> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.digifist.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scheduling & Throttling

> Send campaigns immediately or schedule them for a future time — and understand how WhatsApp throughput limits affect delivery.

Galantis gives you two delivery options for every campaign: send immediately upon launch, or schedule for a specific date and time. Once dispatched, messages are processed in batches subject to WhatsApp's per-phone-number throughput limits. Understanding how throttling works helps you set accurate delivery expectations and plan sends around time-sensitive campaigns.

## What this covers

* Immediate send vs scheduled delivery
* How batch dispatch works
* WhatsApp throughput limits and what they mean for large audiences
* Campaign status during and after dispatch

## Send options

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Send Immediately">
    Selecting **Send now** queues the campaign for dispatch as soon as you confirm the launch. The campaign moves to `PENDING` status and message dispatch begins immediately.

    Use immediate send for:

    * Time-sensitive offers where delay would reduce relevance (flash sales, limited stock alerts)
    * Campaigns where audience timing is not critical
    * Test sends to small audiences during setup

    <Note>
      Even with immediate send, large audiences are processed in batches. The campaign will not appear as `SENT` until all messages have been dispatched — this can take time depending on audience size and throughput limits.
    </Note>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Scheduled Send">
    Selecting **Schedule** sets a `scheduled_date_start` — a future date and time when the campaign will begin dispatch. The campaign moves to `SCHEDULED` status and sits in the queue until that time, at which point it is processed identically to an immediate send.

    Use scheduled send for:

    * Timezone-aware sends where you want messages to arrive during a specific window (e.g., morning local time in LATAM markets)
    * Coordinated launches tied to a product release or event date
    * Pre-prepared campaigns that should go out at a predictable time

    <Tip>
      Consider your audience's timezone when scheduling. WhatsApp messages are delivered immediately — a campaign scheduled for 9:00 AM in your timezone may arrive at 3:00 AM for customers in a different region. Segment by country and schedule separate campaigns per timezone for large international audiences.
    </Tip>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## How batch dispatch works

When a campaign begins sending, Galantis processes recipients in batches rather than all at once. Each batch is dispatched sequentially through the WhatsApp Cloud API.

This approach:

* Prevents API rate limit violations on large audiences
* Allows delivery status to be tracked per message as batches complete
* Supports partial success states where some messages succeed and others fail

## WhatsApp throughput limits

WhatsApp enforces per-phone-number message throughput limits that cap how many messages can be sent per unit of time. These limits are set by Meta and vary based on your phone number's quality tier and business verification status.

The practical effect is that campaigns to large audiences take longer to complete than campaigns to small ones. Throughput limits are not configurable within Galantis — they are enforced at the API level by Meta.

<Note>
  If your phone number has a reduced quality rating, throughput limits may be lower than standard. This is one of several reasons why maintaining a good quality rating directly affects campaign performance. See [Quality & Deliverability](/whatsapp/compliance/quality-deliverability) for how quality ratings are managed.
</Note>

## Campaign status reference

| Status           | Description                                                        |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `DRAFT`          | Campaign is being configured — not queued or sent                  |
| `PENDING`        | Queued for immediate dispatch — processing has begun               |
| `SCHEDULED`      | Queued for a future send time — waiting for `scheduled_date_start` |
| `SENT`           | All messages dispatched successfully                               |
| `PARTIALLY_SENT` | Some messages succeeded, some failed — review per-message errors   |
| `FAILED`         | All messages failed — check error details and retry                |

Galantis monitors dispatch progress continuously, tallying successful and failed message counts and updating the campaign status. When dispatch completes, a notification is triggered based on the outcome.

## Best practices

* **Schedule large campaigns outside peak hours.** Throughput limits mean large sends take time to complete. Scheduling during off-peak periods ensures delivery completes before the start of your store's busy period.
* **Check credit balance before scheduling.** Credits are validated at launch, not at scheduling time. If your balance drops below the required amount between scheduling and send time, the campaign will be blocked. See [Compliance Checks](./compliance-checks).
* **Do not schedule too far in advance for time-sensitive offers.** Segment membership and consent status are recalculated at send time. A segment that looks right today may include or exclude different customers by the scheduled send date.
* **Monitor `PARTIALLY_SENT` campaigns.** A partial send means some customers did not receive the message. Review the failed message details and determine whether a follow-up send to the failed recipients is appropriate.

## Related guides

* [Campaign Analytics](./campaign-analytics) — Tracking delivery outcomes after dispatch
* [Compliance Checks](./compliance-checks) — Pre-launch validations that run before dispatch begins
* [Quality & Deliverability](/whatsapp/compliance/quality-deliverability) — How quality rating affects throughput