Xero MCP Server

The Xero MCP server connects AI assistants to your accounting in Xero. Instead of exporting reports by hand or clicking through menus, you ask the assistant about open invoices, the profit and loss statement for a period, or revenue from a particular customer. The server provides around fifty tools for this, built on the Xero API. According to GitHub it lives in the XeroAPI organization, is licensed under MIT, and is not archived. Xero's developer FAQ links to the MCP server itself and names Claude Desktop and Cursor as tested clients; the last push to the repository dates from June 2026.

What is the Xero MCP server?

Xero is cloud accounting software used mainly by small and mid-sized businesses. The MCP server is a bridge between the Model Context Protocol and the Xero API. It runs as a local Node.js process on your machine, signs in to Xero with your API credentials, and hands the functions to the assistant as tools. The assistant decides in conversation which tool to call and shows you the result.

What can the assistant do with it?

For reading, the server covers the core of accounting: accounts and account groups, contacts, invoices, credit notes, payments, quotes, items, manual journals, bank transactions, tax rates, and tracking categories. On top of that come reports such as profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, and aged receivables and payables, as well as the organization details. For writing, you can among other things create contacts, invoices, credit notes, quotes, items, payments, bank transactions, and manual journals; most of these objects can also be changed. There are also payroll tools, such as employees, leave, and timesheets. According to the README payroll queries only work with the New Zealand or UK region.

Setup and sign-in

You need Node.js 18 or later, a Xero developer account with API credentials, and a so-called custom connection created in the Xero developer environment. The client starts the server with npx -y @xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest, and the credentials are passed as environment variables. Which permission scopes apply depends, according to the README, on the creation date of the custom connection: connections created before 29 April 2026 use bundled V1 scopes, later ones the finer V2 scopes. The server tries V1 first and falls back to V2; the XERO_SCOPES variable overrides them. Signing in with a bearer token is an alternative. For practice, the README explicitly recommends Xero's demo company with sample data.

Security and limits

The server can not only read accounting data but also create and change it, and delete payroll timesheets. With financial data that is delicate: a misunderstood instruction could create an invoice or book a payment. Start with the demo company, review every writing action before you confirm it, and grant only the scopes you really need. Retrieved invoices, names, and amounts enter the language model's context and thereby reach the model provider; for customer data that has to be assessed under data protection rules. Credentials do not belong in a repository.

Costs

The MCP server is free and open source. Xero itself is a paid service; plans and the terms for API access are on Xero's official pages, and we name no amounts here. The demo company is suitable for trying things out.

Who is the Xero MCP server for?

It is worthwhile for businesses and advisers who already work with Xero and want to pull evaluations in plain language: which invoices are overdue? How are expenses developing per cost center? Developers who automate accounting workflows also use it to try out the API quickly. Anyone not using Xero gains nothing from it, and for unattended operation with write permissions on real accounting data particular care is needed.

Node.js 18 or later, a Xero developer account with API credentials (custom connection), and an MCP-capable client; for payroll queries the New Zealand or UK region.

The Xero MCP server runs locally and connects your assistant to Xero accounting. This guide walks through the setup.

Step 1: Prerequisites

You need Node.js 18 or later, a Xero developer account, and an MCP-capable client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor, which Xero has tested according to its developer FAQ.

Step 2: Create a demo company

Do not start with your real books. Xero offers a demo company with sample data that can be reset through "My Xero". That lets you try writing actions safely.

Step 3: Create a custom connection

In the Xero developer environment create a custom connection and note the client ID and client secret. Treat both like a password. Which scopes apply depends on the creation date: connections created before 29 April 2026 use V1 scopes, later ones V2 scopes; XERO_SCOPES overrides them.

Step 4: Register the server in the client

Under mcpServers add an entry with the command npx and the arguments -y and @xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest. Pass client ID and client secret as environment variables and restart the client.

Step 5: First requests

Ask the assistant to fetch the organization details, then list open invoices or produce the profit and loss statement for a period. Spot-check the figures in Xero.

Caution with write access

The server can create and change invoices, payments, and journals. Have every writing action shown to you before you confirm it and grant only the scopes you need.

npx -y @xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest

Through the credentials of a custom connection from the Xero developer environment (client ID and client secret), or alternatively through a bearer token.

Read and write access to the connected Xero organization within the granted scopes: invoices, contacts, payments, journals, and other objects can be created and changed.

The server runs locally and talks only to the Xero API. Retrieved accounting data enters the AI client context and therefore reaches the model provider.

Accidentally created or changed invoices, payments, and journals, overly broad scopes, credentials in configuration files, and passing customer data on to the model provider.