Quick Start

Crane Ledger is the underlying accounting system. Your AI tool — ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Cursor, or anything else — is the generative UI. Connect once, then ask in natural language.

Prefer raw HTTP? Jump to Prefer raw API?.

Step 1: Create your account

Option A — Sign up in the browser

Visit craneledger.ai and choose any sign-in method:

• Continue with GitHub
• Continue with Google
• Continue with Apple
• Email me a sign-in link (passwordless; check your inbox)

Your first login creates a master organization with 500 free credits. You do not need a GitHub account.

Option B — Agent / API bootstrap (no browser)

curl -s https://api.craneledger.ai/accounts/master \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"My Business LLC","base_currency_code":"USD"}'

Save the returned api_key (ha_live_…) and organization_id immediately. The key is shown once.

Step 2: Connect the AI you already use

Pick your client and follow the short guide:

MCP URL (all of them): https://api.craneledger.ai/mcp

• OAuth (recommended for ChatGPT / Claude / Perplexity / Grok): approve at https://craneledger.ai/oauth/consent
• API key (IDEs & CLIs): Authorization: Bearer ha_live_…

Full matrix: Connect your AI.

Step 3: Ask it to do real work

Try prompts like:

• "Set up a basic chart of accounts for a small service business"
• "Create an invoice for $2,500 to Acme Corp for consulting"
• "What's our cash position right now?"
• "Show me profit and loss for last quarter"
• "How many credits do I have left?"

Writes cost 1 credit ($0.01). Reads and reports are free. New orgs start with 500 credits — see Billing.

For human-in-the-loop writes, enable draft approval.

Prefer raw API?

Same ledger, no MCP required.

1. Create or copy an API key from the dashboard (or from Step 1 Option B).
2. Create a cash account:

curl -X POST "https://api.craneledger.ai/organizations/ORG_ID/accounts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ha_live_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code":"1001","name":"Operating Cash","type":"asset"}'

3. Continue with a balanced journal entry in Your First Transaction, or build agents against REST and the API Reference.

Agent onboarding path (register → credits → MCP): pricing.md and llms.txt.

Next steps

• Why Choose Crane Ledger?
• Core Concepts — organizations, double-entry, drafts
• MCP tool catalog
• Authentication

Troubleshooting

• ✨ For LLMs/AI assistants: Read our structured API reference
• Legal: Terms of Service · Privacy Policy