Finance & Accounting · Xero + Claude
Xero MCP with Claude: Faster Invoicing and Finance Reporting
The short answer
Claude works with Xero through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that acts like a secure adapter between the two. Once connected through Xero's OAuth sign-in, Claude can read financial information and, with permission, create invoices, retrieve bank transactions, fetch reports and manage contacts from natural language requests.
What is Xero?
Xero is cloud-based accounting software built for small businesses. It handles invoicing, bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and real-time financial reports, and it can be used from any device with an internet connection. Business owners, bookkeepers, accountants and finance teams use it to keep day-to-day money matters organised and to see the state of the business at any time.
How Claude connects to Xero through MCP
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets Claude securely use other software. Think of it as a universal adapter between Claude and a tool such as Xero. Through it, Claude can reach the information and actions you allow, and nothing beyond that.
Once Xero is connected, Claude can typically read contacts, bank transactions and financial reports, and it can draft or create invoices and manage contact details when asked. For example, a finance manager can ask for a list of overdue invoices for a particular client, or request a profit summary for the last quarter, and receive the answer in plain English.
Permissions and approvals keep your people in charge. Access is granted through Xero's OAuth sign-in and limited to the scope you choose. Consequential actions, such as issuing an invoice or changing contact details, can be set to require a human to review and approve before they take effect.
What you can automate
Drafting invoices from job notes
A field engineer or project lead types a short summary of completed work. Claude turns it into a draft invoice in Xero with the right customer, line items and terms, ready for a finance team member to check and send. This cuts the time between finishing a job and getting paid.
Chasing overdue payments
A credit controller asks Claude which invoices are more than thirty days overdue and for which customers. Claude gathers the list from Xero and drafts polite reminder messages for review. The team keeps control over what is sent and when.
Reviewing bank transactions
A bookkeeper asks Claude to pull unreconciled bank transactions for the month and group them by likely category. Claude highlights anything unusual, such as a duplicate payment, so the bookkeeper can focus attention where it matters.
Preparing management reports
A managing director asks for a profit and loss summary compared with the previous year. Claude fetches the relevant financial reports from Xero and presents the key movements in short, readable notes, saving the hours usually spent exporting and formatting figures.
Keeping customer records tidy
An office administrator asks Claude to find duplicate contacts or to update a customer's billing address. Claude proposes the changes in Xero, and the administrator confirms them before anything is saved, keeping records accurate across the business.
An end-to-end workflow: Month-end client billing and reporting
TriggerA project is marked complete in the team's project management system at month end.
Claude reads the completed project details and approved hours from the project system.
Claude drafts a client invoice in Xero using the agreed rates and billing terms.
The finance team reviews the draft and approves it in Microsoft 365 before it is issued.
Once issued, Claude records the invoice against the client in the CRM and notes the expected payment date.
Claude pulls the updated accounts receivable report from Xero and sends a short summary to the finance lead.
OutcomeInvoices reach clients sooner, billing errors fall, and the finance lead starts each month with a clear view of what is owed, typically reducing month-end admin considerably.
How we set it up
Free automation audit
We review how invoicing, bookkeeping and reporting currently run in your business and identify the workflows worth automating first, at no cost.
Secure connection
We connect Claude to Xero through the Xero connection using OAuth sign-in, granting only the access each workflow needs, with least-privilege permissions.
Workflow design
We design the end-to-end process across Xero and your other systems, such as Microsoft 365, your CRM or ERP, deciding which steps need a person to approve.
Testing with real cases
We test the workflow against past invoices, transactions and reports to confirm accuracy before anything goes live.
Launch, monitoring and training
We launch with audit logs and monitoring in place, then train your finance and admin teams so they are confident using and overseeing the system.
Who benefits
- Business owners
- Clearer, faster answers about cash flow and profit without waiting for month-end reports.
- Bookkeepers and accountants
- Less manual data entry and quicker reconciliation, freeing time for review and advice.
- Credit controllers
- Faster identification of overdue invoices and consistent, timely follow-up.
- Operations and admin teams
- Fewer repetitive keying tasks and cleaner customer records across systems.
Security and control
- Access is granted through OAuth sign-in and limited to the permissions each workflow requires.
- People approve consequential actions, such as issuing invoices or changing contact details.
- Audit logs record what Claude accessed and changed, supporting review and accountability.
- Sensitive financial data is handled under your existing access controls and is never shared beyond the connected workflow.
- Workflows are tested before launch and monitored afterwards, so issues are caught early.
For teams in the US, UK, India and the Middle East
Organisations in the United States and the United Kingdom can host the solution in a region that meets their data residency expectations. Businesses in India must align with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and we design access and storage accordingly. Companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia must follow local data protection laws, and we choose the hosting region to meet those requirements. Compliance depends on each organisation's obligations, and we help you confirm them.
Learn more about Claude and MCP
Anthropic's AI model and assistant.
Secure links between Claude and business tools.
How engineers build and change software with Claude.
Hosted agents that run multi-step work.
The open standard Claude uses to connect to tools.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Xero MCP server do?
The Xero MCP server acts as a secure bridge between Claude and your Xero account. It allows Claude to read and act on the information you permit, such as invoices, bank transactions, reports and contacts, using natural language requests. It exposes only the capabilities you approve, so Claude works within clearly defined limits.
Is connecting Claude to Xero secure?
Security depends on how the connection is set up. Access is granted through Xero's OAuth sign-in, which avoids sharing passwords directly. We apply least-privilege permissions, add approval steps for consequential actions and keep audit logs, so you can see exactly what was accessed and changed.
What can Claude do with Xero once connected?
Typically Claude can create invoices, retrieve bank transactions, fetch financial reports and manage contacts when asked in plain language. It can also summarise results and flag anomalies. The exact actions available are set during design, so you decide what Claude is allowed to do.
How long does setup take?
A simple connection can be set up quickly, but a complete workflow usually takes several weeks. This includes the free audit, secure connection, design, testing against real cases and training. The timeline depends on how many systems are involved and how complex your approval steps are.
What Xero plan or permissions do I need?
You need a Xero account with access that allows the connection and the actions you want to automate. Requirements vary by setup, so we check your current account and user permissions during the free audit and recommend any changes needed before connecting.