Claude's Xero connector: ask your books plain-English questions (it can look, but it can't touch)

What you can ask it

Xero's setup guide (opens in a new tab) lists four areas Claude can answer questions about:

• Revenue and profit: is the business making money, how much, and is it getting better or worse?
• Receivables and payables: who owes you, who you owe, how much is due and how old it is.
• Financial and cash position: what you own, what you owe, and whether cash looks healthy.
• Invoices: what's invoiced, outstanding and paid, your top customers, and invoice details.

Tip: Claude links back to the Xero report, invoice or contact it used. Click through and check before you act on an answer.

Questions to copy and paste

Put a time period or a customer name in your question. Xero's guide says this gets better answers. If you don't give a period, it uses a default range, which may not be what you meant.

Copy this prompt and fill in the [square brackets]:

Who owes me money right now? List the overdue invoices, oldest first.
Which customers are overdue by more than a month?
What's my cash position right now?
What do I owe my suppliers, and what's overdue?
What was my profit last month?
How does this quarter compare to the same quarter last year?
Who were my top customers by revenue this financial year?
What are my biggest expenses this financial year?
Show me every unpaid invoice for [customer name].
What's changed in my numbers since last month?

Tip: Ask a follow-up straight after, like "which of those is the biggest?" or "show me just the ones over [amount]".

How to connect Xero to Claude

These steps follow Xero's setup guide (opens in a new tab). Do it on a computer. Installing connectors on the phone app is in beta, according to Anthropic (opens in a new tab).

1. Sign in to Claude at claude.ai.
2. Open the Connectors Directory. In settings it's under Customize > Connectors, then the + button. In a chat, click + (or type /), go to Connectors, then Manage connectors.
3. Search for Xero and open it. Check it says it's made by Xero Limited.
4. Click Connect.
5. Sign in with your usual Xero email and password if asked. If Xero asks for a two-step code, follow its prompts — check with Xero if the sign-in screen looks different.
6. If you have more than one Xero organisation, choose the one you want.
7. Click Allow.
8. Back in Claude, ask a test question like "What's my cash position right now?"
9. Click the link in Claude's answer and check it matches what Xero shows.

Tip: Menu names in Claude move around. If you can't find them, search Claude's help for "connectors".

⚠️ Not sure if your Xero login has access to the reports you need? Check with whoever set up your Xero (often your accountant or bookkeeper).

Two businesses, a team plan, or disconnecting

• One organisation at a time: Xero says the connector links to one Xero organisation at a time. To switch, disconnect and reconnect, then choose the other organisation (Xero's guide (opens in a new tab)).
• Claude Team or Enterprise plans: an Owner has to turn the connector on for the organisation first, then each person connects their own account (Claude help (opens in a new tab)).
• To disconnect: go to your Connectors settings in Claude, open Xero, click Disconnect, then confirm.
• Out-of-date numbers? Xero's guide explains how to refresh the data from the link in Claude's answer, then ask again.

Which plans you need

• Xero: Xero says the connector works with any Xero business plan. Check Xero's page (opens in a new tab) for current terms.
• Claude: Xero says a free or paid Claude account works. Check your plan in Claude if you don't see the connector.
• Small Business plugin: Xero's guide also mentions an optional Small Business plugin from Anthropic, and says it's only on some paid Claude plans. We haven't covered it here — check your plan.

Why read-only is a good thing

Xero says Claude "can't change a thing" with this connector (Xero (opens in a new tab)). So it can't:

• edit or delete invoices
• post or reconcile transactions
• send anything to your customers
• change contacts, bills or settings

What it doesn't do

• It isn't an accountant. Xero says it's not a source of tax, compliance or financial advice. For GST, tax and "can I afford this?" questions, check with your accountant.
• Answers are only as good as your books. If your bank feeds aren't reconciled, the answers won't be right either. See Xero JAX auto-reconcile.
• The Claude listing (opens in a new tab) shows the tools Xero makes available. Some are aimed at the US. Check with Xero that a feature works for NZ or AU organisations before you rely on it.
• It won't chase anyone for you. To send reminders, use Xero's own invoice reminders.
• The Xero MCP server is a different thing — a developer tool that can be set up to do more. If someone offers to set that up, ask them exactly what it can change in your books.

Privacy: check these settings first

Xero says your Xero data isn't used to train AI models (Xero (opens in a new tab)). Anthropic's privacy page for Free, Pro and Max plans says raw content from connectors isn't used for model training — but anything you copy into the chat can be (Anthropic (opens in a new tab)).

• Free, Pro or Max: in Claude go to Settings > Privacy and check Help improve our AI models. Turn it off if you don't want your chats used (Anthropic's steps (opens in a new tab)).
• Team or Enterprise: Anthropic says commercial plans aren't used for training by default (Anthropic (opens in a new tab)).
• Thumbs up / down: rating a chat sends Anthropic the whole conversation as feedback. Read Anthropic's privacy page (opens in a new tab) before you use it on chats about your money.
• Don't paste bank logins, tax numbers or customers' private details into the chat.

⚠️ Privacy settings and plan names change. Check them in Claude yourself before you connect.

Is the Claude Xero connector free?

Xero says it's free to add — check Xero's page (opens in a new tab) for current terms. You still need a Xero business plan and a Claude account. Xero says a free or paid Claude plan works.

Can Claude change anything in my Xero?

Not at launch. Xero says the connector is read-only at launch, so Claude can look but can't edit invoices, post transactions or change your books. That may change, so check Xero's page before you connect.

Does it work in New Zealand and Australia?

Xero has a Claude page for both NZ (opens in a new tab) and AU (opens in a new tab). Some tools on the Claude listing are aimed at the US, so check with Xero that the feature you want works for your organisation.

Is my Xero data used to train AI?

Xero says your Xero data isn't used to train AI models. Anthropic says raw connector content isn't used for training, but what you type or paste into the chat can be on Free, Pro and Max plans if the model-improvement setting is on. Check Settings > Privacy in Claude.

Can I connect more than one business?

One at a time. Xero says you need to disconnect and reconnect to switch to another Xero organisation.

Does this replace my accountant or JAX?

No. Xero says it doesn't replace your accountant, bookkeeper or JAX, and it isn't tax or financial advice. It's a quick way to check your own numbers. Check anything important with your accountant.