---
url: https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/teach-pencel-about-your-business.md
description: >-
  Four ways to teach Pencel about your business so every room gets it right,
  plus how to review suggested facts, write clear rules and check what a room
  knows.
---

# Teach Pencel about your business

Use this when you want your rooms to know your business the way a good new hire would: what you sell, who you sell to, your rules and your paperwork. Everything you teach goes into [Knowledge](/concepts/knowledge), and every room draws on it. The more Pencel knows, the less you have to correct it.

## Four ways to teach Pencel

### 1. Answer the cards on Home

[Home](/concepts/home) asks you what it needs, one card at a time.

* **Setup cards.** If you picked **Find government RFPs**, Pencel asks **What does your company sell, and to whom?**, then follows up with cards about your registrations, the contract sizes worth your time and where you can deliver. A **Confirm what you sell** card may ask you to confirm what its research found.
* **"Pencel needs" cards.** When a room runs into a question about your business that Knowledge can't answer, a card starting with **Pencel needs:** asks you. Type the answer and click **Save**, or click **Not relevant**.

Your answers become confirmed facts under **Knowledge ▸ Facts**.

### 2. Add facts yourself

1. Click **Knowledge** in the left sidebar, then the **Facts** tab.
2. Under **About your business**, click **Add**.
3. Fill in **What it is** (for example, "Payment terms") and **Value** (for example, "Net 30 for public agencies"), and save.

Or let Pencel do the legwork: in the **Tell Pencel what your company does** card, answer **What do you sell?**, add your website and any documents, and click **Research my company**. Pencel proposes facts for you to review. Nothing is saved without your OK.

### 3. Add your documents

1. In **Knowledge**, click **Add Knowledge**.
2. Choose how to add them: **Drop / Paste** for files or text, **Add / Sync folder** for a whole folder, or **URL** for a web page.
3. Open each document and set **Activation**: **Always** for the few things every room must read, **Smart** for everything else.

The documents that help most are the ones you'd hand a new hire: your capability statement, price list, past proposals, certificates, standard procedures and style guide.

### 4. Tell a room

* **Say it in the room.** "Always flag anything over $50K" gets the reply "Saved as a standing rule", and it applies to all future work in that room. Click **Edit rules** to change it.
* **Write it in the room's settings.** Click the room's name, then **About**, and add a line to **Instructions**. One rule per line.
* **Drop in a file.** Drag a file into the room and choose **Keep** so every future message there can use it.

See [Programs and rooms](/concepts/programs) for more on rooms.

## Review what Pencel suggests

Pencel also suggests facts it finds in your documents and in what you say in rooms. None of them is used until you confirm it.

1. Go to **Knowledge ▸ Facts**. A banner reads **Review N new facts** when suggestions are waiting.
2. For each suggestion, click **Confirm** to keep it or **Not right** to remove it for good.
3. If a suggestion differs from a fact you already confirmed, click **Use this** to switch to the new value or **Keep mine** to keep yours.
4. Under **For bids and quotes**, expand a category to see what Pencel noticed in your documents. **Confirm** what's real and **Dismiss** the rest.

## Write rules that work

A **fact** is something true about your business: "Payment terms: Net 30." A **rule** tells Pencel how to act: "Never quote below $85 an hour." Put facts in **Facts**. Put rules where they apply:

| The rule is for | Put it here |
|---|---|
| One room | Say it in the room, or add it to the room's **Instructions** |
| Every room | A Knowledge document with **Activation** set to **Always**. **Add Knowledge ▸ Generate with AI ▸ Guideline** drafts one for you and files it in **Guidelines**. |

### What makes a good rule

* **Be specific.** Name the number, the place or the person.
* **One rule per line.** Short rules are easier to follow and easier to change.
* **Use "always" and "never" for hard lines.** "Try to avoid" leaves room for doubt.
* **Say what to do instead.** "Anything lower needs my OK" is clearer than "don't go low."
* **Write things that stay true.** "Sam is out this week" will be wrong next week. Put short-term notes in the room chat instead.

| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| Be careful with big bids. | Flag any opportunity over $500K for my review before drafting a proposal. |
| Write professionally. | In client emails, use the person's first name, stay under 150 words and end with one clear next step. |
| Don't bid on things we can't do. | Skip bids that need a security clearance or on-site work outside Texas and Oklahoma. |
| Watch our pricing. | Never quote below $85 an hour for on-site work. Anything lower needs my OK. |

::: tip Keep "Always" short
Every document set to **Always** is read for every task. A one-page company overview and a short list of hard rules is plenty. Set longer material, like procedures and price sheets, to **Smart**.
:::

## Check what a room knows

1. Open the room and click its name at the top.
2. Go to the **Knowledge** tab.
3. **Room knowledge** lists the files and documents only this room reads. Use **+ Add knowledge** to add more. A document's menu lets you **Share with all rooms** or **Remove** it.
4. **What this program knows about your company** shows the company facts the room uses, with links to add or confirm more.
5. The line **Also reads N docs shared with all rooms** counts the Knowledge documents the room gets on top of its own.

The **About** tab shows the room's **Instructions** and the rules you gave in chat.

To test it, just ask the room: "What do you know about our certifications?" If something's missing or wrong, fix it in **Knowledge ▸ Facts**.

## Related

* [Knowledge](/concepts/knowledge)
* [Keep a web page in Knowledge](/guides/linking-web-pages)
* [Programs and rooms](/concepts/programs)
* [Memory](/concepts/memory)
* [RFP Operations](/programs/rfp-operations)