Claude + LedgerMCP

Do your bookkeeping with Claude

Claude is a capable bookkeeper; it just needs a ledger it can operate. LedgerMCP is real double-entry accounting software that connects to Claude in about a minute. Free to start, every action logged and reversible.

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Claude, connected

Here’s my June statement. Import it and categorize everything.

Imported 84 transactions and categorized 81. Three are flagged for your review. Two internal transfers matched so nothing double-counts. Want me to reconcile against the statement balance?

Connect Claude in four steps

On claude.ai (web and mobile apps), the connection is OAuth by URL: nothing to paste but the address.

1
Open Claude connectors
In Claude, go to Settings, then Connectors, then "Add custom connector".
2
Paste the LedgerMCP URL
Enter https://ledgermcp.com/mcp as the connector URL. Leave the OAuth client fields blank; Claude registers itself.
3
Sign in
Claude opens a LedgerMCP sign-in. Enter your email, type the 6-digit code, and approve. New accounts are created on the spot, free.

Step 4: start keeping books. Ask Claude to set up your books, then hand it a bank statement. It imports, categorizes, and reconciles from there. From that point Claude works like staff: you talk in plain language, it calls the tools, and the web app is your review surface.

Using Claude Desktop or Claude Code instead? Mint an API key in Settings → Agent access and add the config on the right to your MCP settings. One key covers every book in your account; read-only keys are available too.

Connect your agent

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ledgermcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ledgermcp.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer lmcp_YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Things to say to your new bookkeeper

Claude reads statements you paste or attach, asks when a category is ambiguous, and posts everything as balanced journal entries. You review its work in the web app; the audit log shows every action it took, attributed to its credential, with a one-click reverse next to each.

Under each request, Claude is calling real MCP tools, the same 60-tool surface documented at /docs. The calls below are what “categorize that” actually does.

Set up books for my consulting business.
Here is my June statement as a CSV. Import it and categorize everything.
What did I spend on software last quarter?
Reconcile checking against a statement balance of $8,214.55.
Split that Costco charge: $180 supplies, $95 meals.
Tag everything from Acme LLC as a vendor and show the 1099 total.
Anything unusual in the last 90 days?
Close out the month and give me a P&L.

Tool callcategorize_transaction

{
  "business_id": "b_9f2…",
  "transaction_id": "tx_58c1…",
  "category_account_id": "acct_software",
  "idempotency_key": "close-jun-tx58c1"
}

Posted a balanced entry: Software expense ↔ Business checking. Reversible from the audit log.

Tool callverify_books

{
  "business_id": "b_9f2…"
}

All invariants hold: every entry balances, trial balance ties, accounting equation intact.

Four jobs people actually hand Claude

The month-end close

Once a month, one conversation: import the statement, categorize, match transfers, reconcile to the bank balance, book depreciation, lock the period, and produce the P&L. What used to be an evening is a coffee.“Close out June: import the attached statement, reconcile checking to $12,410.22, and lock the month.”

Catch-up bookkeeping

Months (or years) behind? Feed Claude statements month by month. Bulk import dedupes rows, bulk categorize posts each row independently so one odd transaction never blocks the rest, and you review only what it flags.“I have not done books since January. Here are six statements. Work through them month by month and flag anything you are unsure about.”

The personal-card sweep

Bought business things on a personal card? Connect the card as a personal account and Claude pulls just the business expenses into the books, posted properly against Owner’s Contribution.“Scan my personal card for business expenses from last quarter and pull them into the books.”

1099 season

Have Claude tag vendor payments as it categorizes all year. In January, the 1099 report is already done: totals per vendor, $600 threshold flagged, missing W-9s called out.“Which vendors crossed $600 this year, and which are missing a W-9?”

Why this works when spreadsheets do not

Giving Claude a spreadsheet means trusting it not to make mistakes. Giving it LedgerMCP means it cannot make the expensive ones. Entries must balance to the cent or the database refuses them. Nothing is edited or deleted; corrections post as linked reversals. Replayed requests return the original entry instead of double-posting.

The ledger enforces the rules so you do not have to check Claude’s arithmetic. You check its judgment, in a review queue, which is a much shorter job. The full guarantees are on the security page.

Balanced by construction

Debits equal credits at commit, enforced in Postgres, not hoped for in app code.

Nothing edits history

Postings are immutable for everyone, including us. Corrections are linked reversals.

Retries are harmless

Idempotency keys mean a replayed request returns the original entry, never a duplicate.

Everything reversible

Every Claude write sits in the audit log with a one-click reverse.

Common questions

Can Claude really do bookkeeping?

Yes, when it has a ledger it can operate. Connected to LedgerMCP, Claude gets 60 accounting tools: it imports statements, posts balanced journal entries, splits transactions, matches transfers, reconciles accounts, and runs reports. What it cannot do is corrupt the books, because the database enforces the accounting rules.

How do I connect Claude to LedgerMCP?

Four steps, about a minute: Settings → Connectors → “Add custom connector,” enter https://ledgermcp.com/mcp, and sign in with a 6-digit email code. New accounts are created during sign-in, free. Claude Desktop and Claude Code connect with an API key instead.

Does Claude work with QuickBooks?

Intuit ships a QuickBooks MCP server, but as of mid-2026 it is a local developer preview: it runs as a subprocess on a developer’s machine, requires registering your own app on the Intuit Developer Portal, and works one company at a time, all on top of a paid QuickBooks subscription. LedgerMCP is the opposite shape: a hosted server, one URL, unlimited books, free.

What about Claude Code and Claude Desktop?

Both work. Create an API key in Settings → Agent access and add the MCP config shown on this page. Read-only keys are available for reporting-only access, useful when an agent should analyze but never write.

Can Claude break my books?

No. The database rejects unbalanced entries, postings are immutable, and every correction is a linked reversal. Each Claude action lands in an audit log where you can reverse it with one click. A confused retry cannot double-post either, because every write carries an idempotency key.

Is my financial data used to train Claude?

LedgerMCP never trains on your books and ships no AI of its own. What Claude does with conversation data is governed by your Anthropic plan and settings, the same terms as everything else you tell Claude. Bank credentials never pass through either company: Plaid handles bank connections, and tokens are encrypted at rest.

Can Claude do my personal finances too?

Yes. Books can be business or personal under one account, and the same tools work: import card statements, categorize spending, track subscriptions and budgets, and get a safe-to-spend picture. Ask Claude to “set up a personal book” and go from there.

What does it cost?

Free. Unlimited books, CSV import, reports, and the full Claude toolset cost nothing. Live bank feeds are the one paid upgrade, from $9 per month pooled across all your books.

Give Claude the books

Free for CSV and manual books. Connected in about a minute, and everything it does is reversible.

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