How do I get an Access Token for FreshBooks?

You can find your Access Token in your FreshBooks application settings or by creating a Personal Access Token in the FreshBooks Developer Portal.

Where do I find my FreshBooks Account ID?

Your Account ID is the unique number visible in your browser's URL bar immediately after '/portal/' when you are logged into FreshBooks.

Can I see if a specific invoice has been paid?

Yes! Use the 'get_invoice_details' tool and provide the Invoice ID. The agent will return the current status, including whether it is 'Sent', 'Paid', or 'Overdue'.

Is time tracking data accessible via the agent?

Yes, the 'list_time_entries' tool allows you to retrieve all time tracking logs for your business, keeping your project productivity in view.

FreshBooks MCP Server for Claude Desktop 12 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: FreshBooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 12 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

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Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install FreshBooks and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freshbooks": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

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High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About FreshBooks MCP Server

Connect your FreshBooks account to any AI agent to automate your small business accounting, invoicing, and client management through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). FreshBooks is the leading cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses and self-employed professionals. This MCP server enables you to manage your clients, track invoice statuses, and retrieve financial summaries directly through natural conversation.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect FreshBooks to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 12 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

Key Features

Client Management — List and search for clients, fetch detailed profiles, and maintain full context of your customer relationships.
Invoice Lifecycle — Track sales invoices across all states (Sent, Paid, Overdue) and retrieve detailed line-item metadata.
Expense Oversight — Monitor recorded business expenses and categorize them for better financial tracking.
Payment History — Retrieve a list of all payments received to ensure your cash flow is accurately monitored.
Project & Task Tracking — Access projects, tasks, and time entries to see how they impact your billing and productivity.
User Identity — Fetch global user profile and identity details to ensure you are working in the correct account context.
Financial Insights — Access high-level metadata for your specific FreshBooks business account instantly.

The FreshBooks MCP Server exposes 12 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect FreshBooks to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the FreshBooks MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using FreshBooks

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 12 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the FreshBooks MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with FreshBooks through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

FreshBooks + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the FreshBooks MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

FreshBooks MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (12)

These 12 tools become available when you connect FreshBooks to Claude Desktop via MCP:

get_account_info

Get business info

get_client_details

Get client metadata

get_invoice_details

Get invoice metadata

get_my_identity

Get user identity

list_active_projects

List projects

list_clients

List clients

list_expense_categories

List categories

list_expenses

List tracked expenses

list_invoices

List sales invoices

list_payments

List invoice payments

list_project_tasks

List tasks

list_time_entries

List time logs

Example Prompts for FreshBooks in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with FreshBooks immediately.

"List my 5 most recent clients in FreshBooks."

"Show me the status of my last 3 invoices."

"Get my time tracking entries for this week."

Troubleshooting FreshBooks MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting FreshBooks to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

FreshBooks + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating FreshBooks MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.