Connect claude.ai or ChatGPT to QuickBooks Desktop

With LedgerCrossing Remote, you can chat with your QuickBooks Desktop company files from claude.ai or ChatGPT — from any device, with nothing installed where you're chatting. Each person signs in with their own connect code. The owner can make a person read-only, limit them to particular company files, and remove them at any time.

This page is the setup. Ten minutes, most of it clicking.

What you need

• LedgerCrossing installed on the QuickBooks machine, with LedgerCrossing Remote turned on. Sign-in works only through Remote's relay — a self-managed tunnel does not offer it.
• A paid claude.ai plan (custom connectors) or a paid ChatGPT plan (Developer mode).

Step 1 — Add the person

On the QuickBooks machine, open LedgerCrossing Settings > Remote and click Add….

• Name — what they'll type when signing in, and what the audit log records.
• Read-only — tick it if this person may look things up but never change the books.
• Company files — full paths to the .qbw files they may use, one per line. Leave empty for all files.

Click Add. LedgerCrossing shows the person's connect code once and copies it to the clipboard. Give it to them. If it's lost, remove the person and add them again.

Step 2 — Copy the connector URL

Settings > Connect, copy the claude.ai URL. It's your Remote address ending in /mcp. The same URL works for ChatGPT.

Step 3 — Add the connector

claude.ai

1. Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector.
2. Name it LedgerCrossing and paste the URL. Leave the authentication and OAuth client settings on what claude.ai detects.
3. Click Add, then Connect.
4. LedgerCrossing's sign-in page opens. Enter the name and connect code and click Allow.

ChatGPT

1. Settings > Security and login, turn on Developer mode.
2. Settings > Plugins, click +. Name it LedgerCrossing, paste the URL, set Authentication to OAuth, and create it.
3. Sign in on LedgerCrossing's page the same way.
4. To show the LedgerCrossing logo in ChatGPT, open the plugin's Manage menu and upload it.

Step 4 — Chat

Start with: "Which QuickBooks company files can I use?" — LedgerCrossing answers with the list this person is allowed to use. Then ask about the books, naming the file the first time:

• "In Acme.qbw, which customers are more than 60 days overdue?"
• "Total sales by item for August."
• "Show me open bills due this week."

Sign in once per device. The connection renews itself; after 60 days without use it asks for the connect code again.

Managing access

Everything is on Settings > Remote:

• Edit… changes a person's read-only flag or company files. It takes effect on their next request.
• Remove signs the person out everywhere, immediately.
• Every request a signed-in person makes is written to LedgerCrossing's audit log under their name, with reads and writes marked separately.
• Accept the API key through LedgerCrossing Remote is off by default. Turn it on only for a script or website that cannot sign in. Computers on the office network always use the API key and are never affected.

If something doesn't work

• "Connection issue" before the sign-in page appears — click Connect again, and make sure your browser allows pop-ups from claude.ai or chatgpt.com.
• "Name or connect code not recognized" — the name must be the one entered in Settings (capitals don't matter). Codes never contain 0, O, 1 or I. After ten wrong tries, wait a minute.
• "This sign-in may not use that company file" — the person's company-file list doesn't include it. Edit the person, or ask for a file that's on the list.
• Sign-in works, but the chat says it's not connected — remove the connector and add it again.

Using Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code instead? They connect the same way over Remote, or with the API key on the office network — see the MCP quickstart.

Get LedgerCrossing Remote →

QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc. LedgerCrossing is an independent product for QuickBooks Desktop and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit. Claude and ChatGPT belong to their respective owners.