You're in. Here's what happens next.

You signed up for the SideQuest beta. The next 48 hours are about getting your first PO processed end to end. Thirty minutes of setup, then every future PO is one conversation with Claude.

The first 48 hours, step by step

1. 1

   You'll get an onboarding email within an hour

   Subject line: "SideQuest · Setup link inside." From [email protected]. If it hasn't arrived in 60 minutes, check spam and then reply to your beta signup with "didn't get it."

2. 2

   Install the connector and Claude Desktop

   Open the zip from the welcome email. On Mac, run bash install-connector.sh in Terminal. On Windows, double-click install.bat in the unzipped folder. Paste the license key when asked. Install Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download if you don't already have it. Five minutes total.

3. 3

   Connect QuickBooks Online via the OAuth Playground

   Create a free Intuit Developer app, then use Intuit's hosted OAuth Playground to authorize SideQuest and grab your Refresh Token. Paste the token into ~/.qb-distributor-mcp/.env. The connector uses the Estimates scope on QuickBooks. The quick start walks each click; ignore the old setup wizard's QB step, Intuit silently rejects the localhost redirect URI it uses.

4. 4

   Connect Gmail via Google Cloud Console

   Create a free Google Cloud project, enable the Gmail API, configure OAuth consent (External + Testing, add yourself as a test user), and create a Desktop OAuth client. One catch: the first client_secret.json Google offers is missing the secret. Click + Add secret on your OAuth client, then download the new file. Save it to ~/.qb-distributor-mcp/google_client_secret.json and run the Gmail OAuth dance. Connector uses gmail.modify scope (read + label change).

5. 5

   Wire credentials into Claude Desktop and restart

   The MCP server Claude Desktop launches does not read your .env file. Run the one-line Python command from the quick start that copies every value from .env into the env block of Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json. Cmd+Q Claude Desktop, reopen. The qb-distributor tools now show up in Claude's MCP menu.

6. 6

   Process your first real PO

   Take an incoming PO email. Add the purchase-orders Gmail label. Open Claude Desktop and ask: "list my incoming purchase orders and draft an estimate for each one." Claude reads the email, parses the PO, matches each line against your QuickBooks catalog, flags pricing variances, and shows you the draft inline.

7. 7

   Edit and submit

   Tell Claude what to change ("set line 3 to SKU BR-ELB-050-NPT", "apply 5% discount"). When the draft looks right, ask Claude to submit it. The Estimate writes to QuickBooks. Claude returns the QB Estimate number and link.

   Replying to the customer is on you. Paste the QB Estimate number into your usual reply template. Auto-reply is on the roadmap, not in this release.

8. 8

   Upload your cross-reference list (optional, recommended)

   A CSV with four columns: customer_id, customer_part, internal_sku, notes. SideQuest remembers these forever. The first week is the highest-value time to do this. Every weird PO format your customers use is fresh in your head.

What we need from you on Day 1

The email SideQuest sends you (so you know what to expect)

This is the exact onboarding email you'll receive after signup. Copy-paste-ready, you can save it as a template if you're an operator forwarding this to teammates.

Subject: SideQuest · Your license key and setup zip

Hi [first name],

Welcome aboard. You're on the SideQuest beta. The Free tier is yours forever
with no card on file. If you outgrow the 20 POs/month cap, upgrade in the
Stripe portal — the link is on the pricing page.

Your license key:

    [license_key]

Save that somewhere safe. The installer asks for it.

The connector zip is attached (sidequest-connector.zip). Unzip it,
then follow these in order:

1. Install the connector:
   On Mac:
   - Open Terminal (Cmd+Space, type "Terminal")
   - cd into the unzipped folder
   - Run: bash install-connector.sh
   On Windows:
   - Open the unzipped folder in File Explorer
   - Double-click install.bat
   Paste your license key when the installer prompts for it.

2. Install Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download if you don't have it.

3. Open the quick start guide at sidequestautomation.com/quick-start.html
   and work through Steps 2 through 5. In brief:
   - Step 2: connect QuickBooks via Intuit's OAuth Playground (~10 min)
     IMPORTANT: skip the old "qb-distributor-mcp setup" wizard's QB step.
     Intuit silently rejects the localhost redirect URI it depends on,
     so the wizard hangs forever. The Playground is the working path.
   - Step 3: connect Gmail via Google Cloud Console (~10 min). Note the
     "add second secret" workaround in Step 3f: Google's first download
     of client_secret.json is missing the secret, so you have to add a
     new one and download THAT one.
   - Step 4: run a Python one-liner that copies every value from .env
     into Claude Desktop's config file under the env block. (The MCP
     server Claude Desktop launches does NOT read your .env file.)

4. Fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q on Mac; right-click the tray icon on
   Windows, pick Quit). Closing the window is not enough. Reopen.
   Claude Desktop's config lives at:
   - Mac:     ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   - Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

5. Label a real PO email in Gmail with "purchase-orders." Open Claude
   Desktop and say: "list my incoming purchase orders and draft an
   estimate for each one." Edit by chat, ask Claude to submit. The
   Estimate writes to QuickBooks.

Two things you should know:

- SideQuest runs on YOUR computer, YOUR QuickBooks, YOUR Gmail. We never
  see your PO data, customer data, or pricing. The only thing the
  connector sends to our servers is a count of POs processed (for
  usage tracking).

- The first week is the highest-value time to upload your cross-reference
  list (CSV of customer part numbers ↔ your QB SKUs). Once it's in,
  SideQuest remembers forever.

If you get stuck, reply to this email. I read every one.

The SideQuest team
Founder, SideQuest Automation
sidequestautomation.com

Where to go next