Spendesk AI Connect (MCP): what it reads, what it can change, how to connect Claude and ChatGPT

Spendesk hosts an official MCP server: 37 read tools plus 29 beta write tools that are off by default. OAuth, set up by a Spendesk admin. Verified 21 Oct 2026.

Official MCP server · read & write (hosted; writes in beta, off by default)

Hosting: Remote HTTP, hosted by Spendesk: https://public-api.spendesk.com/v1/mcp. Built on the Spendesk Public API. No local server.
Auth: OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. A Spendesk Account Owner or Admin issues a client ID and secret; each user signs in to Spendesk and approves. API keys are refused.
Read / write: Read tools are generally available. Write tools are in beta and off by default; once enabled they change Spendesk data immediately. No tool approves, pays or schedules payments.
Works with: Claude.ai and Claude Desktop (custom connector), ChatGPT Business/Enterprise/Edu (developer mode), Dust, Langdock
Plan requirement: Spendesk says MCP access is free for all customers for 2026 and pricing may change. Users must be Account Owners or Controllers. Claude Free to Enterprise; ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu.
Last changed: 2026-10-16 (MCP tool reference regenerated: 37 read, 29 write tools)
Verification: Verified 21 Oct 2026 by theFinanceStack · confidence: high

What can an agent do with Spendesk through MCP?

Mostly read. Spendesk's tool reference lists 37 read tools and 29 beta write tools. An admin has to switch the write tools on, and none of them approve or pay anything.

What it can read

Wallet, payables and their attachments, settlements, invoices and purchase orders
Requests, intakes, suppliers, cards and transactions
Cost centres, categories, analytical fields and chart of accounts
Users and companies (for multi-entity groups)
Spend and request analyses

How writes behave

Write tools change master data and bookkeeping status.
Spendesk says writes take effect immediately, with no draft step.
Only create_accounting_export previews first.

Good to know

Spendesk's tool reference contradicts itself on cost centres. Its text says no tool creates or changes them, but its tool table lists create_cost_center, update_cost_center and delete_cost_center. This page follows the table, so check what your connection shows.
Spendesk's marketing page still calls the connector read-only.

Can

Read wallet balance, top-ups, payables and payable attachments, settlements, invoices and due invoices
Read purchase orders, requests, intakes, suppliers, cards, transactions, cost centres, categories, analytical fields, accounts, users and companies
Beta, posts immediately: create, update or archive suppliers and chart-of-accounts entries (delete_accounts archives an account, which can be unarchived)
Beta, posts immediately: create, update or delete cost centres (a deleted cost centre is archived and no tool restores it)
Beta, posts immediately: create, update or delete analytical fields, field values, expense categories and category fields (deletes cannot be undone)
Beta, posts immediately: create, cancel or close purchase orders, which Spendesk describes as spending commitments; update payables and mark them ready for export
Beta: mark payables or settlements exported manually; commit accounting exports (irreversible, per Spendesk)

Cannot

Approve or reject requests or invoices, pay an invoice or schedule a payment (per Spendesk)
Create or change cards (including a physical card's payment settings) or users (per Spendesk)
Create or approve expenses or change user roles; the tool reference lists no tool for either
Read budgets; Spendesk says no MCP tool exists for this
Exceed the signed-in user's Spendesk access or the permissions they approved
Bypass Spendesk's short-lived data cache (per Spendesk)

What access does it get?

The connection acts as one Spendesk user with Account Owner or Controller rights, limited to the permissions an admin enabled and the user ticked at sign-in.

Where	Scopes and permissions (as documented)	Admin requirement
Spendesk MCP server (public-api.spendesk.com/v1/mcp)	Per-tool permission keys from Spendesk's tool reference, e.g. payable:read, supplier:read, cost-center:manage, experimental:accounting:update, experimental:purchase-order:write, experimental:accounting-export:write. Spendesk says write permissions are off by default: an admin enables them on the connection and each user ticks them at sign-in. Spendesk doesn't say which read permissions start on.	An Account Owner or Admin creates the connection (Settings › Integrations › MCP, or Multi-entity Hub › MCP) with a second factor and sets permissions in Manage › Permissions. Only Account Owners and Controllers can use it. In a multi-entity group, the user picks one company or all companies on the approval screen; one company is the narrower grant.

How do I connect it?

A Spendesk admin creates the connection and copies the client ID and secret; then you add https://public-api.spendesk.com/v1/mcp as a custom connector with those credentials.

Spendesk Account Owner or Admin: Settings › Integrations › MCP › New MCP, confirm with your second factor, copy the client ID and secret (shown once).
Leave write permissions off unless needed; enable later in Manage › Permissions, then users reconnect.
Claude Team/Enterprise: an Owner adds it in Organization settings › Connectors › Add › Custom › Web with https://public-api.spendesk.com/v1/mcp and the credentials under Advanced settings; members then Connect.
Claude Free, Pro or Max: Customize › Connectors › Add custom connector, same URL and credentials, then Connect.
Sign in to Spendesk and approve, ticking only the write permissions you need. In a multi-entity group, connect one company unless you need all of them.

No Claude directory listing as of 21 Oct 2026. Spendesk advises keeping write tools on per-call approval and leaving Always allow off.

What should a finance team watch for?

Write tools take effect immediately and several can't be undone. Enable only the ones you need and approve every call by hand.

Write tools are beta. Spendesk's tool reference gives no undo for: marking payables or settlements exported, marking a payable ready for export, cancelling or closing a purchase order (closing rewrites its amount to what was billed), deleting a cost centre (archived, with no tool to restore it), and deleting analytical fields, field values, expense categories or category fields (deleting the category field removes every expense category). Committing an export is also final. A new purchase order can only be cancelled while open with no invoice, and a new supplier only archived.
Supplier names, invoice lines and documents are free text. Spendesk warns an injected instruction could cause an unwanted change if writes run on Always allow; keep per-call approval.
The client secret is shown once. Spendesk says to treat it like a password, share it only through a secure channel and never paste it into an AI conversation. If it is exposed, delete and recreate the connection; Spendesk says this signs out every user of that connection.
Limits per Spendesk: 100 simultaneous requests per company (200 per organisation), 1,000 items per page, 5,000 per fetch-all call; data is briefly cached.
Spendesk says data the assistant reads goes to your AI provider under your agreement with them; check that provider's retention and training settings.
The Action log (Manage › Action log) records each call without its arguments. Check the changed records in Spendesk itself.

How could finance teams and accounting firms use it?

Use the read tools for spend and payables questions. The beta write tools fit master-data and export housekeeping, with a person reviewing each call before it runs.

Inside a company

Ask for spend by supplier, cost centre or expense category for the month without building an export.
List due and overdue invoices and open purchase orders for a cash or AP review.
Check the wallet balance, recent top-ups and failed card transactions.
With write tools on, add new suppliers or cost centres, with a controller approving each call before it runs.

At an accounting firm

Before month-end, list a client's payables not yet ready for export and what is missing.
Compare the Spendesk chart of accounts and analytical fields with the client's ledger to spot mapping gaps.
Summarise settlements and supplier activity for a client review meeting.
Preview an accounting export with create_accounting_export before anyone commits it in Spendesk.

Keep a person approving every write call and anything else that changes Spendesk or the ledger. Approvals and payments stay in Spendesk.

Want Spendesk connected to Claude for your team?

We configure scoped connections and a review step before anything changes your books. Fixed fee.

Book a 30-minute setup call

Change log

Date	Change	Source
2026-10-21	Help centre re-checked: MCP access free for 2026, beta write tools off by default	helpcenter.spendesk.com/en/articles/15052814-ask-your-spende
2026-10-16	Tool reference regenerated: 37 read, 29 write tools	developer.spendesk.com/reference/mcp-tool-reference
2026-10	Beta write tools documented	helpcenter.spendesk.com/en/articles/17070644-take-action-on-

FAQ

Is this official?

Yes. Spendesk hosts the server at public-api.spendesk.com and documents it in its help centre and developer reference.

Is it free?

Spendesk says MCP access is free for all customers for 2026 and that pricing may change; read tools are available "at no cost for 2026". It doesn't state separate pricing for the beta write tools. You also need an AI plan that allows custom connectors.

Does it change data in Spendesk?

Only if an admin enables the beta write tools and you tick them at sign-in. They then change suppliers, accounts, cost centres, categories, purchase orders, payable status and exports immediately, and some deletes can't be undone. None approve or pay.

Is my data used to train models?

Spendesk says data the assistant reads goes to your AI provider under your agreement with them, and makes no training statement. Check your provider's settings and Spendesk's terms.

Can my accountant use it on my behalf?

Spendesk doesn't document this. The connection acts as whoever signs in, and only Account Owners and Controllers can use it, so an accountant needs their own login with that role.

Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll email you when it's fixed.

Sources

Verified by theFinanceStack, 21 Oct 2026. Vendor list on the CFO Software Market Map courtesy of Jason Staats; AI connectivity data by theFinanceStack. Not tax, compliance or financial advice.