Use Claude, ChatGPT, or Grok as a chat interface to your Finance Tracker data. Ask questions, pull reports, reconcile a statement, or record transactions, all in your own AI app.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI apps to talk to your tools. Finance Tracker runs an MCP server, so any MCP-capable AI can read and update your finance data, with your permission.
Instead of opening the web app, ask your AI: “What did we spend on groceries last month?” or “Record $40 fuel on the Amex.” The AI does the thinking; Finance Tracker does the bookkeeping.
Access is locked to your family’s data only. The AI can never see another family’s records. Every write is recorded as coming from you. You can revoke access any time from User Settings.
Prefer the AI to look but not touch? In User Settings → AI Access (MCP) tick Read only. The AI can still read and analyse every report, but it cannot log, undo, or change any transaction. Leave it unticked for full read & write. Default is off (full access).
Every setup below starts with the same URL. Grab it once.
https://your-host/mcpWorks on claude.ai and the Claude desktop app. Uses a “custom connector.”
Finance Tracker.ChatGPT hides custom MCP servers behind Developer mode, and custom connectors now live under Plugins. Turn Developer mode on first, then add Finance Tracker as a Plugin.
Finance Tracker. Description is optional.Grok keeps it simple: just a name and a URL.
Finance Tracker.https://your-host/mcp address, not the /sse example shown in the placeholder).Only for tools that connect with a token header instead of a sign-in pop-up: Claude Code, curl, custom scripts. Most people can skip this.
ftmcp_. Treat it like a password.claude mcp add finance-tracker https://your-host/mcp \
--transport http \
--header "Authorization: Bearer ftmcp_..."
{
"mcpServers": {
"finance-tracker": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote", "https://your-host/mcp",
"--header", "Authorization: Bearer ftmcp_..."
]
}
}
}
curl -s https://your-host/mcp \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ftmcp_..." \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'
Once connected, talk to your AI in plain language. Each prompt maps to something you already do in the app, the AI just gets there faster.
Always available, even in Read only mode.
| Say this | What it does |
|---|---|
| “Show our income statement for last month.” | Same as opening Income Statement in Report. |
| “What’s our net worth right now, and how did it change since January?” | Pulls the Balance Sheet for each period and compares them. |
| “How are we tracking against the budget this month?” | Same as the Budget vs actual review in Report. |
| “List all Dining transactions this month and total them.” | Same as filtering History by category, then summing. |
| “What are the balances on all our accounts?” | Same as the Accounts / Balance view. |
| “How did my Etsy side-job do in June?” | Same as opening that Side Job’s P/L report on the Report tab. |
| “What FX rate are you using for USD today?” | Reads the tracker’s current (or a month’s historical) FX rates. |
| “Which recurring bills are due in the next two weeks?” | Reads the family’s recurring rules and their next run dates. |
| “Where did most of our spending go last quarter?” | Pulls several months of data and analyses it for you. There is no equivalent single screen. |
Needs write access, so it is disabled when Read only is ticked in User Settings.
| Say this | What it does |
|---|---|
| “Record $85 groceries on the NAB card, dated yesterday.” | Same as recording a transaction in the app. |
| “Here’s my credit-card statement, add any transactions we’re missing.” | Reconciles the statement, then records the missing rows in one batch. |
| “Log my $1,200 salary into the CBA account for the 1st.” | Records an income transaction. |
| “Move $500 from Savings to the offset account.” | Records a transfer between two accounts. |
| “That last coffee was a mistake, undo it.” | Same as undoing a transaction from History. |
| “Create a ‘Pet Care’ category with a paw icon.” | Same as adding a category in the Manage tab. |
| “Add a new NAB offset account and set its opening balance to $3,000.” | Same as adding an account and setting its initial balance in the Manage tab. |
| “Set up my $600/month grocery budget and $150 for dining.” | Same as filling out the Budgeting Tool. The AI reads your current budget first, then fills or updates it. |
| “Add a recurring $45 gym membership charge on the 1st of every month.” | Same as adding a recurring rule in the Manage tab. |
| “I buy the same $7 Subway sandwich on the Amex most days, make that a shortcut called sub.” | Same as adding a Shortcut in the Manage tab. After that, typing sub anywhere records the whole transaction. |
| “Log my sub.” | Records the transaction a shortcut stands for. Say the amount or the account only if it is different from the saved one. |
| “Set up an Etsy side job to track its own income and expenses.” | Same as adding a Side Job in the Manage tab. The AI can also close or reopen one when it wraps up. |
| “Check my tracker and tell me what I’m missing: accounts, categories, budget, anything.” | Runs a setup review: a checklist of missing accounts, opening balances, categories, budget, recurring rules and side jobs. Handy for first-time setup. |
| “Look through my transaction history and find anything that looks recurring.” | Scans your ledger for repeating patterns and suggests recurring rules to add. |
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| The app asks for a Client ID / Secret | Leave them blank. They’re optional, the sign-in pop-up handles everything. |
| No sign-in pop-up appeared | Check your browser’s pop-up blocker, then remove and re-add the connector. |
| “Unauthorized” after it worked before | Your access was revoked, or your family membership changed. Reconnect (apps) or generate a new token (command-line). |
| ChatGPT has no “New Plugin” option | Turn on Developer mode first (Settings → Security & login). It’s on paid plans only. |
| The AI says it can’t record or undo anything | Read only is ticked in User Settings → AI Access (MCP). Untick it to allow writing. |
| Want to disconnect everything | User Settings → AI Access (MCP) → Revoke All Access. Every client loses access instantly. |