finance

Xero Accounting

john-zhang-dev

by john-zhang-dev

Seamlessly connect with Xero software to access accounts, transactions, and invoices for efficient financial analysis an

Integrates with Xero Accounting Software to access financial data including accounts, transactions, contacts, invoices, and more through authenticated API connections for financial analysis and bookkeeping tasks.

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18

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Full Xero API integrationOAuth2 authentication required

best for

  • / Accountants analyzing client financial data
  • / Business owners tracking expenses and revenue
  • / Developers building financial reporting tools
  • / Automating bookkeeping workflows

capabilities

  • / Authenticate with Xero via OAuth2
  • / Access accounts and transaction data
  • / Retrieve invoices and billing information
  • / Query contact and customer records
  • / Create bank transactions
  • / Pull financial reports and data

what it does

Connects to Xero accounting software to retrieve financial data like accounts, invoices, and transactions through authenticated API access. Requires OAuth setup with Xero developer credentials.

about

Xero Accounting is a community-built MCP server published by john-zhang-dev that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Seamlessly connect with Xero software to access accounts, transactions, and invoices for efficient financial analysis an It is categorized under finance.

how to install

You can install Xero Accounting in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.

license

MIT

Xero Accounting is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.

readme

Xero MCP Server

smithery badge

This MCP server allows Clients to interact with Xero Accounting Software.

Get Started

  1. Make sure node and Claude Desktop are installed.

  2. Create an OAuth 2.0 app in Xero to get a CLIENT_ID and CLIENT_SECRET.

    • Create a free Xero user account (if you don't have one)
    • Login to Xero Developer center https://developer.xero.com/app/manage/
    • Click New app
    • Enter a name for your app
    • Select Web app
    • Provide a valid URL (can be anything valid eg. https://www.myapp.com)
    • Enter redirect URI: http://localhost:5000/callback
    • Tick to Accept the Terms & Conditions and click Create app
    • On the left-hand side of the screen select Configuration
    • Click Generate a secret
  3. Modify claude_desktop_config.json file

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "xero-mcp": {
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "xero-mcp@latest"],
          "env": {
            "XERO_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
            "XERO_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
            "XERO_REDIRECT_URI": "http://localhost:5000/callback"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    
  4. Restart Claude Desktop

  5. When the Client decides to access a Xero tool for the first time, a Xero login page will pop up to ask your consent. Complete the auth flow and manually close the web page (as the Xero page will not auto close in this version)

    Privacy alert: after completing the Xero OAuth2 flow, your Xero data may go through the LLM that you use. If you are doing testing you should authorize to your Xero Demo Company.

Tools

  • authenticate

    Authenticate with Xero using OAuth2

  • create_bank_transactions

    Creates one or more spent or received money transaction

  • create_contacts

    Creates one or multiple contacts in a Xero organisation

  • get_balance_sheet

    Retrieves report for balancesheet

  • list_accounts

    Retrieves the full chart of accounts

  • list_bank_transactions

    Retrieves any spent or received money transactions

  • list_contacts

    Retrieves all contacts in a Xero organisation

  • list_invoices

    Retrieves sales invoices or purchase bills

  • list_journals

    Retrieves journals

  • list_organisations

    Retrieves Xero organisation details

  • list_payments

    Retrieves payments for invoices and credit notes

  • list_quotes

    Retrieves sales quotes

Examples

  • "Visualize my financial position over the last month"

    <img src="https://github.com/john-zhang-dev/assets/blob/main/xero-mcp/demo1.jpg?raw=true" width=50% height=50%>
  • "Track my spendings over last week"

    <img src="https://github.com/john-zhang-dev/assets/blob/main/xero-mcp/demo2.jpg?raw=true" width=50% height=50%>
  • "Add all transactions from the monthly statement into my revenue account (account code 201) as receive money"

License

MIT

FAQ

What is the Xero Accounting MCP server?
Xero Accounting is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
How are reviews shown for Xero Accounting?
This profile displays 57 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.7 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.

Use Cases

Extended AI Capabilities

Add new capabilities to Claude beyond text generation

Example

Access external data sources, execute code, interact with tools and services

Transform Claude from chatbot to action-taking agent

Context Enhancement

Provide Claude with access to relevant context and data

Example

Load project documentation, access knowledge bases, query databases

Get more accurate, context-aware responses

Workflow Automation

Automate multi-step workflows combining AI and external tools

Example

Research → Summarize → Create document → Send notification

Complete complex tasks end-to-end without manual steps

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop 0.7.0+ or Cursor IDE with MCP support
  • Basic understanding of MCP architecture and capabilities
  • Access credentials for integrated services (if required)
  • Willingness to experiment and iterate on configuration

Time Estimate

15-60 minutes depending on server complexity

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install MCP server: npm install -g [package-name] or via GitHub
  2. 2.Add server configuration to ~/.claude/mcp.json
  3. 3.Provide required credentials and configuration
  4. 4.Restart Claude Desktop to load new server
  5. 5.Test basic functionality with simple prompts
  6. 6.Explore capabilities and experiment with use cases
  7. 7.Document successful patterns for reuse

Troubleshooting

  • MCP server not loading: Check config syntax, verify installation
  • Connection errors: Check network, firewall, credentials
  • Feature not working: Read server docs, check required parameters
  • Performance issues: Monitor resource usage, check for network latency
  • Conflicts with other servers: Check port assignments, namespace collisions

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Read server documentation thoroughly before setup
  • +Start with simple use cases to validate functionality
  • +Test in non-production environment first
  • +Monitor resource usage and performance
  • +Keep servers updated for bug fixes and new features
  • +Document configuration for team members
  • +Use environment variables for sensitive configuration

✗ Don't

  • Don't grant overly permissive access to MCP servers
  • Don't skip reading security considerations in docs
  • Don't expose sensitive data without proper controls
  • Don't run untrusted MCP servers without code review
  • Don't ignore error messages—investigate root cause

💡 Pro Tips

  • Combine multiple MCP servers for powerful workflows
  • Create custom MCP servers for your specific needs
  • Share successful configurations with team
  • Use MCP inspector for debugging
  • Join MCP community for tips and troubleshooting

Technical Details

Architecture

Model Context Protocol standardizes how AI hosts (Claude, Cursor) communicate with external tools and data sources through server implementations.

Protocols

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • JSON-RPC 2.0
  • stdio or HTTP transport

Compatibility

  • Claude Desktop
  • Cursor IDE
  • Custom MCP clients

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use when you need Claude to access external data, execute actions, or integrate with tools. Best for extending AI capabilities beyond conversation.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid when native integrations exist (use official APIs directly), for real-time critical systems, or when security/compliance requires zero external dependencies.

Integration

  • Tool composition: Chain multiple MCP tools in workflows
  • Context augmentation: Provide AI with relevant external data
  • Action delegation: Let AI execute tasks on external systems
  • Bidirectional sync: Keep AI context and external systems in sync

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.

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Ratings

4.757 reviews
  • Charlotte Robinson· Dec 24, 2024

    Xero Accounting reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.

  • Sofia Sethi· Dec 20, 2024

    Useful MCP listing: Xero Accounting is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.

  • Michael Malhotra· Dec 12, 2024

    Useful MCP listing: Xero Accounting is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.

  • Charlotte Choi· Nov 15, 2024

    Xero Accounting is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Michael Menon· Nov 11, 2024

    We evaluated Xero Accounting against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.

  • Harper Thomas· Nov 3, 2024

    We evaluated Xero Accounting against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.

  • Harper Li· Oct 22, 2024

    Xero Accounting is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Layla Nasser· Oct 6, 2024

    We evaluated Xero Accounting against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.

  • Noah Desai· Oct 2, 2024

    Xero Accounting is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Chen Sharma· Sep 25, 2024

    Xero Accounting is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

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