SideNote Pro BYOK Workstation Rollout (Onboarding)

SideNote Pro BYOK Workstation Rollout (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Confirm Windows 11 and an existing AI provider account before touching a workstation

   SideNote Pro is a native Windows 11 sidebar, so a Windows 10 machine is a hard stop. Ask the client which provider they already pay for (OpenAI, Ollama, or LM Studio) and whether they hold an API key with billing enabled. If the client has no provider account, the engagement changes shape: they are buying an API subscription, not just a $49 licence, and that cost lands on their card, not the agency retainer.

2. 02

   Install SideNote Pro from the Microsoft Store on each target machine

   The $49 one-time licence covers one user across two devices, so a five-person client needs three licences at minimum. For teams of ten, the Business plan at $349 monthly covers 10 user licences with centralized purchase, coordinated licence issuance, and direct email support. Decide which path fits before installing, because mixing individual and Business licences on one client creates an admin mess at renewal.

3. 03

   Connect the client's own API key and verify the provider profile

   SideNote Pro ships with no bundled AI usage, so nothing works until a key is entered. Add the client's OpenAI key, or point the provider profile at their local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint. Test one selected-text action immediately: highlight a paragraph in Word, run summarize, and confirm a response returns. A silent failure here is almost always a key with no credit or a local model that is not running.

4. 04

   Run the four core capabilities against the client's real files

   Do not test with sample documents. Verify selected-text actions inside the client's actual apps, document analysis on a real PDF, DOCX, TXT, or Markdown file, screenshot capture and query, and local folder indexing with source attribution. Folder indexing is the step agencies skip and clients notice first, because an unindexed folder returns nothing when they ask a question about their own contracts.

5. 05

   Build the prompt library around the client's two most repeated text tasks

   Pick the workflows the client performs daily, for example summarizing client PDFs or rewriting client emails, and save them as reusable actions in the docked panel. Two well-chosen prompts get used; ten speculative ones get ignored. Name each prompt after the client's own vocabulary so staff recognize it without training.

6. 06

   Set local history retention and confirm where conversation data lives

   Conversation history and document analysis stay on the machine, which is the reason a law or accounting client will approve this at all. Walk the client's IT contact through the retention setting and state plainly that prompts leave the device only to reach their chosen provider. Get that acknowledged in writing before staff start pasting client material into the panel.

7. 07

   Hand off with a one-page card and a 30-day trial checkpoint

   The 30-day free trial makes the first month a live evaluation, so book a review call at day 25 to confirm usage before the licence converts. Leave the client a card listing their provider, their saved prompts, and who holds the API key. If the key holder leaves the firm, the whole deployment stops, so name a backup owner.