Service Business: End-to-End Automation Playbook

Version: 1.0
Last Updated: July 2025

1. Overview & Purpose

This playbook is your friendly guide to understanding and building the automation system. Whether you’re new to automation or want to expand this workflow, you’ll find every step explained in plain English—no jargon, just practical advice and real examples.

• What it does: Turns a customer form submission into a professional quote, logs everything, and notifies your team if something needs review.
• Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to automate quoting, tracking, and notifications for a service business.

2. Visual Workflow

Here’s the big picture of how everything flows, step by step:

1. Customer submits a form (Squarespace or similar)
2. Address is cleaned and validated (using code and AI)
3. Google Maps API gets property info
4. Service quote is generated (custom JavaScript)
5. AI analyzes and formats the data
6. Email is generated and sent to the customer
7. All data is logged in Google Sheets
8. Slack notifications are sent if manual review is needed

3. Step-by-Step Setup

4. Field Mapping Reference

Here’s how data moves from the form, through the estimator, and into emails, Google Sheets, and Slack:

Form Field	Estimator Input	Email/Sheets/Slack Field
Customer Name	customer_name	{{customer_name}}
Property Address	property_address	{{property_address}}
Selected Services	selected_services	{{services_list}}
Subtotal	subtotal	{{subtotal}}
Discount	discount_amount	{{discount_amount}}
Final Total	final_total	{{final_total}}
Manual Review?	requires_manual_review	{{requires_manual_review}}

5. Sample Data & Outputs

Sample Form Submission

{
  "customer_name": "Jane Doe",
  "property_address": "123 Main St, Atlanta, GA",
  "selected_services": ["House Washing", "Concrete Cleaning"]
}

Sample Estimator Output

{
  "services_list": "House Washing, Concrete Cleaning",
  "subtotal": 450.00,
  "discount_amount": 45.00,
  "final_total": 405.00,
  "requires_manual_review": false
}

Sample Email

Subject: Your Property Cleaning Estimate

Hi Jane,

Here’s your custom quote:
- House Washing: $264.15
- Concrete Cleaning: $211.33

Total: $427.93

Thank you for choosing our services!

Sample Google Sheets Row

Jane Doe | 123 Main St, Atlanta, GA | House Washing, Concrete Cleaning | $427.93 | No | ...

Sample Slack Message (Manual Review)

:warning: Manual Review Required!
Name: Jane Doe
Address: 123 Main St, Atlanta, GA
Services: House Washing, Concrete Cleaning
Total: $427.93

6. Troubleshooting & Best Practices

• If something breaks: Start by checking the step right before the error. Is the data coming in as expected?
• Common issues: Field names don’t match, address isn’t cleaned, or a required field is missing.
• How to fix: Double-check your field mapping in Zapier. Make sure every step is getting the data it expects. Use Zapier’s “Test” feature at each step.
• For email issues: Make sure the email template placeholders match the field names from the estimator output.
• For Google Sheets issues: Check that the sheet headers match the mapped fields exactly. Zapier is picky about this!
• For Slack issues: Make sure the “Requires Manual Review” field is being set correctly in the estimator output.
• General tip: If you change anything in the form or estimator, update your Zapier field mapping and test again.

7. Expanding the Automation (Add New Services)

How to Add a New Service (Step-by-Step)

1. Update the Form: Add a new checkbox or dropdown for the new service (e.g., "Gutter Cleaning").
2. Update the Estimator Script: In smart_property_estimator_v3.js, add the new service to the SERVICES_CONFIG section. Set the price per square foot or per job, and any minimums.
3. Update the Email Template: Add a new line for the new service in your email template if you want it to show up in quotes.
4. Update Google Sheets: Add a new column if you want to track the new service separately.
5. Update Zapier Field Mapping: Make sure the new service is mapped from the form, through the estimator, and into Sheets/Slack/Email as needed.
6. Test Everything: Submit a test form with the new service selected. Make sure it shows up everywhere (email, Sheets, Slack).

9. Estimator Script Anatomy & Customization

8. FAQ / Common Issues