Overview
The Accounting Ops Bot is a cross-platform toolkit that brings conversational AI to your accounting workflows. Manage invoices, customers, payroll, and bank reconciliation through natural language commands in Claude Code, or use our desktop and command-line tools for direct API access.
Whether you're asking "Did we record the depreciation for the car?" or "Please invoice Acme Corp again for the usual amount, but add an extra $50 charge for the freight," the Accounting Ops Bot seamlessly integrates with your accounting systems to execute operations through conversation.
Integrated Accounting Systems
🟢 Xero (Free)
- Full accounting API access
- Payroll for Australia, New Zealand, and UK
- Invoices, bills, bank reconciliation
- Timesheet management
- No subscription required - uses local OAuth authentication
Xero are a sensible company who understand how AI agents need to work, so I can supply tools to work with Xero for free. Thanks Xero!
💼 QuickBooks Online ($12 AUD/month)
- Complete accounting operations
- Customer and invoice management
- Chart of accounts queries
- Transaction tracking
- Natural language query interface
👥 Deputy ($12 AUD/month)
- Workforce management integration
- Timesheet retrieval
- Roster management
- Seamless integration with payroll systems
Note: QuickBooks and Deputy require a subscription due to OAuth broker hosting costs. The $12 AUD/month subscription covers unlimited connections and API usage for both services.
Natural Language Accounting
Perform accounting operations through conversation in Claude Code:
Example conversations:
- "Please invoice Acme Corp again for the usual amount, but add an extra $50 charge for the freight."
- "Did we record the depreciation for the car?"
- "Show me all unpaid invoices from November."
- "Create an invoice for XYZ Company for $2,500 for consulting services."
- "What's the current balance for our main operating account?"
- "Get timesheets for last week and summarize total hours."
The bot understands context, remembers previous interactions, and can perform multi-step operations automatically.
Technical Implementation
For Developers
The toolkit provides multiple interfaces:
- Claude Code Skills - Conversational accounting through /quickbooks, /xero, and /deputy commands
- CLI Tool (acct) - Command-line interface for scripting and automation
- Desktop GUI Tools - Cross-platform Qt applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Haiku
- C++ API - QuickBooksClient, XeroClient libraries for custom integrations
Command-Line Examples
# Connect to QuickBooks
acct connect --profile "My Company" qbo
# Query customers
acct query customers --profile "My Company" --where "DisplayName LIKE '%Acme%'"
# Create invoice
acct create-invoice --profile "My Company" --customer 123 --amount 500 --description "Consulting"
# Get unpaid invoices
acct query invoices --profile "My Company" --where "Balance > 0"
Subscription & Pricing
Xero - Free
Xero integration is completely free. It uses local OAuth authentication with PKCE, requiring no server infrastructure.
QuickBooks & Deputy - $12 AUD/Month
Due to OAuth requirements (HTTPS redirects and client secret management), QuickBooks and Deputy integrations require our hosted authentication broker.
Subscription includes:
- Unlimited API calls
- Multiple company connections
- All desktop and CLI tools
- 30-day free trial
- Automatic token refresh
How to subscribe:
- Visit auth.industrial-linguistics.com/subscribe
- Complete payment via Stripe ($12 AUD/month)
- Receive your API key immediately
- Register with
acct register --api-key sk_... - Start connecting to QuickBooks and Deputy
Note: The subscription is billed through Stripe and can be cancelled anytime. Your first 30 days are free to try the service.
Platform Support
Desktop and CLI tools available for:
- Windows (x86_64)
- macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon)
- Linux (most distributions)
- Haiku OS
Claude Code integration works on all platforms where Claude Code is available.
Security
- OAuth 2.0 authentication for all services
- Credentials stored locally in encrypted SQLite database
- No long-lived tokens stored on servers
- HTTPS for all API communication
- bcrypt-hashed API keys
- PKCE for enhanced security where supported
Installation
🍎 macOS
Open the downloaded DMG file and drag the applications to your Applications folder.
🪟 Windows
Double-click the downloaded MSIX file to install via Windows App Installer.
🐧 Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
# Add the APT repository
echo "deb https://packages.industrial-linguistics.com/accounting-ops/apt/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/accounting-ops.list
# Update package list
sudo apt update
# Install the package
sudo apt install accounting-ops
🍃 Haiku OS
# Add the repository
pkgman add-repo https://packages.industrial-linguistics.com/accounting-ops/haiku/repo
# Install the package
pkgman install accounting-ops
Verify Installation
After installation, verify the tools are available:
# Check CLI tool
acct --version
# Run first-time setup wizard
first_run_gui_tool
# Or use command-line setup
first_run_cli_tool
Note: All packages are built and deployed automatically via GitHub Actions. Visit packages.industrial-linguistics.com/accounting-ops/ to browse available packages.
Getting Started
After installation:
- Run the setup wizard:
first_run_gui_toolorfirst_run_cli_tool - Connect your accounting systems (Xero is free, QuickBooks/Deputy require subscription)
- For QuickBooks/Deputy: Subscribe at auth.industrial-linguistics.com/subscribe
- Register your API key:
acct register --api-key sk_... - For Claude Code users: Start using /quickbooks, /xero, or /deputy commands
- Perform accounting operations through natural conversation or CLI
Repository: github.com/industrial-linguistics/accounting-ops (contact us for access)
Use Cases
- Small Business Owners - Manage invoicing and expenses through conversation
- Accountants - Automate repetitive data entry and reconciliation tasks
- Bookkeepers - Streamline multi-client workflows with natural language
- Developers - Build custom accounting integrations with C++ or CLI APIs
- Finance Teams - Query financial data and generate reports conversationally