Connecting Your Accounting
This is Course 2. In The Basics, you set up Claude, built your AI briefing file, created skills, and connected your email. You've got a working AI assistant that can already read and draft emails.
Now we're connecting everything else. Accounting, calendar, booking systems, stock management. And then we're setting things up to run without you.
Why this matters
In The Basics, you connected your email to Claude. Now let's connect your accounting so Claude can help with invoices and payments.
Your accounting software knows everything about your money. Who's paid, who hasn't, what's coming in, what's going out. Right now, that information is locked inside Xero or MYOB. If you want to check something, you log in, navigate around, find the number.
Once Claude is connected to your accounting, you can just ask:
Who hasn't paid their invoice this month?
What was my revenue last quarter?
Create an invoice for the Henderson job - 3 days work at $1,200/day plus materials of $450.
No logging in. No navigating. No clicking through menus. Just ask.
What we're doing
Connecting your accounting software (Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks) to Claude.
| Your software | How to connect | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Xero | Direct connection (below) | 5 minutes |
| QuickBooks | Direct connection (below) | 5 minutes |
| MYOB | Via Zapier (Chapter 10) | 15 minutes |
| Something else | Probably via Zapier (Chapter 10) | 15 minutes |
| I don't have one yet | We recommend Xero. Start here. | 10 minutes |
If you use Xero (recommended path)
Good news. Xero and the company that makes Claude (Anthropic) have an official connector (MCP). This means the connection is well-built, well-supported, and keeps getting better.
Step by step:
- In Claude, go to Settings > Integrations / Connected Tools
- Look for Xero in the available connections
- Click "Connect"
- A Xero login window appears - sign in with your Xero credentials
- Choose which organisation to connect (if you have multiple)
- Click "Allow access"
- Done.
What you can do:
- View invoices, bills, and payments
- Check who owes you money
- Create new invoices
- Look up contact details
- Check account balances
- Pull financial reports
Test it:
Show me all unpaid invoices over 30 days old
What's my total revenue for this month compared to last month?
Create a draft invoice for Sarah Mitchell - interior repaint, $3,400 including GST
If you use MYOB
MYOB doesn't have an official Claude connector yet, but it works well through Zapier (which we cover in Chapter 10). You can also connect via the community connector options.
Quickest path: Zapier
- Skip ahead to Chapter 10 to set up Zapier
- Connect MYOB to Zapier (MYOB is a supported Zapier app)
- Use the Zapier connector to let Claude talk to MYOB through Zapier
What you can do via Zapier:
- Create invoices
- Add contacts
- Record payments
- Basic reporting
It's not as seamless as the direct Xero connection, but it works and it's reliable.
If you use QuickBooks
QuickBooks has an official connector built by Intuit (the company behind QuickBooks).
Step by step:
- In Claude, look for QuickBooks in your connections
- Click "Connect"
- Sign in with your Intuit/QuickBooks credentials
- Authorise access
- Done.
Works similarly to Xero once connected.
Fair concern. Here's the reality: The connection uses a secure sign-in process called OAuth (the same "Sign in with Google" flow you've seen on other websites). It's a valet key, not a master key. Claude can read data and create drafts, but every major action should be reviewed by you. You can set it to read-only if you prefer (just viewing, no creating). You can revoke access any time through your Xero/MYOB/QB settings. Think of it like giving your bookkeeper access - except this one works 24/7 and costs about $30 AUD/month. Start with read-only if you're nervous. Once you see the value, you'll be comfortable letting it create draft invoices.
Not a bad idea. Send them a quick message: "Hey [accountant], I'm connecting my Xero to an AI assistant (Claude by Anthropic - they have an official Xero partnership). It'll help me create invoices and check payments faster. It uses a secure sign-in so no passwords are shared and I can revoke access any time. Just giving you a heads up." Most accountants will be fine with it. Some will be impressed you're doing it.
Combining email + accounting
Now you have email AND accounting connected. Here's where the magic starts:
Check my Xero for unpaid invoices over 14 days. For each one, draft a friendly reminder email to the client.
Claude will:
- Look up Xero for overdue invoices
- Get the client's email from Xero
- Draft a reminder email using your briefing file (CLAUDE.md) tone and follow-up skill
- Put each draft in your Gmail Drafts
That used to be 30 minutes of logging into Xero, finding overdue invoices, switching to Gmail, writing individual emails. Now it's one sentence.
What you just learned
- Connecting your accounting takes 5 minutes (Xero and QuickBooks have official connections)
- MYOB works best through Zapier (next chapter)
- Start with read-only access if you're cautious
- Combining email + accounting is where real time savings begin
- Your accountant doesn't need to worry - the secure sign-in keeps your password safe
Try it yourself
- Connect your accounting software (Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks)
- Ask Claude "who hasn't paid their invoice this month?"
- Try creating a draft invoice through Claude
- Combine it: ask Claude to find overdue invoices AND draft reminder emails