New Client Setup Guide
Keith Sampson — AI for Small Business — April 2026
📅 Product 1: FamCal — Family Calendar Bot
A Telegram bot that lets family members add events using natural language. Events go straight to Google Calendar. Parents get a daily summary at 7am.
What the customer provides
| Item | Details |
|---|
| Gmail address | New or existing — this is the calendar they'll see events on |
| Family members' names | So the bot knows who's adding events (e.g. Mum, Dad, Tegan, Ella) |
| Daily summary time | What time they want the morning ping (default 7am) |
| Timezone | UK by default — ask if they're elsewhere |
That's it from their side. No technical knowledge needed.
What you do (behind the scenes)
- Create a new Telegram bot via @BotFather — name it for their family (e.g. "Smith Family Calendar")
- Authenticate their Gmail/Calendar via gog on the VPS
- Deploy a copy of famcal_bot.py with their bot token, email, and timezone
- Add to PM2 for auto-restart
- Send them the Telegram bot link — they add it to a family group chat
- Test with them: type an event, confirm it appears on Google Calendar
What the customer does NOT need
- No API key (you use yours — pennies per client)
- No Google Cloud account
- No technical knowledge whatsoever
- No app to install (just Telegram, which most people already have)
- No ongoing maintenance from them
Your costs per client
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|
| Anthropic API | ~£2–5/month | Sonnet for parsing short messages |
| VPS | £0 extra | Already running, just another PM2 process |
| Google Calendar | Free | Standard Google account |
| Telegram bot | Free | Unlimited bots via BotFather |
🔧 Product 2: Trades Bot — AI Booking Assistant
A Telegram bot for small trade businesses (plumbers, electricians, carpenters) and mobile hairdressers. Customers message the bot to book jobs. The tradesperson gets a notification and a daily briefing.
What the customer provides
| Item | Details |
|---|
| Business name | For the bot greeting and dashboard |
| Their name | Who receives booking notifications |
| Telegram username | So the bot can send them notifications directly |
| Services offered | e.g. boiler repair, full bathroom fit, cut & blow dry, colour |
| Working hours | e.g. Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 9am–1pm |
| Service area | e.g. Truro and surrounding 15 miles |
| Logo (optional) | For the dashboard — not essential |
What you do (behind the scenes)
- Create a new Telegram bot via @BotFather — name it for their business
- Deploy a copy of the trades-bot with their config (business name, services, hours)
- Set up a dashboard page on the VPS (copy from trades-demo template)
- Configure the AI to understand their specific services and pricing
- Add to PM2 for auto-restart
- Give them the bot link to share with customers (website, business card, Facebook)
- Walk them through checking the dashboard and responding to bookings
What the customer does NOT need
- No website (the bot IS their booking system)
- No app to build or maintain
- No API keys or technical setup
- No computer skills beyond using Telegram on their phone
- No monthly software subscriptions (you handle the hosting)
Your costs per client
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|
| Anthropic API | ~£3–8/month | Depends on message volume |
| VPS | £0 extra | Same server, another PM2 process |
| Dashboard | £0 extra | Hosted on same VPS via Cloudflare Tunnel |
| Telegram bot | Free | Unlimited bots |
🔄 Key Differences Between Products
| FamCal | Trades / Hair Bot |
|---|
| Target | Families | Small businesses (1–5 staff) |
| Main function | Shared family calendar | Customer booking system |
| Google account | Yes — Calendar | Not required |
| Dashboard | No — all via Telegram | Yes — web dashboard for owner |
| Users | Family members in group chat | Public customers + business owner |
| Daily briefing | 7am summary to family group | 7am summary to business owner |
| Pricing model | £5–10/month subscription | £20–40/month + setup fee |
| Setup time | ~30 minutes | ~2–3 hours (customisation) |
✅ Quick Setup Checklist
FamCal
- Get Gmail address from customer
- Create TG bot via BotFather
- Authenticate Gmail via gog on VPS
- Copy and configure famcal_bot.py
- Start with PM2
- Send bot link to customer
- Test together — add event, check calendar
Trades / Hair Bot
- Get business details (name, services, hours, area)
- Create TG bot via BotFather
- Copy and configure bot + dashboard from template
- Set up Cloudflare Tunnel route for dashboard
- Start bot + dashboard with PM2
- Walk customer through Telegram and dashboard
- Give them bot link for business cards / Facebook / website