QuickBooks Desktop MCP Quickstart

LedgerCrossing includes an MCP server — the same Windows app that gives your integrations a REST API also gives AI agents a door into QuickBooks Desktop. It's included in the product. Not a tier, not a preview, not a limited-time unlock.

This page gets you from installed app to first agent query in about five minutes.

Before you start

LedgerCrossing installed and activated on the QuickBooks machine (buy it here — $299 one-time).
Your API key from the LedgerCrossing app. Auth is required on every path: the MCP endpoint accepts the key as Authorization: Bearer <key> or X-Api-Key: <key>.
The endpoint is http://localhost:8284/mcp on the QuickBooks machine itself. Working from another machine? Reach it through your own tunnel (free) or LedgerCrossing Remote — same path, https:// hostname instead of localhost.

Claude Code

One command:

claude mcp add --transport http quickbooks http://localhost:8284/mcp --header "X-Api-Key: YOUR_KEY"

Then ask: "Which customers are 60+ days overdue?" — Claude discovers the right qbXML operation, validates it, and runs it.

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "quickbooks": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8284/mcp",
      "headers": { "X-Api-Key": "YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

VS Code (Copilot agent mode)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "quickbooks": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8284/mcp",
      "headers": { "X-Api-Key": "YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop — not yet

Claude Desktop only speaks stdio (no remote HTTP servers without a paid workspace), so it can't connect to LedgerCrossing today. Our one-click .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop is built but unpublished until code signing lands. This page will say so the day it works — until then, don't buy for Claude Desktop specifically.

The six tools

Tool	What it does
`list_operations`	All 240 qbXML operations, with category and minimum QuickBooks version
`get_operation`	Full field reference for one operation: element order, required flags, max lengths, enums, version gates
`validate_qbxml`	Checks a request locally against the catalog — no QuickBooks round-trip
`run_qbxml`	Executes the qbXML against QuickBooks Desktop and returns the response
`explain_error`	Turns a QuickBooks status code into what went wrong and what to change
`get_status`	QuickBooks up? Which company file? Bridge connected?

The design is on-demand discovery: the agent browses list_operations, pulls the exact rules with get_operation, checks its qbXML with validate_qbxml, then executes with run_qbxml — so the catalog never floods the agent's context. The catalog is generated from Intuit's qbXML specification: facts and field rules, all 240 operations.

What to know before you connect an agent

This is not read-only. run_qbxml executes whatever qbXML the agent produces — including invoices, payments, and edits — with exactly the capability of the REST API. Connect agents you trust, to company files you mean to let them touch. QuickBooks' own Audit Trail records every posted transaction.
Runaway queries are rejected by default. Unbounded query requests are refused unless you opt out (RequireBoundedQueries) — a guardrail against an agent accidentally pulling the whole company file in one call.
QuickBooks must be running with the company file open (or auto-openable) on the machine — that's a QuickBooks Desktop constraint, and it's why cloud-only MCP servers can't do this job.

Why this exists

Every other QuickBooks MCP server targets QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Desktop has no cloud API — it only talks through a local COM interface on the machine where it runs, which is exactly where LedgerCrossing sits. If your books are in Pro, Premier, or Enterprise, this is the bridge: the MCP server for QuickBooks Desktop.

Buy LedgerCrossing — $299 →

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. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open protocol; client names belong to their respective owners.