Do I need to set up transcription for voicemail orders?

Usually no. If your voicemail arrives in Gmail with a text transcript — Google Voice includes one, and most VoIP systems do too — SideQuest reads the order straight from the email text with zero transcription setup: no engine, no key, no install. Transcription only comes into play when a voicemail is audio-only, with no transcript in the email.

How does a voicemail become a QuickBooks Estimate?

If the voicemail email already contains a transcript, SideQuest reads the spoken order directly from that text, matches the lines to your catalog, and drafts a QuickBooks Estimate. If it's audio-only, SideQuest transcribes it first — on-device by default — then follows the same path. You review and submit; nothing posts to QuickBooks until you approve.

What happens with an audio-only voicemail that has no transcript?

SideQuest transcribes it on your own machine using a local Whisper model, so the audio never leaves your computer. If you prefer cloud transcription, that's available with just an API key — no package install — but it's an explicit opt-in. You can also paste a transcript yourself at any time.

New · reads the Gmail transcript, no setup

Your Gmail & Google Voice voicemails become QuickBooks Estimates — no setup.

Some of your best customers still call the order in. If that voicemail lands in Gmail with a transcript — Google Voice includes one, and most VoIP systems do too — SideQuest reads the spoken order straight from the email text and drafts the Estimate. No transcription engine, no API key, no install. Audio-only voicemails fall back to private, on-device transcription.

Three ways a phone order becomes an Estimate

Voicemail with a transcript → zero setup

When the voicemail email already includes a text transcript (Google Voice does; most VoIP providers do), SideQuest reads the order right out of the email body. Nothing to install, nothing to configure, nothing uploaded. This is the easy path, and it covers most modern voicemail.

Audio-only attachment → private by default

No transcript in the email, just an .mp3 or .m4a? SideQuest transcribes it on your own machine with a local Whisper model, so the recording never leaves your computer. Prefer cloud transcription? It's available with just an API key — no package install — but it's an explicit opt-in.

Paste a transcript anytime

Have the words already, from your phone system or a quick listen? Paste the transcript and SideQuest parses it like any other order. No audio handling at all.

From there it's the same pipeline every order runs: SideQuest pulls the line items out of the freeform speech — quantities, units, part references — matches them against your catalog and cross-references, and drafts a local Estimate. Nothing reaches QuickBooks until you review and approve.

🔒 On-device when audio needs transcribing

When there's a recording to transcribe, it stays on your computer

The zero-setup path (tier 1) never touches audio — it just reads text that's already in your inbox, so nothing is uploaded anywhere. When a voicemail is audio-only and SideQuest does have to transcribe it, that happens on-device by default with a local Whisper model, so the recording 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 for the audio-only case? It's available and now needs only an API key — no package install — but it's an explicit opt-in you have to turn on.

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 human-review gate.

Stop transcribing voicemails by hand

If your voicemails land in Gmail with a transcript, forward one and watch it become a matched QuickBooks Estimate — no setup. Free for 75 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

Do I need to set up transcription?

Usually not. If your voicemail arrives in Gmail with a transcript — Google Voice includes one, and most VoIP systems do — SideQuest reads the order from the email text with no engine, no key, and no install. Transcription only matters for audio-only voicemails.

Does this work with every phone system?

The zero-setup path depends on your provider putting a transcript in the voicemail email. Google Voice does, and most modern VoIP providers do, but not every system. If yours only sends an audio file, SideQuest falls back to transcribing it on-device — you're still covered, it just does one extra step.

What about an audio-only voicemail — does the recording get uploaded?

No. SideQuest transcribes audio-only voicemails on your own machine with a local Whisper model, so nothing leaves your computer. Cloud transcription is available with just an API key if you want it, but it's an explicit opt-in.

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.

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