Which AI can do your bookkeeping?

How to read this comparison

One requirement decides: can the program send our company key?

Our MCP server signs in with a static company key, not with OAuth. A program can use it if it lets you set a header (group A), or if it can start a local command and run the mcp-remote bridge (group B, Node.js required). Programs that only offer OAuth or no sign-in cannot connect today (group C) — for each we name the alternative.

Our server accepts the key in three forms, so most programs work with their default field. Vendors change their apps quickly; this page reflects the state as of October 2026. Whatever the program, it reaches the books of exactly one company per key — a GmbH, UG (German limited companies) or any other legal form we support.

MCP server (Streamable HTTP):
  https://api.jahresabschluss.io/functions/v1/bookkeeping-mcp
REST API (OpenAPI 3.1):
  https://api.jahresabschluss.io/functions/v1/bookkeeping-api

Accepted key headers:
  Authorization: Bearer jab_live_…
  Authorization: jab_live_…
  X-API-Key: jab_live_…

Bridge for programs that only start local servers (Node.js required):
  npx -y mcp-remote https://api.jahresabschluss.io/functions/v1/bookkeeping-mcp \
    --header "Authorization: Bearer jab_live_…"

Group A: assistants and agents that connect directly

These send the key as a header — nothing to install besides the program itself.

Group A: code editors and IDE agents

Developers often already have one of these open — the bookkeeping is one more server entry.

Group B: connects through the bridge

These programs start MCP servers only as local commands. mcp-remote, a published npm package, forwards everything to our hosted server.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buchhaltung": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://api.jahresabschluss.io/functions/v1/bookkeeping-mcp",
               "--header", "Authorization:${JAB_AUTH}"],
      "env": { "JAB_AUTH": "Bearer jab_live_…" }
    }
  }
}

Local models: bookkeeping without an AI provider

The model runs on your computer. The bookkeeping data the agent reads goes to your local model and to no AI provider; the calls to your books travel encrypted to us, as always.

Group C: not today — and what to use instead

These sign in only via OAuth or without authentication, so a company key cannot be sent.

Same tools and the same rules in every program

The program changes; the bookkeeping behind it doesn't. These sentences work in any of them, with the tools called:

• “Show me the Saldenliste (trial balance) for 2026.” → list_fiscal_years, get_saldenliste
• “Book the receipts that are waiting for review, one by one with my OK.” → list_receipts, get_receipt_proposal, confirm_receipt
• “Match this month's bank payments to the open invoices.” → list_bank_transactions, list_open_items, match_bank_transaction
• “What are the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (VAT return) figures for October?” → get_vat_return
• Stays in the app whatever the program: bank OAuth, company settings, partners' IBAN and BIC, a first year's manual opening balance, every ELSTER filing, and the annual accounts themselves.

Every program on this page reaches the same 71 tools — 31 read, 38 write, one to email invoices and one to lock periods — filtered by the rights of your key. And every write goes through the same booking core as manual entry in the app, under GoBD (the German rules for proper digital bookkeeping): no deleting or overwriting, Storno reversals instead, debit equals credit, locked periods stay locked. For irreversible steps our server instructs the agent to get your explicit yes. Our advice everywhere: confirm write tools, and use a read-only key for analysis.

Frequently asked questions

Which AI is best for bookkeeping?

The one you already use, if it is in group A or B. Without technical background, Claude Desktop (with the guide in the app) or Mistral Le Chat (a form, no files) are the easiest starts. Developers will find Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot quickest.

Can ChatGPT do my bookkeeping?

Not the ChatGPT web app with a custom MCP server today: it signs in only via OAuth or without authentication. Codex works with the same OpenAI account. Custom GPTs can use our REST API until OpenAI retires them on 11 December 2026.

Why can't some programs connect?

Our server signs in with a static company key, not with OAuth. Programs that only offer OAuth or no sign-in — ChatGPT in the browser, claude.ai, the Gemini app, Gemini Enterprise, Microsoft 365 Copilot — have no place to put that key.

Does the AI see all my data?

It sees what the tools return for the single company the key belongs to, limited by the key's rights. What the agent reads passes to the provider of the AI program you use — unless you run a local model, where it stays on your computer.

Can any of these programs file my VAT return or annual accounts?

No. The MCP server and the API cover bookkeeping only. get_vat_return reads the figures; every ELSTER filing stays in the app. At year end publish_trial_balance hands the trial balance to the annual-accounts module, where the annual accounts and E-Bilanz are prepared.

What does the connection cost?

API and MCP server come at no extra charge with the bookkeeping subscription (Solo or Gesamtpaket) or the EÜR subscription. What your AI program costs depends on its provider.