QuickBooks MCP: how to connect your books to Claude or ChatGPT

What is an MCP, and what does it let me do?

MCP is short for Model Context Protocol. It’s a way for an AI assistant to plug into another app. The protocol’s own site compares it to a USB-C port for AI apps. Claude calls these plug-ins connectors. OpenAI’s developer docs call the ones in ChatGPT plugins, and a plugin that needs live data runs on an MCP server.

Once your books are plugged in, the assistant can see your real numbers. Ask “Which invoices are more than 30 days overdue?” and you get the list from your books, in seconds. Ask “What did we spend on contractors last quarter?” and you get the total and the payments behind it.

It can do work, too. Say “Record a $48 parking expense from yesterday on the business card,” and it’s in your books. Say “Put this week’s Uber charges under travel,” and it’s done. That’s when the assistant starts to feel like a helper. For the bigger picture of what AI does in your books, read what AI accounting software is.

Which accounting apps can Claude and ChatGPT read and change?

QuickBooks in Claude can create and delete invoices and asks before deletes and payment reminders. Xero’s connector in Claude is read-only, while Xero’s developer MCP server can write. Each row comes from the company’s own pages, checked October 31, 2026.

Most of these record right away, just like you would. The difference is how much each one can do, and whether it checks with you first. For when each vendor launched its connector, see the AI accounting tracker.

How do I connect QuickBooks to Claude?

Intuit’s steps, as of October 2026 (checked October 31):

1. In Claude, open Customize in the sidebar, then Connectors.
2. Find QuickBooks and select Connect.
3. Sign in with your Intuit account when asked.
4. Start asking.

Intuit says the connector is for US customers. With an active QuickBooks or Intuit Enterprise Suite subscription, Claude works from your company’s data. Without one, you can still use some features by giving Claude your own numbers, like a pasted bank export. Claude can read your profit and loss, your cash flow and your company details. It can create, send and delete invoices and estimates, add customers and products, and bring in and categorize transactions.

Claude asks you first before it deletes an invoice or estimate, and before it emails a payment reminder. New invoices go straight into QuickBooks, so open QuickBooks afterward and give them a look. For the AI that works inside QuickBooks itself, see QuickBooks AI explained.

A connector that isn’t in Claude’s directory, like an MCP server you run yourself, is a custom connector. As of October 2026, Anthropic’s help center says custom connectors work on every Claude plan, from Free to Enterprise. Free users get one. On Team, only an owner can add one for the organization, and Enterprise can also give that job to a custom role. Members then connect to it one by one.

How do I connect QuickBooks to ChatGPT?

As of October 2026, in ChatGPT you open Plugins in the sidebar, search for Intuit QuickBooks, and select Connect. Intuit says it’s for QuickBooks Online customers in the US (help page updated August 26, 2026).

Intuit’s help page shows ChatGPT answering questions, like “Show me my open invoices.” Its July 2026 announcement says QuickBooks in both Claude and ChatGPT now goes beyond reading, including creating, sending and deleting invoices and estimates.

Is there a QuickBooks MCP server I can run myself?

Yes. Intuit publishes one on GitHub, called quickbooks-online-mcp-server. It runs on your own computer and talks to your QuickBooks Online company. It covers 29 kinds of records and 11 reports, and it can create, update and delete most of them. Switches in its settings turn off writing, updating or deleting if you only want it to read.

You’ll need to register an app on Intuit’s developer site and connect it to your company. That takes someone who writes code. For most owners, the built-in Claude or ChatGPT option is easier.

How do I get the most out of an accounting MCP?

• Start with questions. Let it answer for a week before you have it record anything.
• Give it the routine jobs first, like expenses, categories and payments.
• Before it records something, read what it says it’s going to do.
• Open the record in your books afterward, at least for the first few.
• Connect it to one company at a time, and check it’s the one you meant.
• Know where to disconnect it. In most products, as of October 2026, that’s under settings, then security or connected apps.