How to connect QuickBooks Desktop to Claude Code (MCP server setup)
Add Conductor's MCP server to Claude Code with one claude mcp add command and a browser sign-in, so Claude Code can read and write QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise company files from the terminal. The guide also covers the read-only command and the API key header for SSH sessions and containers.
To connect QuickBooks Desktop to Claude Code, add Conductor's MCP server with one claude mcp add command in a terminal, then type /mcp and sign in through your browser. Conductor's hosted MCP server at https://mcp.conductor.is/ connects QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise to Claude Code. You need Claude Code, a Conductor account, and a Windows computer connected to that account with QuickBooks and the QuickBooks Web Connector running. Setup takes three steps, and there is no API key to copy.
Before you start
Claude Code can use Conductor's MCP server once four things are in place:
A Windows computer running QuickBooks and the QuickBooks Web Connector. The Web Connector comes with every version of QuickBooks Desktop. It runs only while that computer is on and the Windows user who runs QuickBooks is signed in.
A supported edition: QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions in any version or year, or QuickBooks Premier (Plus), QuickBooks Desktop Pro (Plus), or QuickBooks Accountant Desktop (Plus) from 2018 or later.
A Conductor account at dashboard.conductor.is, with that company file connected to one of its projects. The QuickBooks user connects the company file once through Conductor's authentication flow: download a config file, open it in the Web Connector, and authenticate.
Claude Code on any computer, signed in with a Claude Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise subscription or a Claude Console account.
In production, Conductor charges $49 per month for each established company file connection in use, with no platform fee and no monthly minimum. The free Trial tier includes one connection for testing and development.
Add the Conductor MCP server to Claude Code
Adding Conductor to Claude Code takes three steps: one claude mcp add command in a terminal, the /mcp sign-in, and an Allow click in the browser. QuickBooks and the Web Connector need to be running on the Windows computer connected to Conductor.
In a terminal, run the command below from Conductor's MCP setup guide to add the server for all your Claude Code projects. If you already added Conductor, run
claude mcp remove conductorfirst.Start Claude Code, type
/mcp, pick conductor, and choose Authenticate.Sign in to Conductor in the browser, pick your project, and click Allow. If the browser does not open by itself, copy the URL shown in the terminal and open it yourself, as Claude Code's MCP documentation describes.
Signing in adds a key named "MCP (Claude Code)" to the project's API Keys page in Conductor, and deleting that key revokes access. The --scope user flag saves the server in ~/.claude.json, which makes Conductor available in every project on your machine.
For read-only access, run this command in step 1 instead, then finish steps 2 and 3 as written:
Connect Claude Code without a browser
On a machine with no browser, such as a server you reach over SSH or a container, Claude Code connects to Conductor with an API key in a header instead of a sign-in. The Windows computer connected to Conductor still needs QuickBooks and the Web Connector running.
Create a key on your project's API Keys page in the Conductor Dashboard. Skip steps 2 and 3, and run the step 1 command with a --header flag added, replacing sk_conductor_... with your key:
The URL limits the connection, not the key, so put https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only in the same command for a read-only connection. claude mcp add saves the configuration without validating credentials, so a mistyped key is accepted here and fails only when Claude Code first uses Conductor. A claude -p run has no /mcp panel, so scripts need this header or a sign-in finished earlier, with /mcp in an interactive session or claude mcp login conductor in your shell.
Check that it works
To check the connection, start Claude Code and ask: Show the 5 most recent invoices using my most recently successful QuickBooks Desktop connection. If Claude Code answers with real invoices from your company file, the setup is complete.
From a terminal, claude mcp list shows a health status next to each server. "Connected" proves only that the sign-in or config worked, because Conductor checks the key on first use. "Needs authentication" next to conductor means the sign-in in steps 2 and 3 is not finished.
What this does and does not do
Conductor gives Claude Code read and write access to company files in QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier, Pro, and Accountant on Windows. Claude Code can reach every company file connected to its Conductor project. To limit Claude Code to certain company files, connect it to a project that holds only those files' connections.
Conductor does not connect to QuickBooks Online, which is a separate product. Intuit publishes a QuickBooks Online MCP server for Claude Code and other MCP clients. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac is not supported because it has no Web Connector.
Hosted QuickBooks on Rightworks needs the Web Connector installed on the remote desktop. Rightworks stops all background programs when you disconnect, so a company file there is reachable only while someone is connected to the session with QuickBooks open. Conductor's Rightworks guide at docs.conductor.is covers that setup.
Read-only access
Claude Code gets read-only access when you add Conductor with https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only in place of https://mcp.conductor.is/. Read-only mode blocks creates, updates, and deletes before they reach QuickBooks, which suits a trial, an accountant, or co-workers who should only read. With the full-access URL, Claude Code can read, create, update, and delete records, so use it for entering or changing data.
Mode | Server URL | What Claude Code can do | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
Full access |
| Read, create, update, and delete records | Entering or changing data |
Read-only |
| Read records; writes stop before they reach QuickBooks | A trial, an accountant, or co-workers who should only read |
Read-only mode is a guardrail, not a security boundary: anyone with the Conductor key can still write through the Conductor API. To test read-only mode, ask Claude Code to create a test customer. If Claude Code can't, read-only mode is on.
How this works
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to external systems. Claude Code is the MCP client here, and --transport http tells it to reach the server over the network instead of starting a local process. Conductor is the hosted MCP server that Claude Code calls to read and write QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise data.
The Conductor MCP server exposes two tools. search_docs searches the Conductor API documentation, so Claude Code can look up the right fields first. execute runs code that Claude Code writes against Conductor's TypeScript SDK, in an isolated sandbox with no web or filesystem access. That code is how Claude Code lists invoices or creates a customer.
Each request then travels from Conductor to the QuickBooks Web Connector, the Intuit program that runs on the Windows computer holding the company file. The Web Connector hands the request to QuickBooks and sends the result back. So QuickBooks and the Web Connector have to be running on that computer, while Claude Code itself can run anywhere.
The /mcp sign-in is an OAuth flow. Conductor creates the "MCP (Claude Code)" key for the project you pick. Claude Code stores the token on your machine and refreshes it on its own.
If it does not work
When the connection fails, match the message Claude Code shows to one of the entries below, each taken from Conductor's MCP troubleshooting guide.
Authorization with the MCP server failed
"Authorization with the MCP server failed" means the Conductor sign-in did not finish. Sign in with the email your company uses for Conductor (on the sign-in page that opens, click Use a different account), or ask a teammate to add you on the Members page. Then type /mcp in Claude Code, pick conductor, and choose Authenticate again.
Requests to QuickBooks fail
Failed requests usually mean QuickBooks Desktop or the Web Connector is not running on the computer connected to Conductor. Start both on that computer and ask Claude Code again. The Web Connector needs no changes for Claude Code.
API key missing or invalid (if you pasted a key)
In a setup without a browser, "API key missing or invalid" means Claude Code is not sending a valid Conductor key. Create a new key on your project's API Keys page, run claude mcp remove conductor, and run the claude mcp add command again with the new key in the --header value. Then restart Claude Code.
I see SEO tools, not QuickBooks (wrong Conductor)
Tools such as ai_brand_insights or keyword_insights, or "couldn't identify the caller" errors, mean Claude Code is connected to the MCP server of an unrelated SEO company at conductor.com. Remove that server with claude mcp remove and the name you gave it, then run the command in step 1. The server at conductor.is has only the execute and search_docs tools.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work with QuickBooks Enterprise?
Claude Code works with QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions in any version or year. QuickBooks Enterprise is a tier of QuickBooks Desktop and uses the same Desktop SDK and Web Connector, so the same claude mcp add command connects it.
Does QuickBooks Desktop need to be open?
QuickBooks Desktop and the Web Connector must be running on the Windows computer connected to Conductor whenever Claude Code reads or writes data. If you can't stay signed in to the company file, leave QuickBooks at the "No Company Open" screen, and it signs in to the file on its own each time Claude Code sends a request.
Can I give Claude Code read-only access?
Read-only access comes from the server URL: run claude mcp add with https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only instead of https://mcp.conductor.is/. Claude Code can then look up records but cannot create, change, or delete them.
What does it cost?
Conductor costs $49 per company file per month in production. A connection counts when Conductor has established it and an API call reached it within the rolling past month. The Trial tier is free with one connection for testing, and connections to QuickBooks sample company files are free too.
Can my co-workers use the same connection?
Co-workers can use the same connection: each one runs the same command and signs in with their own Conductor account, which creates a separate key. They must be members of your Conductor organization. Pricing is per company file, so more co-workers, keys, or AI tools cost nothing extra.
How do I disconnect Claude Code from QuickBooks?
To disconnect Claude Code, run claude mcp remove conductor and delete the "MCP (Claude Code)" key on your project's API Keys page. Removing the server deletes the sign-in tokens Claude Code stored, but it does not revoke them at Conductor, so the key has to go too.
Connect QuickBooks Desktop to other AI tools
Conductor's MCP server works with other AI tools too, and each guide below covers one of them:
Claude covers claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and the Claude mobile apps.
Claude Cowork covers tasks in Cowork.
ChatGPT covers the web and desktop apps.
Codex CLI covers Codex in your terminal.
Cursor covers the agent in Cursor.
VS Code covers the chat in VS Code.
Microsoft Copilot Studio covers Copilot Studio agents.
The QuickBooks Desktop MCP server overview compares Conductor with other MCP options.
The AI agent use cases page shows what agents do with a company file.
