This is training to deliver a service, not a course to consume. You finish Module 1 with a real audit in a real client's hands, Module 2 with a decision on the table — and certification is issued on that evidence, not on watching videos.
Module 1 · Strand A — what you deliver
The Open-Estimate Audit
You can produce the audit from a client’s QuickBooks export in under an hour — and read a quote pipeline the way you read a balance sheet.
1
Why open estimates are where cash hides
An estimate that never became an invoice is either unfinished revenue or unacknowledged bad news — and most books carry months of both. Owners feel it as “we’re busy but cash is tight.” You can show it as a number: the open-pipeline value, aged. That number is the fastest advisory conversation-starter in the book, because it comes from the client’s own data and nobody has ever shown it to them.
2
The four findings, and how to read them
Open-estimate value says how much is stuck. Estimate-to-invoice conversion says how much of what they quote becomes billed work — count and dollars separately, because losing the big ones matters more. Estimate-to-invoice lag says how long winning takes. The aging picture says which estimates are still alive and which have quietly died: 90+ days almost never closes on its own. Concentration tells you where one conversation could move a third of the pipeline at once.
3
Choosing the first client
A service business that quotes — trades, contractors, job shops, field services — ideally in QuickBooks, with at least ~20 estimates a year and an owner who trusts you. Avoid starting with the messiest book you know; start with the one where the owner will actually act on what you find. The audit tool tells you honestly when a book is too thin to read — that is a finding too, not a failure.
4
Run it — and make it yours
Export the Estimates list (12–24 months), drop it in the audit tool, and read the report before your client does: know which finding leads. Put your firm name on it and print. The report is white-labeled because the insight is yours — you knew the mess was there; the tool just counted it. Nothing uploads; the client’s file never leaves your machine.
Completion checklist
0/5
Progress saves in this browser only — nothing is sent to a server. Certification is reviewed personally, so the checklist is your working memory, not the credential.
Module 2 · Strand A — what you deliver
The Advisory Conversation
You can turn the audit into a client decision — presented without blame, anchored on dollars, closed with owned next steps.
1
Present findings, not faults
The audit describes the pipeline, not the person. “$68,500 is sitting in estimates older than 90 days” lands as information; “you never follow up” lands as an accusation and ends the conversation. Read the numbers as observations, let the owner react first, and resist explaining every chart — the report does that. Your job is the pause after the biggest number.
2
Anchor on dollars, then ask one question
Lead with the single largest dollar finding, then ask: “which of these would you want back first?” The owner picks the priority — which means the plan that follows is theirs, not yours. Advisors who rank the problems for the client get polite agreement; advisors who make the client rank them get decisions.
3
Three recommendations — only one is Setell
The action plan carries three recommendations. Two are process fixes the client can do without buying anything: chase or close every 90+ day estimate this week; set a standing follow-up rhythm on new quotes. One is the structural fix: put the quote-to-invoice pipeline on rails with Setell. The two-to-one ratio is deliberate — the majority of your advice is non-self-serving, which is exactly why the third recommendation gets taken seriously.
4
Every item gets an owner and a date
A recommendation without an owner and a date is a wish. Close the meeting by writing both on each action — the client owns the follow-ups, you own the check-in, and if Setell is on the plan, the trial starts through you. Then book the debrief before you leave: the second audit gets scheduled while the first one is still warm.
Completion checklist
0/4
Progress saves in this browser only — nothing is sent to a server. Certification is reviewed personally, so the checklist is your working memory, not the credential.
Module 3 · Strand B — how you operate
Scale It: Your Firm’s AI Operating Rules
The process repeats across your whole book without us in the loop — operating rules, per-client memory, and verification discipline, taught as firm practices.
Live in the founding cohort only — this module is delivered as a working session once you’ve run two audits, because the scaling pain has to be real before the patterns land. Founding seats are capped at twelve. Apply for a founding seat →
The Credential
Setell Certified Advisor
The credential says one specific thing: this advisor has taken a real client from export to audit to advisory conversation. It is reviewed and issued personally — it cannot be self-awarded, and content consumption alone does not earn it.
What it takes
Complete Modules 1 and 2
The checklists above, done in order.
Deliver a white-label audit to a real client
The printed report, under your firm’s name, in a client’s hands.
Hold the advisory conversation
An action plan with owners and dates — and the outcome, whichever way it went.
Debrief with us
A 20-minute review of what the client said. This is where certification is issued.
The badge you display
For your site, proposals, and LinkedIn. Issued with your certificate — embed codes and usage rules live in the marketing kit.
