{
  "id": "finance-pl-reporting",
  "title": "AI agent for P&L and month-end reporting",
  "category": "finance",
  "job": "Pull your real profit and loss from Xero or QuickBooks, explain the variances, and build the management report in Excel.",
  "difficulty": "Intermediate",
  "tools": [
    {
      "id": "claude",
      "name": "Claude (app)",
      "url": "https://claude.com",
      "kind": "assistant",
      "summary": "Anthropic's assistant app. Paid plans add connectors (Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive), custom MCP servers in Claude Desktop, and the Claude for Excel add-in.",
      "open_source": false,
      "pricing": {
        "plans": [
          {
            "name": "Pro",
            "usd_month": 20,
            "note": "$17/mo billed yearly; includes Claude for Excel and Gmail/Calendar connectors"
          },
          {
            "name": "Max 5x",
            "usd_month": 100,
            "note": "5x Pro usage per session"
          }
        ],
        "source": "https://claude.com/pricing",
        "status": "verified",
        "notes": "Claude for Excel is generally available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise (claude.com/docs/office-agents/excel). Gmail and Calendar connectors are read-only."
      },
      "last_checked": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "julius",
      "name": "Julius AI",
      "url": "https://julius.ai",
      "kind": "data",
      "summary": "Chat with spreadsheets and databases; returns charts, reports and code.",
      "open_source": false,
      "pricing": {
        "plans": [
          {
            "name": "Free",
            "usd_month": 0,
            "note": ""
          },
          {
            "name": "Plus",
            "usd_month": 20,
            "note": "2,000 credits ($16/mo yearly)"
          },
          {
            "name": "Pro",
            "usd_month": 45,
            "note": "5,000 credits"
          }
        ],
        "source": "https://julius.ai/pricing",
        "status": "verified",
        "notes": null
      },
      "last_checked": "2026-10-21"
    }
  ],
  "model": "Claude Sonnet 5.5 (default) / Opus 5.5 for variance analysis",
  "mcp_servers": [
    "Xero MCP server, official (https://github.com/XeroAPI/xero-mcp-server)",
    "QuickBooks Online MCP server, official (https://github.com/intuit/quickbooks-online-mcp-server)"
  ],
  "config": {
    "filename": "claude_desktop_config.json",
    "language": "json",
    "code": "{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"xero\": {\n      \"command\": \"npx\",\n      \"args\": [\"-y\", \"@xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest\"],\n      \"env\": {\n        \"XERO_CLIENT_ID\": \"your_client_id_here\",\n        \"XERO_CLIENT_SECRET\": \"your_client_secret_here\",\n        \"XERO_SCOPES\": \"accounting.reports.profitandloss.read accounting.reports.balancesheet.read accounting.reports.trialbalance.read accounting.invoices.read accounting.settings.read\"\n      }\n    }\n  }\n}"
  },
  "starter_prompt": "Using the Xero tools, pull the profit and loss for last month and for the same month last year. Build a one-page management report: revenue, gross margin, operating expenses by category and net profit, with the change versus last year in currency and %. For every line that moved more than 10%, give a one-line likely reason and the invoices or accounts behind it. Read only: do not create or edit anything in Xero. List any number you could not tie back to the P&L report.",
  "monthly_cost": {
    "min_usd": 20,
    "max_usd": 40,
    "note": "Claude Pro $20/month ($17 billed yearly) covers the Claude app, MCP servers in Claude Desktop and Claude for Excel. Add Julius Plus $20/month only if you work from CSV exports. Your Xero or QuickBooks subscription is not included."
  },
  "steps": [
    "Create a Xero Custom Connection for your organisation (or an Intuit developer app for QuickBooks). Try it on the Xero Demo Company first.",
    "In Claude Desktop, open Settings > Developer > Edit config, paste the config with your client ID and secret, and restart.",
    "Run the starter prompt, then tie the totals back to the P&L report in Xero before you trust anything else.",
    "Install Claude for Excel from Microsoft AppSource and ask Claude to turn the report into a workbook with live formulas.",
    "No accounting connection? Export the P&L or general ledger to CSV and ask the same questions in Julius."
  ],
  "why_this_works": "The official MCP servers hand Claude the actual P&L report instead of a pasted screenshot, and Claude for Excel edits your workbook while keeping formula relationships intact, so every number can be traced back to its source.",
  "watch_out": "Both servers can also write (the Xero one creates invoices and contacts), so grant read-only scopes. For QuickBooks, set QUICKBOOKS_DISABLE_WRITE, QUICKBOOKS_DISABLE_UPDATE and QUICKBOOKS_DISABLE_DELETE to true. AI can flip signs or mix up periods: check totals against the source report. This helps you prepare reports; it doesn't replace your accountant.",
  "unverified": [
    "The read-only Xero scope list in the config hasn't been tested on a live custom connection. Xero moved to granular scopes for connections created from Apr 29, 2026; if a tool fails, add the scope it asks for.",
    "Xero custom connection and QuickBooks developer app costs, if any, aren't included in the estimate."
  ],
  "tested": false,
  "last_checked": "2026-10-21"
}