N8N User Manual: Your AI Quote Assistant

Welcome to the MDL automated Quote Intelligence system! This system uses Artificial Intelligence to help you quickly verify costs and track your projects.

1. What does this system do?

In short: It does the math for you. When you receive a quote from a supplier (like a PDF) and you have your own sales quote (an Excel sheet), the AI: 1. Reads both documents. 2. Checks if the costs match. 3. Flags any mistakes. 4. Updates our tracking sheet so everyone knows the status.

2. How do I use it?

The system is designed to stay out of your way. You can trigger it in two easy ways:

A. The "Forward and Forget" Method (Email)

Just forward any email containing a Supplier Quote (PDF) and a Sales Quote (Excel) to the MDL admin email. - Tip: Make sure the Quote ID (e.g., ML20261234) is in the subject or the filename. - Result: The system will automatically pick it up and start working.

B. The Manual Upload Form

If you have the files on your computer and want an immediate check: 1. Open the N8N Upload Form link. 2. Drag and drop your PDF and Excel files. 3. Click Submit.

3. Where can I see the results?

The system keeps two main records in Google Sheets:

The "Backbone" Sheet

Think of this as your Project Dashboard. - It tracks every quote we receive. - It shows the current status (e.g., "Received", "AI Analyzing", "Audit Color: GREEN/RED"). - Use this to see what projects are pending.

The "Quote Audit Log"

This is for the Finance Team. - It shows the exact dollar amounts, margins, and profit. - If there is a "WARNING", it means the AI found a discrepancy between what the vendor is charging and what we quoted.

4. What do I do if it goes wrong?

Sometimes technology gets stuck. Here are the simple fixes:

• "I don't see my quote in the sheet": Wait about 2 minutes. If it still doesn't appear, try uploading it via the Manual Form.
• "The price extracted is $0.00": This usually means the vendor changed their quote layout. Let the IT team know so they can "teach" the AI the new layout.
• "Red error lights in N8N": If you see a message about "Credentials", just click the node and sign in again with your Google or Outlook account.

5. Summary of Benefits

• [X] Multi-Currency Ready: Handles USD, CAD, and EUR with live exchange rates.
• [X] Intelligent Shipping Rules: Automatically applies exceptions for local HQ suppliers (e.g., Haivision QC).
• [X] Instant profit calculation including exchange rates.
• [X] Version Control: Every document you send is automatically saved to the right folder on Google Drive.
• [X] Automated Shipping Invoices: Shipping bills from TotalShip/NoviShip are automatically matched to your projects and pushed to QuickBooks with zero data entry.