Short answer: if Claude’s connector directory doesn’t cover your software, or the official connector can only read a few numbers, you can build your own. Check the directory. Check the software has an API. Get API access. Have Claude Code build a .mcpb connector. Install it in Claude Desktop. Start read-only, then turn on a few draft-only writes when you need them. You don’t write the code yourself.
I’m Blake, an AI engineer who’s helped over 50 businesses across New Zealand and Australia with AI. From job management and warehouse systems to point of sale and banking, I’ve built these connectors for all of them. It’s the same method every time. You do not need to be technical for this.
What is an MCP, in plain English?
Claude talks to other software through something called an MCP - Model Context Protocol. Think of it like a USB, but for AI. It is the same connection I use outside the office too: Claude can generate 3D models in Blender once the free blender-mcp add-on is installed.
An MCP server sits in the middle. Claude asks it to do something. It passes that on to your software in a way the software understands. And it only offers the actions you’ve allowed.
Every connector in Claude’s directory is one of these. Someone has already built it, often the software provider. If no one’s built one for your software, or the one they’ve built is too limited, you can build your own.
Check 1: is there already a connector?
Open Claude. Go to Settings, then Connectors, then Browse connectors. Search for your software. If it’s there, connect it and try a real job.
We use Xero as the example. Connect it to the Xero Demo Company and ask who owes you money and how much is overdue. It nails that. The official connector is really good for cash position, profit and loss, and who owes you money. There is a separate written guide on connecting Claude to Xero, and a page on what Xero’s own MCP server does and does not do.
Now ask it to create a draft invoice for Ridgeway Builders, three hours at $120 an hour. Ridgeway Builders is the customer in the video demo, not a client. It can’t. The official connector can read your Xero, but it can’t change anything. No invoices. No bills.
That’s the usual gap. Either your software isn’t on the list, or the connector only reads high-level info and can’t do the admin. If what’s there already does everything you need, stop and use it. It’ll be maintained as the company updates it. If not, go to check 2.
Check 2: does your software have an API?
An API is how one piece of software talks to another, with no screens or buttons. Bank feeds into Xero, payroll into Xero - that’s an API. And it’s what an MCP server uses on Claude’s behalf.
Google your software’s name plus “API documentation”. For Xero, the docs are on developer.xero.com. The Xero API can create invoices, create bills, add contacts - everything the official connector couldn’t.
That’s the signal. If an API can do it, Claude can do it. You just need a connector that uses it. Most decent software from the last 10 years has one. If you can’t find it, ask your provider whether an API exists and whether it’s on your plan.
No API? You can’t go much further here, except Claude in Chrome, which drives your browser for you. It’s much slower than an MCP. For software with an API, carry on.
How do you get API permission?
Some tools give you an API key. Others make you create an app. The docs tell you which. Or send Claude the docs link and ask.
For Xero: go to developer.xero.com, My Apps, New app. Name it something recognisable. Pick authentication code or the desktop application option. Put in the localhost redirect shown on screen, tick the boxes, create it. Copy the Client ID.
Xero’s Starter developer tier is free for up to five connections, so you don’t need the paid custom connection for this. Treat the Client ID like a password. Keep it in your password manager. Never leave it in a chat, email or document.
How do you build the connector without writing code?
This used to cost thousands of dollars of developer time. Claude Code - Claude that can create files and run things on your computer - comes with Claude’s paid plans. Make an empty folder, open Claude Code in it, and paste the prompt from the YouTube description.
The prompt tells Claude where the API docs are, to generate a .mcpb Claude Desktop extension, to start read-only, then to add exactly two writes behind an “Allow writes” switch that’s off by default: create a draft invoice and create a draft bill.
That’s the safest pattern for any software. Read first. Only the exact writes you need, behind a switch. Don’t enable everything.
Let it run. It reads the docs, writes the connector, and tests it. If something errors - and it probably will - tell it what went wrong in plain English. You don’t need to understand the code. The file that matters is the one ending in .mcpb. Swap Xero for your own software and the same prompt works.
How do you install and test it?
Double-click the .mcpb. Claude Desktop installs it. Paste the Client ID. Leave Allow writes off to start. Turn off any other Xero connector so Claude doesn’t get confused.
Tell it to log in to Xero, click the Demo Company, allow access. Ask for every bill due in the next two weeks in a table - it reads fine. Then turn on Allow writes and try the draft invoice for Ridgeway Builders. It asks permission first. Then it’s sitting in Xero as a draft, waiting for you to check and approve.
Same software. Same Claude. The only difference is a connector that can actually do jobs for you.
What’s the best use case so far?
Properly filling out Xero bills. Xero’s inbuilt reader often fails on the code, misses description parts, and doesn’t split line items.
Example from the video: a PlaceMakers bill arrives as a PDF email. PlaceMakers is the supplier in that demo, not a client. Tell Claude to read the latest email from PlaceMakers, create a draft bill in Xero with the right supplier and amount, and draft a reply saying thanks. It pulls the details, asks permission, creates the draft, and leaves a reply ready. Line items split out. Right description. That’s the job the official connector can’t touch.
You’re still the one hitting approve. Everything stays in draft until you say so. For the admin you’re doing by hand in Xero, good API docs get you about 90% of the way there.
Can you add jobs later and share it with the team?
Yes. A month later, go back to the same Claude Code folder and ask it to add a create-contact tool behind the allow switch, test it on the Demo Company, and rebuild the .mcpb. Reinstall. Start small and add one job at a time.
For the team, send the same .mcpb, or on the Team plan upload it under organisation settings > Connectors. Each person installs it and logs in with their own account, so they only see what they’re allowed to see. No shared passwords. Access follows their own login, not yours.
When should you not build one?
Use the official connector if it already does what you need. Skip the MCP if there’s no API (use Claude in Chrome instead). And remember: a connector you build is yours to maintain. If the API changes, ask Claude to update it. For most businesses that’s a few minutes a year, but it isn’t zero.
Want the finished Xero version, or help building yours?
Watch I Built a Better Xero Connector for Claude for the finished Xero version doing a month of bills. The download and setup steps are on the Xero connector page.
If you’d rather not build this yourself, this is what I’ve done with over 50 businesses across Australia and New Zealand. I can build the connector, set it up safely across your team, and train them. Get Claude set up properly for your business. If the job is your Xero file, see Xero AI integration.
One practical AI email a month: Blake’s AI Briefing.
Do I need to write any code to connect Claude to my business software?
No. Claude Code builds the .mcpb from a prompt and the API docs link.
Does a Claude Desktop MCP connector work in the browser app?
You need Claude Desktop on a paid plan for the extension, and Claude Code (also paid) to build it.
Can Claude approve or send invoices and bills in Xero?
In this setup, writes create drafts only, behind an Allow writes switch that’s off by default. You approve everything.
What if my business software has no API?
You can’t build an MCP for it. Claude in Chrome can drive the browser, but it’s much slower.
Is the Xero developer app free for a Claude connector?
Blake’s walkthrough uses Xero’s free Starter developer tier, up to five connections.
