Xero MCP server: a setup guide for Claude and ChatGPT

If you only want answers, start here. Xero says the connector is free to add and takes "just a few minutes". Its data is not combined across organisations or used to train Anthropic's models, and it "is not a source of tax, compliance, or financial advice".

Xero's March 2026 blog post says you will be able to trigger actions from Claude "over time". Xero's current Claude page says the connector is read-only. Xero's two MCP servers are different products, and both have tools that can write to Xero. The rest of this guide is about controlling them.

Create the Custom Connection with read-only scopes

Follow Xero's Custom Connections guide, which the README points to. Xero describes the setup as selecting scopes, authorising the connection and getting a client ID and secret. The portal screens change, so use Xero's guide for the clicks. Select only the read-only scopes from section 2, including the contacts and settings ones.

Xero's README recommends a Demo Company to start with, "because it comes with some pre-loaded sample data". Switch to it from the top left-hand dropdown in Xero. Xero says a Custom Connection can be connected to the Demo Company for free for development.

For your own organisation, a Custom Connection is A$10 a month including GST (Xero's page reads "$10/m AUD (inc GST)", 30 October 2026). It covers one organisation, and you need a Xero subscription with enough Custom Connections. Xero offers it to organisations in AU, NZ, UK and US. The README says to keep the client secret out of version control: "Please do not commit your .env file or any sensitive credentials to version control".

Claude Desktop: the config block

1. In the Claude menu in your menu bar (not the settings inside the Claude window), choose Settings..., then the Developer tab, then Edit Config.
2. The file is claude_desktop_config.json. On macOS it is in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. On Windows it is in %APPDATA%\Claude\.
3. Paste the block below, swap in your client ID and secret, and save. If the file already has an mcpServers section, add the xero entry inside it.
4. Completely quit Claude Desktop and start it again. It only reads the file at start-up.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xero": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "XERO_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
        "XERO_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "XERO_SCOPES": "accounting.invoices.read accounting.payments.read accounting.banktransactions.read accounting.reports.profitandloss.read accounting.reports.balancesheet.read accounting.reports.aged.read accounting.contacts.read accounting.settings.read"
      }
    }
  }
}

This is the README's block with read-only scopes in XERO_SCOPES. The README uses @latest, so each start runs the newest published version (0.0.17 on npm on 30 October 2026, published 26 May 2026). To pin one, put a version number in its place and update when you choose. The README also describes a bearer-token mode for supporting several Xero accounts at runtime. For Claude Desktop it recommends the Custom Connection.

Claude Code: the command

Run this in your terminal. Keep the quotes around the scopes.

claude mcp add --env XERO_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_CLIENT_ID --env XERO_CLIENT_SECRET=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET --env XERO_SCOPES="accounting.invoices.read accounting.payments.read accounting.banktransactions.read accounting.reports.profitandloss.read accounting.reports.balancesheet.read accounting.reports.aged.read accounting.contacts.read accounting.settings.read" --transport stdio xero -- npx -y @xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest

The -- separates Claude's options from the command that runs the server. Keep --transport stdio between the --env options and the name, as Claude Code's documentation asks. The default scope, local, keeps the server to you in the current project. Add --scope user to use it across all projects. Do not use --scope project: it writes to .mcp.json, which is shared with everyone in the project, and your secret would go with it.

Check it with claude mcp list, which shows ✔ Connected when it works. Inside a session, /mcp shows the status.

Restart and test with three questions

In Claude Desktop, open the "Add files, connectors, and more" menu in the input box, then Connectors, then Manage connectors, and select xero to see its tools. Then ask, on the Demo Company:

• List the accounts in this Xero organisation.
• Which invoices are overdue, and how much is owed in total?
• Show the profit and loss for last month.

These use read tools such as list-accounts, list-invoices and list-profit-and-loss. When the answers look right, create a Custom Connection for your own organisation and swap in its client ID and secret. Add a write scope later, for one workflow, with the controls in section 7.

OpenAI says account and workspace policies apply to adding and using custom MCP servers, and its developer page names no plans. Check what your plan allows in ChatGPT. Xero's open-source README and its May 2026 announcement do not mention ChatGPT, and Xero's Remote MCP setup guides do not include it. If you use ChatGPT and want a Xero connection, the audit works out which route fits.

The open-source server's README lists 51 tools, 25 of them write tools such as create-invoice, update-invoice and create-payment. It describes no confirmation step before a write. Keep to read-only scopes until a workflow needs more, and tell the assistant to ask you first.

These are the same controls an accountant expects for a new staff member with access to the ledger: limited access, approval before posting, and a record of who did what.

Renzo Demartini: Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ), MBA, Xero certified, 16 years across finance, operations and systems. I know what a ledger needs protecting from, and I build AI workflows with Claude. I work remotely with businesses across Australia and New Zealand, and I do the work myself.

About Renzo → How I keep a person in the loop →