QuickBooks Desktop MCP Server: What Exists in 2026 (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex)
Compare the MCP servers that connect QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Codex, with where each runs and what it costs. Published by Conductor, which sells one of them.
Conductor publishes this page and sells one of its options. Five vendors offer a QuickBooks Desktop MCP server that lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or Codex read and write a company file, QuickBooks Enterprise included: Conductor, LedgerCrossing, CData, Apideck, and Logistify. Intuit's official MCP server covers only QuickBooks Online.
Conductor connects Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Codex to QuickBooks Desktop for $49 per company file per month. Each tool adds https://mcp.conductor.is/ in its MCP settings and signs in to Conductor in the browser, in 3 to 5 steps. QuickBooks and the Web Connector must run on the company file's Windows computer.
Why Intuit's official MCP server does not reach QuickBooks Desktop
Intuit's official MCP server signs in to a QuickBooks Online company, so it cannot open a Desktop or QuickBooks Enterprise company file. Its README on GitHub describes only QuickBooks Online.
Intuit's chat connectors cover QuickBooks Online too. The QuickBooks connector for Claude is for US customers only and reads books from an active QuickBooks Online or Intuit Enterprise Suite subscription. Without one, Claude works only from transactions you upload or paste. Intuit's help article Connect QuickBooks Online to ChatGPT lists an active subscription as a requirement.
A Desktop company file lives on a Windows computer, so outside software needs a program on that computer. Conductor, Apideck, and Logistify use the QuickBooks Web Connector, which ships with every Windows version of QuickBooks Desktop; LedgerCrossing and CData install their own software.
QuickBooks Enterprise uses the same Desktop SDK and Web Connector as Pro and Premier, so Intuit's server cannot reach it either. The Mac version of QuickBooks has no Web Connector, and Conductor does not support it.
The QuickBooks Desktop MCP options
Conductor, LedgerCrossing, CData, Apideck, and Logistify each offer an MCP server for Desktop company files, and Intuit's Online-only server and exporting reports by hand complete the list.
Conductor
Conductor's hosted MCP server at https://mcp.conductor.is/ connects QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, and other MCP clients. The server reaches the company file through the Web Connector on the QuickBooks computer. Conductor supports QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions in any version or year, plus Premier (Plus), Pro (Plus), and Accountant Desktop (Plus) 2018 or later.
Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and Cowork), ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, and VS Code connect by signing in to Conductor in the browser. Microsoft Copilot Studio sends a Conductor API key in an Authorization header instead. The server reads and writes, and the read-only URL https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only blocks creates, updates, and deletes.
Conductor costs $49 per month for each established company file connection in use, with no platform fee and no monthly minimum. The free trial tier includes 1 connection for testing and development, and the Conductor FAQ has the pricing details.
LedgerCrossing
LedgerCrossing is a Windows app installed on the QuickBooks computer, and its MCP server comes included. The app sends requests straight to QuickBooks, with no Web Connector in between, and lists Pro, Premier, and Enterprise, 2019 and later.
Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI connect on the QuickBooks computer or the office network with an API key. Through LedgerCrossing Remote, a hosted relay with per-person sign-in, claude.ai, ChatGPT, Meta Muse, and Grok Bot connect from anywhere.
Its six tools are built around qbXML, the request format of Intuit's Desktop SDK, and run_qbxml runs any qbXML the agent produces, including invoices, payments, and edits. Over Remote, each person starts read-only until the owner allows writes. LedgerCrossing costs $299 one-time per machine, and Remote costs $39 per month.
CData
CData documents two local MCP servers for QuickBooks and one hosted service. The CData MCP Server for QuickBooks installs on Windows, and Claude Desktop, the client its install guide covers, starts it as needed; macOS is listed as "Coming Soon". CData Code Assist MCP for QuickBooks ships for Windows and Apple Silicon Macs, with setup pages for Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini Code Assist, and GitHub Copilot.
Both open a company file on the same computer, or on another computer through the CData QuickBooks Desktop Gateway. Data appears as tables and views, changes go through stored procedures such as SendQBXML, and a Readonly connection property allows only SELECT queries. Neither help site lists QuickBooks editions or a price.
CData Connect AI is the hosted service, with a remote MCP endpoint and a free trial but no price shown. Its page names Claude, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot Studio among its clients and does not say how it reaches a Desktop company file.
Apideck
Apideck runs one hosted MCP server at https://mcp.apideck.dev/mcp for the apps behind its unified APIs, and its QuickBooks Desktop MCP page marks the connector beta, with 11 of its 13 accounting resources live. Apideck's connector docs name Pro, Premier, and Enterprise for Windows and say the connector reaches a live company file through the Web Connector in scheduled sync runs, roughly once a minute by default.
Apideck's general MCP server page names Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Windsurf among its clients, and it scopes tools as read, write, or destructive. Apideck's pricing includes the MCP server in every plan, starting with the Launch plan at $599 per month for 25 consumers (your own customers) and a 30-day free trial.
Logistify
Logistify serves manufacturers and distributors. Its MCP server for QuickBooks Desktop at https://mcp.logistify.ai/quickbooks-desktop/mcp runs in the vendor's own cloud. The server works only with company files already connected to Logistify, through the Web Connector connection its other services use, and the guide covers Enterprise, Premier, and Pro.
The guide documents Claude as a custom connector, ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspaces as a custom MCP server, and Claude Code and Codex as a remote MCP server. People sign in with a Logistify login once a company admin turns the server on.
Of its 17 tools, 14 read. The other 3 send a Logistify sales order to QuickBooks, approve a purchase order date update, and approve a customer payment match, and they need the "Allow changes" option, which starts unticked. The guide says the server never creates or changes any other QuickBooks record. It comes with the Starter plan at $99 a month per company file and with the Core, Business, and Enterprise plans.
Intuit's official MCP server (QuickBooks Online only)
Intuit's official MCP server fits only a company whose books are in QuickBooks Online. It is open source and runs as a local stdio process signed in to one QuickBooks Online company through OAuth 2.0. Its README lists 145 tools, gives setup for Claude Code, and lets environment variables turn off the create, update, and delete tools.
Exporting reports by hand
Exporting a report needs no MCP server and costs nothing extra. QuickBooks Desktop exports reports as Excel workbooks, CSV spreadsheets, or PDFs, and any AI tool that accepts files can read the export. The AI tool sees one snapshot, which goes stale with the next transaction, and cannot write anything back.
QuickBooks Desktop MCP servers compared
Conductor, Apideck, and Logistify host the server and use the Web Connector; LedgerCrossing runs on the QuickBooks computer, and CData's local servers run beside the AI tool.
Option | Where it runs | Editions | Clients documented | Read and write | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conductor | Hosted; Web Connector | Enterprise, any year; Premier, Pro, Accountant 2018 or later | Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Copilot Studio | Reads and writes; read-only URL | $49 per company file per month; free trial tier with 1 connection |
LedgerCrossing | Windows app on the QuickBooks computer; Remote relay | Pro, Premier, Enterprise 2019 and later | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, Gemini CLI; claude.ai and ChatGPT through Remote | Writes through | $299 one-time per machine; Remote $39 per month |
CData | Two local servers; Connect AI hosted | Not listed | Claude Desktop; Code Assist adds Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot | Writes through stored procedures; | Not listed; Connect AI free trial |
Apideck | Hosted, beta; Web Connector sync about once a minute | Pro, Premier, Enterprise | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, and others | Read, write, and destructive scopes | From $599 per month; 30-day free trial |
Logistify | Logistify's cloud; existing Web Connector connection | Enterprise, Premier, Pro | Claude, ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, Claude Code, Codex | 14 read tools; 3 Logistify write tools | $99 per month per company file (Starter) |
Intuit's MCP server | Local stdio process | QuickBooks Online only | Claude Code | Read, create, update, delete | Open source |
Exporting reports | QuickBooks, then upload | Any Desktop edition | Any AI tool that accepts files | Read only, one snapshot | Nothing extra |
Which one to pick
Where the AI tool runs decides most of it: claude.ai, ChatGPT, and the phone apps work with a hosted server, and a tool on the office network can also use a local one.
For claude.ai, ChatGPT, or the Claude mobile apps, the options that document those tools and reach a Desktop company file are Conductor, LedgerCrossing with Remote, and Logistify.
For a team and an outside accountant on one company file, Conductor charges per company file, so extra people or AI tools cost nothing, and the accountant gets the read-only URL.
For a one-time purchase, or when QuickBooks data must not pass through a vendor's cloud, LedgerCrossing without Remote keeps the whole path local.
For a developer who wants QuickBooks data as tables and views, CData Code Assist MCP runs locally with Claude Code, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot.
For a software company connecting its own customers' accounting systems through one API, Apideck's per-consumer pricing fits, with the Desktop connector in beta.
For a manufacturer or distributor already on Logistify, its server comes with the plan.
For books in QuickBooks Online, use Intuit's server or its Claude and ChatGPT connectors.
For one question about one report, export the report and attach it to a chat.
How Conductor's MCP server works
Conductor's MCP server gives an AI tool two tools, execute and search_docs. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI tool discover and call tools on an outside server. Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor calls Conductor's execute tool, and the request reaches QuickBooks Desktop through the Web Connector.
search_docs searches Conductor's API documentation. execute runs code the agent writes against Conductor's TypeScript SDK in an isolated sandbox with no web or filesystem access, then returns whatever that code prints or returns. A question about invoices more than 30 days overdue becomes a search_docs call, then an execute call whose code lists open invoices, does the date math, and returns only the matching rows.
The QuickBooks user sets up the connection once: download a config file from Conductor's authentication flow, open it in the Web Connector, and authenticate. After that, a request travels from the AI tool to https://mcp.conductor.is/, through the Conductor API, to the Web Connector, which hands it to QuickBooks and returns the answer. Conductor has no cache layer, so every request runs against the live company file.
An AI tool reaches only the company files connected to its Conductor project.
Add Conductor's MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, or Codex
Claude and ChatGPT add Conductor's MCP server in their settings, and Claude Code and Codex CLI add it with one terminal command. Each needs an account in the Conductor Dashboard with a company file connected to a project, and every path below matches the MCP docs.
In Claude, open Customize > Connectors, click Add, then Add custom connector, name it Conductor, paste https://mcp.conductor.is/, and click Continue. Leave Sign in now and Use Claude's published identity selected, click Add, then click Connect, sign in, pick the project, and click Allow. In a chat, turn on Conductor under + > Connectors and choose Always allow when Claude asks.
In ChatGPT, open Plugins in the sidebar, click Add, then click Add custom MCP server. Name it Conductor QuickBooks, paste the same URL, and leave OAuth selected. Check I understand and want to continue, click Create as a plugin, then click Connect Conductor QuickBooks, sign in, pick the project, and click Allow.
If ChatGPT answers without the plugin, type @, pick Conductor QuickBooks, and ask again. On a personal ChatGPT plan whose Plugins page has no Add custom MCP server, use Codex CLI instead.
In Claude Code, run claude mcp remove conductor first if Conductor was added before, then run the command below.
Start Claude Code, type /mcp, pick conductor, and choose Authenticate, then sign in, pick the project, and click Allow.
In Codex CLI, run codex mcp remove conductor first if Conductor was added before, then run the command below.
Codex opens Conductor in the browser, where you sign in, pick the project, and click Allow. Then start Codex; the first time it runs a Conductor tool, choose Always allow.
Each sign-in adds a key named after the tool, such as "MCP (Claude)" or "MCP (Codex)", to the project's API Keys page, and deleting that key revokes access. Cursor and VS Code take a conductor entry in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or VS Code's Copilot Global config file, shown in the Cursor and VS Code posts. Microsoft Copilot Studio uses https://mcp.conductor.is/mcp with an API key in an Authorization header, created on the project's MCP tab under Copilot Studio.
To check any of them, ask Show the 5 most recent invoices using my most recently successful QuickBooks Desktop connection. Real invoices in the reply mean the setup works. If the tools listed include ai_brand_insights, the AI tool has reached an unrelated SEO company at conductor.com. Conductor for QuickBooks is at conductor.is, and the troubleshooting section of the MCP docs matches each error message to its fix.
Read-only mode and the local bridge
Conductor's read-only mode blocks creates, updates, and deletes before they reach QuickBooks, and every tool above gets it from https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only. In Claude, add a connector named Conductor read-only with that URL. The Claude Free plan allows only one custom connector, so remove the full-access connector first. In ChatGPT, add a plugin named Conductor QuickBooks read-only. Claude Code and Codex CLI take the commands below, after the remove command above if Conductor was added before.
To test the mode, ask the agent to create a test customer; if it cannot, read-only mode is on. The read-only mode docs state the limit: "Read-only mode is a guardrail, not a security boundary: anyone with the Conductor key can still write through the Conductor API."
A client that runs only local (stdio) servers uses the npm package conductor-node-mcp, a bridge to the hosted server. The client starts it with npx -y conductor-node-mcp and a key in the CONDUCTOR_SECRET_KEY environment variable, created on the project's MCP tab under Other clients with Create key and fill in config. The bridge needs only Node.js, and the tools still run on the hosted server. Adding the --code-allow-http-gets flag makes it read-only.
QuickBooks Desktop hosted on Rightworks
Conductor works with QuickBooks hosted on Rightworks (formerly Right Networks), with one limit: requests reach the company file only while someone is connected to the remote desktop session with QuickBooks open. Rightworks stops all background programs when a session disconnects. Conductor's Rightworks guide covers three steps:
Install the Web Connector on the remote desktop, from My Apps in the Rightworks Dashboard if it is missing.
Ask Rightworks support, by live chat, to add the Web Connector and QuickBooks to the startup items for all users, using the message in the guide.
If several people sign in to Rightworks, set up the same connection in each person's login, so a request works whenever any of them is connected. The company file is still billed once.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an MCP server for QuickBooks Enterprise?
Yes. Conductor, LedgerCrossing, Apideck, and Logistify each name QuickBooks Enterprise, a tier of Desktop that uses the same Desktop SDK and Web Connector as Pro and Premier. Conductor supports QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions in any version or year.
Does QuickBooks Desktop need to be open?
For Conductor, yes. QuickBooks and the Web Connector must be running on the computer connected to Conductor. The AI tool can run anywhere. When they are not running, the symptom in Conductor's troubleshooting docs is "Requests to QuickBooks fail".
What does Conductor's MCP server cost?
Conductor costs $49 per month for each established company file connection in use. The free trial tier includes 1 connection. More co-workers, keys, or AI tools on the same company file cost nothing extra.
Is qbconductor-mcp-server on mcp.so Conductor's server?
No. The qbconductor-mcp-server listing on mcp.so names an individual author, alfork. It describes an MIT-licensed local stdio server for Claude Desktop that calls the Conductor API with your own credentials. Conductor's own server is hosted at https://mcp.conductor.is/.
Connect QuickBooks Desktop to other AI tools
Each post covers one AI tool.
Claude adds a custom connector.
ChatGPT adds a plugin.
Claude Code runs one terminal command.
Codex CLI runs
codex mcp add.Cursor takes an entry in
~/.cursor/mcp.json.VS Code takes an entry in its Copilot Global config file.
Microsoft Copilot Studio uses an API key in a header.
Claude Cowork covers the Owner setting for task approvals.
AI agent use cases shows what an AI tool can do with a connected company file.
