides a product from your menu so customers can't see or order it. The product isn't deleted.
“disable jollof”“stop selling jollof”“deactivate jollof”show <item>Makes a hidden product visible on your menu again. Customers can order it immediately.
“enable jollof”“reactivate jollof”stock <item> <qty>Sets how many units are available. The count goes down with each order. Use "unlimited" to disable tracking.
“stock jollof 10”“jollof stock 10”“restock jollof 20”“jollof remaining 5”sold outInstantly hides a product and marks it unavailable. Useful when you run out mid-day.
“jollof don finish”“jollof sold out”“no more jollof”“out of jollof”back in stockMarks a sold-out product as available again and makes it visible on your menu.
“jollof is back”“jollof back in stock”“jollof available again”“bring back jollof”delete <item>Permanently removes a product from your catalog. This can't be undone, so you'd need to add it again.
“remove jollof”“take jollof off the menu”“get rid of jollof”
Track your money
Check your balance, view sales, cash out to your bank, and manage payout accounts. Also available on your dashboard.
Kola BotbalanceShows your current available balance and today's sales total at a glance.
“money”todayShows today's sales breakdown: number of orders, total revenue, and a per-order summary.
statsShows your shop's analytics: total sales, order count, average order value, and trends over time.
“analytics”“summary”“insights”“how's business”customersLists your top customers ranked by how much they've spent or how often they've ordered.
“top customers”“my customers”“best customers”unpaidShows orders where payment hasn't been confirmed yet, helping you follow up with customers.
“debtors”“owing”“pending payments”“outstanding”cash out <amount>Sends money from your Kola balance to your linked bank account. You'll get a confirmation once it's sent.
“withdraw 5000”“cash out”“withdraw”transactionsShows your full transaction history: payments received, cash outs, and refunds.
“txns”“history”accountShows your merchant account details: name, phone number, and linked payment info.
banksLists all payout bank accounts you've linked, with the default one marked.
“my banks”add bankWalks you through linking a new bank account for payouts: bank name, account number, and verification.
remove bank <name>Removes a linked payout bank. You'll need at least one bank linked to cash out.
default bank <name>Sets which bank account receives your cash outs by default.
“set default bank GTB”
Set up your shop
Configure hours, delivery, pickup, refund policy, and more. Most settings are also available on your storefront.
Kola BotsettingsOpens a hub showing all your current settings with quick links to change each one.
“my settings”hours <open> to <close>Sets when your shop is open. Supports multiple windows (e.g. "9am-2pm, 5pm-9pm") and per-day schedules.
“hours 9am to 6pm”“hours 9am-6pm mon-fri, 10am-4pm sat”“hours”set pickup <address>Sets the address where customers come to collect pickup orders. You can also share your GPS location.
“pickup address 12 main street”“pickup”“use my location”set delivery <mode>Chooses how customers receive orders: delivery, pickup, walk-in, or a combination of all three.
“delivery pickup”“delivery walk-in”“set delivery all”zonesConfigures delivery zones with different fees per area so nearby customers pay less.
“set delivery fee”“delivery zones”auto accept on/offWhen on, orders are accepted automatically without you needing to type "accept" each time.
“auto accept on”“auto accept off”refund policy <text>Sets your refund policy that customers see before ordering. Presets: none, partial, or full.
“refund none”“refund partial”“refund full”“refund policy no refunds”welcome <message>Sets a custom message customers see when they first enter your shop.
“set welcome Thanks for visiting!”tags <list>Adds category tags (e.g. food, fashion) so customers can find your shop when browsing.
“tags food, drinks”“set tags fashion”edit businessOpens an interactive form to update your business name, owner name, and other profile details.
“update my shop”“change shop details”“edit my store”shareGenerates your shop link (kola.shop/your-name) that you can send to customers on any platform.
“my link”“link”“qr”close shopTakes your shop offline temporarily. Customers can't place orders until you reopen.
“pause shop”“go offline”“vacation on”open shopBrings your shop back online so customers can order again.
“reopen”“go online”“vacation off”“resume shop”flowShows your operation flow, the steps an order goes through (ready, dispatch) for each delivery mode.
“my flow”“flow pickup”“flow delivery”
Pay bills
Buy airtime, data, pay for electricity, cable, and more, right from the bot.
Kola BotbillsOpens the bills menu with categories: Airtime, Data, Electricity, Cable TV, Betting, and Education.
“pay bill”“my bills”“vas”buy airtime <amount> <phone>Sends airtime instantly, e.g. "buy airtime 500 08012345678" charges your balance and delivers the airtime.
“buy data 500 08012345678”connect bankLinks your bank account for direct debit so bill payments are charged automatically.
“link my bank”“direct debit”disconnect bankRemoves your direct debit mandate. Future bill payments will need manual funding.
“cancel direct debit”“unlink my bank”
Get help
View guides, handle customer complaints, or report an issue to Kola support.
Kola BothelpShows a menu of key commands and links to step-by-step guides. Has an off-ramp to reach a human if needed.
“?”“commands”“guides”“how do I…”complaintsOpens your complaints inbox. Shows all customer complaints with their status and the order involved.
“disputes”“complaint COMP-XXXX”“complaint #1”report to kolaReports an issue to the Kola team directly, for platform problems rather than customer disputes.
“contact kola”“escalate to kola”“kola support”supportConnects you to a human support agent from the Kola team for issues the bot can't resolve.
“talk to a person”“I want a human”“customer service”switch to customerSwitches you to customer mode so you can browse and order from other shops on Kola.
“customer mode”“start shopping”“exit merchant”