MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to other apps. An app publishes an MCP server with a list of tools, such as "list overdue invoices", and an assistant like Claude or ChatGPT can use those tools once you connect and approve it.

Can ChatGPT read my Xero?

Yes, through an MCP server. Xero publishes its own, as an open-source project on GitHub that runs with a Xero developer app. Connecting your own organisation fits Xero's free Starter developer plan.

Is it safe to connect AI to my business data?

It is as safe as the permissions you give it. Use apps with a proper sign-in (OAuth) rather than pasting passwords or API keys into a chat, start with read-only access, and check figures before you act on them. You can disconnect at any time.

Can Claude create invoices in Chippie?

No. Connected to Chippie, Claude or ChatGPT can read your clients, quotes, jobs, invoices and schedule on every plan. On Pro it can also draft quotes and jobs, change a status, book visits, send an invoice email you already made, and mark an invoice paid, asking you before each change.

Do I need to be technical to set this up?

Not for apps with a hosted MCP server, such as Chippie or ServiceM8: you paste one web address into your assistant and sign in. Servers you run yourself, like Xero's open-source one, need some comfort with installing developer tools.

Connect Claude or ChatGPT to Your Job Software (MCP Guide for Tradies)

You can connect Claude or ChatGPT to your job management and accounting software through MCP, the Model Context Protocol. Once connected, you ask in plain English ("who owes me money and how late are they?") and the assistant answers from your real records, not from a spreadsheet you copied into a chat. Xero, ServiceM8 and Chippie each publish an MCP server. Setting one up takes a few minutes for a hosted server, and longer for one you run yourself.

This is also the cleanest way to combine bought software with things you build yourself: keep the records in an app that gets them right, and let your own AI do the asking and the drafting. Our build-your-own guide covers that choice.

What MCP is, in plain terms

MCP is a standard plug between an AI assistant and another app. The app publishes an MCP server: a list of named tools, such as "list overdue invoices" or "draft a quote", with rules about who may use them. Your assistant connects to it, you sign in and approve what it may do, and from then on it can use those tools in a conversation.

Anthropic introduced MCP in late 2024, and it is now an open standard that Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants support. For a tradie, the practical meaning is simple: if your software has an MCP server, the AI assistant you already pay for can work with your business data.

Which trade and accounting apps support it

Checked 28 October 2026:

App	MCP server	How you connect
Chippie	Hosted, at `https://mcp.chippieapp.com/mcp`	Paste the address into Claude or ChatGPT and sign in. Setup steps
ServiceM8	Hosted by ServiceM8	Add it as a connector and sign in; ServiceM8's support pages list what it can do
Xero	Open-source server published by Xero on GitHub	Runs on your own computer with a Xero developer app. Your own organisation fits Xero's free Starter developer plan

If your software is not on the list, check its help pages for "MCP" or "connector". New servers appear every month.

Connect Claude

In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors.
Choose Add custom connector, give it a name, and paste the app's MCP server address.
Click Connect. The app opens its own sign-in page.
Sign in, choose what Claude may do, and approve.

On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds the connector for the organisation first, and each person then connects it from their own settings. Custom connectors are available on every Claude plan, and the Free plan is limited to one.

Connect ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects to MCP servers through developer mode, and what you can do depends on your ChatGPT plan. OpenAI moves these menus often, so if the steps below do not match your screen, its help article on developer mode and MCP apps has the current version.

In ChatGPT Settings, turn on Developer mode (under the apps or connectors settings, in Advanced).
Create a new connector or app, enter the MCP server address, and choose OAuth as the sign-in.
Sign in to the app and approve the permissions.
In a new chat, switch the connector on from the tools menu.

What to ask once it's connected

Questions that work well against real records:

"Who owes me money, and how late are they?"
"What's on my schedule tomorrow, and where?"
"Which quotes have had no reply for a week?"
"How much did I invoice each month this year?"
"Draft a quote for the Smith job: two days' labour at $880 a day and $450 of materials."

The assistant reads the answer from your software. You still decide what to do with it.

Keep it safe

Sign in through the app, never paste a password or API key into a chat. A proper MCP server uses OAuth: you sign in on the app's own page and can revoke access later.
Start read-only. Most servers separate reading from writing. Turn on creating or sending only once you trust how the assistant uses them.
Check figures before you act on them. AI assistants can misread a question. If a number looks wrong, open the record.
Watch anything that reaches a customer. Emails, payment records and anything sent should wait for your yes.
Know how to disconnect. Every app with a connector lets you revoke it from its settings.

How Chippie's connector works

Chippie runs a hosted MCP server, so Claude or ChatGPT can work with your quotes, jobs, invoices and schedule. The connection acts as you, with your role in the business, in the one business you pick when you connect.

Permission	What the assistant can do	Plan
See your clients, quotes, jobs, invoices and schedule	Look things up and answer questions	Every plan, including Free
Create and change drafts, notes, clients and bookings	Draft quotes and jobs, change a status, add clients and job notes, book and move visits, turn an accepted quote into a job	Pro
Email your clients and record payments	Send an invoice email, follow up a quote, mark an invoice paid	Pro

Your assistant asks you before each change, and Chippie records it on the job as yours, through the assistant (for example "Sam Lee via Claude"). Claude and ChatGPT also show two ready-made requests from Chippie: a morning briefing and a run through overdue invoices. The setup guide has the steps for both assistants.

If you are weighing an incumbent's built-in AI, such as Simpro Lightning, against simpler software plus your own assistant, this is the option on the other side of that comparison.

How to connect Claude or ChatGPT to your job management and accounting software