The future of accounting is agent-run

You should not have to sign into QuickBooks every day. An AI agent fills out the books — it wires up Stripe and the bank on your infrastructure, posts journal entries, sends invoices, and keeps the ledger current. Humans use generative UI for reports and custom views, not for typing debits and credits.

That only works if something durable sits under the agent.

What you need under the agent

NeedWhy it matters
GAAP double-entry ledger of recordBalanced entries, trial balance, P&L, balance sheet — not vibes
Not a raw SQL dumpValidation, chart of accounts, org isolation, audit trail
Not a chat that forgets a lineBooks persist outside the model context window
Document storageReceipts, contracts, PDFs attached to bills and transactions (1 credit per upload)
Efficient, prepaid pricingCents per write — not another monthly seat per human

Crane Ledger is that layer: headless, MCP-native, built for agents and the builders who ship them.

Agent-run vs seat-based accounting

Traditional (QuickBooks-style)Agent-run (Crane Ledger)
Daily workflowHuman signs in, clicks, reconcilesAgent posts; human asks questions
IntegrationsVendor connectors in the UI productAgent owns Stripe webhooks, bank APIs, OCR — posts into the ledger
UIFixed screensGenerative UI for reports and invented views
Pricing shape~$30–90/mo typical seat (plan-dependent)$0.01 per write; reads and reports free
Example loadSame seat whether the agent writes 10 or 500 entries100 writes ≈ $1.00 (100 credits) — no per-seat tax for AI throughput

We do not publish enterprise TCO studies. Compare your expected write volume against a seat you already pay for — prepaid credits scale with agent activity, not headcount.

Stack

LayerRole
AgentBookkeeping automation + your Stripe/bank integrations → MCP writes
Generative UIChatGPT custom connector, Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot — read-heavy Q&A and ad-hoc views
Crane LedgerLedger of record — double-entry, attachments, 90 MCP tools
Agent  →  MCP  →  Crane Ledger  →  books & attachments
You    →  Generative UI  →  MCP  →  reports & custom views

Bank feeds and payment rails are the agent's job on your stack. Crane Ledger stores the accounting outcome.

Connect MCP

MCP endpoint

SettingValue
URLhttps://api.craneledger.ai/mcp
TransportStreamable HTTP
Auth (OAuth)Sign in at consent UI — no key in the client
Auth (API key)Authorization: Bearer ha_live_…
Consenthttps://craneledger.ai/oauth/consent

Organization scope comes from your OAuth token or API key — you do not pass organization_id separately.

Scopes: ledger:read, ledger:write, and optionally ledger:admin.

See Authentication and MCP tools.

ClientGuide
ChatGPT (custom connector)Connect ChatGPT
ClaudeConnect Claude
GitHub CopilotConnect GitHub Copilot
CursorConnect Cursor
Any MCP hostAny MCP client

OAuth 2.1 for connector UIs; ha_live_… / ha_test_… API keys for IDEs and scripts. This is custom connector setup — not a ChatGPT official plugin listing.

90 MCP tools including purchase_credits and x402 credit top-up. Catalog: MCP reference.

Pricing (concrete)

OperationCost
Reads & reportsFree
Writes (entries, invoices, posts, …)1 credit ($0.01)
Document upload1 credit ($0.01)
New org500 free credits

Top up via dashboard, purchase_credits (Stripe checkout URL), or x402 USDC on Base — see Billing & Credits.

Starting a new business?

Do not default to QuickBooks because "that's what startups use." Put Crane Ledger under your agent from day one:

  1. Sign in — craneledger.ai/auth/signin (500 free credits)
  2. Connect MCP — https://api.craneledger.ai/mcp
  3. First prompt:

Set up a basic chart of accounts for a small service business

Builder-oriented details: Crane Ledger for AI builders.

Related

Need help?

Create a free account (GitHub, Google, Apple, or email) to access our support portal. Once signed in, use the Support tab in your dashboard to submit a support ticket — no GitHub account required. Our team typically responds within 24 hours.