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 with one command

   Create a free Intuit Developer app, add https://sidequestautomation.com/qb/callback as a Redirect URI, then drop your Client ID and Client Secret into ~/.qb-distributor-mcp/.env. Run sidequest reauth-qb from any Terminal. It opens Intuit's consent page in your browser, captures the authorization code via the hosted callback, exchanges it for a refresh token locally, writes QB_REALM_ID and QB_REFRESH_TOKEN to .env, and auto-pushes everything into Claude Desktop's config. From v0.15.13 onward the refresh token rotates itself; you don't have to re-auth every few days. The quick start walks each click.

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 ~/.qb-distributor-mcp/venv/bin/python ~/.qb-distributor-mcp/reinject.py (one short command) to copy every value from .env into the env block of claude_desktop_config.json. Cmd+Q Claude Desktop, reopen. The SideQuest Automation tools now show up in Claude's MCP menu. (Step 3's sidequest reauth-qb already runs the reinject for you; this step matters when you edit .env by hand.)

6. 6

   Process your first real PO

   v0.15.9: no Gmail label setup needed. Just open Claude Desktop and ask: "list my incoming purchase orders and draft an estimate for each one." The connector scans your inbox for POs automatically (subject keywords, PDF attachments, PO ref anchors in the body) and auto-labels what it finds. Claude reads each PO, matches every line against your QuickBooks catalog, flags pricing variances, and shows you the draft inline. If you want to scope SideQuest to specific customer domains, you can still set up a Gmail filter — it's optional, not required.

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
   and work through Steps 2 through 5. In brief:
   - Step 2: connect QuickBooks. Create an Intuit Developer app, add
     https://sidequestautomation.com/qb/callback as a Redirect URI, drop
     Client ID + Secret into .env, then run `sidequest reauth-qb`. One
     command runs the OAuth dance, writes your refresh token to .env, and
     pushes the credentials into Claude Desktop's config. (Skip the legacy
     `sidequest setup` wizard's QB step — Intuit silently rejects the
     localhost redirect URI it uses.)
   - 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 the reinject script 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. Forward a real PO to your Gmail. Open Claude Desktop and say: "list
   my incoming purchase orders and draft an estimate for each one." The
   v0.15.9 connector auto-detects POs from your inbox (no Gmail filter
   setup required). 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