Turn a voicemail into a QuickBooks Estimate — and the recording never leaves your computer.
Some of your best customers still call the order in. SideQuest turns that voicemail into a drafted QuickBooks Estimate the same way it handles an emailed PO — except the audio is transcribed right on your own machine. No cloud, no third party, no upload.
The recording stays on your computer
Voicemail is a customer's voice, their account, sometimes their pricing. Handing that to a cloud speech API is a privacy problem most tools ignore. SideQuest doesn't: transcription runs on-device by default with a local Whisper model, so the audio and its transcript never touch our servers or anyone else's. It's the same promise as the rest of SideQuest — your data stays on your machine.
Prefer a cloud transcription service? It's available, but it's an explicit opt-in you have to turn on. Out of the box, nothing leaves the building.
How a phone order becomes an Estimate
The voicemail arrives
Most VoIP and phone systems email the voicemail as an audio attachment (.mp3, .wav, .m4a). It lands in the same inbox SideQuest already watches.
It's transcribed on-device
A local Whisper model turns the recording into text on your computer. No API key, no per-minute fee, no upload.
The spoken order is parsed
SideQuest pulls the line items out of the freeform speech — quantities, units, and part references — into the same structured shape an emailed PO produces.
Matched and drafted for review
The lines run through the same matcher and cross-references as every other order, then land as a local draft Estimate. Nothing reaches QuickBooks until you approve.
Why it matters for a distributor
Phone orders are the ones that skip every system you've bought. A portal doesn't catch them. An email parser doesn't catch them. They come in as a voice on a recording and get transcribed by hand onto a sticky note, then keyed into QuickBooks twice removed from the source. Voicemail intake closes that gap: the caller's order becomes a reviewable draft without anyone retyping it, and because it flows through the same review gate, a human still confirms before it hits the books.
It works across every trade we serve — an auto parts counter taking a rush order, an HVAC contractor calling in a unit and a coil, an electrical shop rattling off a wire-and-breaker list. Same pipeline, same on-device privacy, same human-review gate.
Stop transcribing voicemails by hand
Forward a voicemail and watch it become a matched QuickBooks Estimate — with the recording never leaving your computer. Free for 25 orders a month, no credit card.
Start free →More on the phone-order channel and how it plays out on each counter: the phone order that types itself.
Frequently asked
Does the recording get uploaded anywhere?
No. Transcription runs on your own machine with a local Whisper model by default. The audio and transcript never leave your computer or touch our servers. Cloud transcription exists but is an explicit opt-in.
How does the voicemail actually reach SideQuest?
Most phone and VoIP systems email the voicemail as an audio attachment. SideQuest reads it from the same inbox it already watches for emailed POs, then transcribes and parses it locally.
What do I need to turn it on?
A one-time local install of the open-source Whisper model. After that it runs offline — no API key, no per-minute cost. Cloud transcription is available if you'd rather, but you have to set that backend explicitly.
Does a voicemail order skip the review step?
Never. A parsed voicemail becomes a local draft Estimate exactly like an emailed PO. You review the matched lines and submit; nothing posts to QuickBooks until you approve.
Keep reading
Operations dashboard
Where the Pricing Intelligence card lives. Plus time saved, customer health, catalog hygiene, AR snapshot, review queue.
ReferenceEvery feature SideQuest ships
Organized by category, not release date. Eleven categories, ~80 individual capabilities.
DocsQuick-start guide
From "I have a SideQuest license" to "Pricing Intelligence working on my real data" in about 30 minutes.