Move from a self-hosted QuickBooks Online server to Connect

Keep your AI app and accounting questions. Connect replaces the QuickBooks MCP server you run with a hosted connection to your client companies.

Your books stay in the same QuickBooks Online companies. You authorize those companies in Connect and connect your AI app to Connect’s remote server.

What changes

Intuit’s open-source server runs locally over stdio. Its setup uses your Intuit app’s client ID and secret, a company ID, and a refresh token. It rotates tokens and saves them to a writable token file.

With Connect, you stop operating that server, its dependencies, Intuit app credentials, and token storage. Connect handles token refresh and scheduled keep-alive for idle connections.

You gain these workspace tools:

• Connect several client companies and ask about them in one conversation.
• Give each teammate access to specific clients, including Read-only access that blocks their accounting changes.
• Prepare change plans that Connect holds until they’re approved in your AI app.
• Review recorded activity by person, app, company, operation, and outcome in Audit log, with Export CSV.
• Save recurring instructions as client procedures.

Connect operates the hosted server and its tool catalog and stores your QuickBooks tokens. You keep control of your AI client, prompts, and accounting instructions. Custom server tools and hardcoded tool calls need adaptation to Connect’s tools.

Before you switch

Use a production QuickBooks Online company you can authorize. For the report comparison, use that company in both setups. Have a Connect workspace and an AI app with remote MCP and OAuth support. Check your app’s requirements in its setup guide. Keep the existing server available until the first report matches.

Make the switch

1. Set up your workspace. Keep your firm’s clients in the same workspace.
2. In Connectors > QuickBooks Online, select Connect to QuickBooks and authorize the same company you used with your server. Repeat for other clients. Each company appears in Connect. This creates a separate authorization through Connect’s Intuit app.
3. In Authorized apps > Add an AI app, copy the Connection URL. Follow the guide for Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, or Codex CLI. Choose another app’s guide if needed. Complete sign-in and select the workspace if Connect asks.
4. Disable the old QuickBooks server in your AI app so the next request uses Connect. Start a conversation with Connect enabled and send the request in Check the connection.
5. After the report matches, remove the old MCP entry and stop its server. Retire its credentials and scheduled jobs only if no other integration uses them.

For a custom MCP client, replace the local stdio process with Connect’s Streamable HTTP connection and complete OAuth. Read tools/list. Use compose_search to discover methods, compose_read for reads, and compose_write for changes. Update scripts and prompts that name your old tools.

Check the connection

Ask your AI app:

Show the connected QuickBooks companies I can access.

Confirm the company names. Then reuse a report request from your old setup, with the same company, dates, accounting basis, and currency. For example, replace the company name in this request with one from the list:

Show the September 2026 accrual profit and loss for Northwind Logistics LLC. Confirm the company, report dates, accounting basis and currency. Do not change any records.

Compare its totals with the same report in QuickBooks or your previous setup. A working answer identifies the company, dates, basis, and currency and returns matching totals.

Before changing records, review your app’s confirmation controls in its setup guide. Invite teammates and grant client access when you are ready to share the connection.