How to do your bookkeeping with Claude (step-by-step)

You can do your entire month of bookkeeping by chatting with Claude — recording transactions, reconciling the bank, invoicing clients and pulling reports — once you connect it to an accounting platform that speaks MCP. This guide shows exactly how, using Qontab.

Step 1 — Create an API key

In Qontab, open Settings → API keys and generate a key. Choose read if you only want Claude to look at your books and produce reports, or read_write if you want it to record and modify transactions. Copy the key — you’ll only see it once.

Step 2 — Connect Claude to Qontab

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add --transport http qontab https://api.qontab.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"

Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qontab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://api.qontab.com/mcp",
               "--header", "Authorization:Bearer YOUR_KEY"]
    }
  }
}

Claude.ai (OAuth — no key to paste)

Go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector and paste https://api.qontab.com/mcp. You’ll log in to Qontab, pick your company, and you’re connected. See the full setup notes for each client.

Step 3 — Record transactions in plain language

Now just describe what happened. For example:

“Record a €1,200 hosting expense paid from my EUR account on June 3rd, category Software.”

Claude calls create_expense, Qontab resolves the FX rate for that date and writes a balanced entry. You can batch, too:

“Here are six receipts — create the expenses and attach each receipt.”

That uses the record_expense_with_receipt composite so each expense and its document are linked in one step.

Step 4 — Reconcile your bank

Upload or paste your statement and ask:

“Reconcile my main EUR account against this statement.”

The import_bank_and_reconcile tool auto-matches statement lines to your entries by amount and date, completes the reconciliation if everything matches, and hands back anything ambiguous for you to confirm.

Step 5 — Invoice a client and record payment

“Invoice Acme Corp €4,500 for May consulting, VAT 15%, then mark it paid into Revolut on the 3rd.”

The record_paid_invoice composite drafts the invoice, posts it with the right VAT, and records the payment — with safety semantics so you never end up with a paid invoice that has no issuance entry.

Step 6 — Close the month and review

Ask for the statements and management questions directly:

• “Give me the P&L and balance sheet for the fiscal year so far.”
• “Which customers still owe me money?”
• “How does this quarter’s revenue compare to budget?”
• “What PAYE, CSG and NSF do I owe the MRA this month?”

These map to get_profit_loss, get_balance_sheet, list_invoices, get_budget_vs_actual and get_payroll_run — your ledger turned into a conversational dashboard.

Tips for reliable results

• Start read-only. Use a read key for a week to build trust before granting write access.
• Be specific with dates and accounts. Naming the bank and the date avoids ambiguity and gets the FX rate right.
• Confirm destructive actions. Posting and deleting are flagged; Claude will ask before it commits.
• Let composites do multi-step work. They’re safer than chaining single tools by hand.

Ready to try it? Create a free Qontab account, generate a key, and point Claude at your books.