> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skupply.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting Started

> How the Skupply Signal bot works in the group chat

Skupply lives in the Signal group as a silent participant. It reads every message, but it only ever reacts to two kinds of messages — everything else (greetings, banter, "did Tony pay yet?") it quietly ignores.

## Two ways to talk to it

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Plain messages" icon="bolt">
    Just type the transaction the way you naturally would — an order, a payment, stock received, a return, or a balance question. No `@Skupply` needed. The bot reads the message and acts on it directly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="@Skupply mentions" icon="at">
    Tag `@Skupply` for open-ended questions — "how's business this month", "what's selling well". This is a conversational Q\&A mode, separate from the transaction commands in this guide.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What it can do without a mention

* **Place an order** — see [Placing an Order](/placing-an-order)
* **Record a payment** — see [Recording a Payment](/recording-a-payment)
* **Check who owes what** — see [Checking Balances](/checking-balances)
* **Log stock received** — see [Receiving Stock](/receiving-stock)
* **Process a return** — see [Returns](/returns)
* **Show current inventory** — see [Checking Inventory](/checking-inventory)

## The golden rule

If a message doesn't clearly and literally contain a transaction — a customer, products, quantities, an amount — the bot does nothing. It never guesses. If you're not sure it caught your message, check the group for a reply; if there's no reply within a few seconds, resend it more explicitly.

<Note>
  The bot never invents a customer, product, or number that isn't written in your message. If it doesn't recognize a customer or product you named, it will ask you to confirm or correct it rather than silently making one up.
</Note>