Trade playbooks
Overview
A playbook is a free, Setell-curated starter setup for your trade. Applying one shapes how Setell behaves for you from the first conversation: the questions Studio asks before drafting a quote, a set of structure-only starter quote templates named for your kind of work, placeholder hints in your shop's vocabulary, and nudges toward the connections that matter (like QuickBooks).
The one thing a playbook never contains is prices. Every price field starts unset. Day one it gives you your trade's structure; connect QuickBooks and Setell learns from what you actually paid and charged — and shows its work on every line. See how the pricing engine learns.
The playbooks
Each playbook covers a trade cluster, not a micro-niche — the fine-grained specialization comes later, from your own jobs.
| Playbook | Covers |
|---|---|
| Machine Shop | CNC machining, fabrication, welding, prototyping |
| HVAC | Installs, changeouts, service and repair, refrigeration |
| Landscaping & Outdoor | Lawncare, tree service & arborists, hardscapes, synthetic turf |
| General Contractor | Remodels, additions, punch-out, small commercial |
| Electrician | Panel upgrades, new circuits, lighting, service and repair |
| Plumber | Repipes, water heaters, drain and sewer, service and repair |
| Roofing | Asphalt shingle, metal, flat and low-slope, repairs |
| Exterior Envelope | Siding and cladding, windows and doors, roofing, gutters, trim |
| Fencing | Wood privacy, vinyl, chain link, aluminum, farm and ranch |
What applying one does
- Teaches Setell your intake. Setell learns the price-driver questions for your trade — what a drawing, a size class, or a site condition changes — and asks them before drafting. This shapes Studio, the quote drafter, and the drafts Setell writes from inbound email alike.
- Creates starter quote structures. Named templates with your trade's line items in the right order (for example, a machine shop gets material, setup and programming, run time, finishing, and inspection as separate lines). Structure only — no prices.
- Relabels your shop profile. Your shop-profile card speaks your trade — its section labels and placeholder suggestions use your vocabulary (a landscaper sees Equipment, not Machines), so you know what's worth telling Setell about your gear, materials, and processes. It only changes the wording on the form; a playbook never fills in or edits your profile answers.
- Shapes your proposals. When you build a full proposal (
docs/quotes/proposals), its sections lean into what your trade's buyers care about — highlighting only facts from your own data, never adding any. - Suggests payment terms in your trade's words. Applied only if you're still on the default terms — if you've set your own, they're left exactly as they are. (The machine-shop playbook keeps the default.)
- Suggests the next connections. An ordered set of nudges — connect QuickBooks so pricing learns your real costs, wire inbound email so requests land as drafts, and so on.
Where you can apply one
- Onboarding. New accounts get a playbook picker — choose your trade and the setup happens before your first quote.
- Settings. Switch trades any time under Settings → Your trade — pick a playbook card and Save trade. Switching is additive: your templates, prices, and profile are never overwritten, and anything you've already customised stays yours.
- Studio. Ask in plain language: "set me up with the HVAC playbook." Studio applies it and tells you what changed.
- Your own agent (MCP). If you drive Setell from Claude, ChatGPT, or another MCP-aware agent, call
setell_list_playbooksto see what's available andsetell_apply_playbookto apply one.
What a playbook doesn't do
- It doesn't price anything. There are no rates, no unit prices, no "typical ranges" — a playbook is structure only. Pricing suggestions start once Setell has your data: connect QuickBooks and it mines your recent invoices for pricing signal, and every quote you send and sign sharpens it from there. The pricing engine shows its work on every suggested line.
- It doesn't lock you in. The starter structures become your templates — rename them, add or remove lines, change units, or delete them.
- It doesn't replace your judgment. Studio still drafts, you still review; the playbook just means the draft starts in your trade's shape.
Applying it again later
Re-applying a playbook is safe. Setell returns a report of what it applied and what it skipped, and it never overwrites your work. If you already have any quote templates at all, no starter structures are added — it's all-or-nothing, not template-by-template, so nothing you've built can be clobbered. Payment terms are left alone unless you're still on the default. Switching playbooks works the same way: additive, with a report.
FAQ
- Do playbooks cost anything? No. Applying a playbook is free — it's the starting scaffold for your account, not a paid add-on.
- My trade isn't listed — can I still use Setell? Yes. Playbooks are a head start, not a requirement. Setell learns any trade from your own QuickBooks history and signed quotes.
- Can I see what a playbook contains before applying it? Yes — each playbook page on the marketing site lists its intake guidance, starter structures, and nudges, and
setell_list_playbooksreturns the same summary over MCP.
Related
docs/getting-started/first-quote·docs/connect-quickbooks·docs/meet-studio·docs/import/quickbooks-history
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