Why Choose Crane Ledger?

Traditional accounting software is a fixed UI with a bolted-on API. Crane Ledger flips that: a headless double-entry ledger you connect from the AI tools you already use. The model is the generative UI; Crane Ledger is the system of record.

Traditional UI vs bring your own AI

Traditional accounting software

  • Screens and menus designed for manual bookkeeping
  • Limited APIs and brittle connectors
  • Data locked in one vendor’s product
  • Every new workflow means clicking or hiring developers for a custom app

Crane Ledger

  • AI-native access via MCP (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, Grok, Cursor, …) or plain REST
  • One ledger, many clients — ChatGPT at home, Claude at work, Cursor in the IDE
  • Double-entry guarantees — balanced books, audit trail, org isolation
  • Credit-based pricing — pay for writes; reads and reports are free

Generative UI, durable books

You do not learn a new accounting product. You ask:

  • "Set up chart of accounts for a consultancy"
  • "Invoice Acme $2,500"
  • "What's our cash position?"

The assistant calls Crane Ledger tools. Balances, invoices, and reports live in Crane Ledger — not in the chat transcript.

AI tool of choice  →  MCP or REST  →  Crane Ledger  →  books & reports

Protocol choice is yours. MCP connectors are convenient for assistants; REST is ideal for custom agents. Same auth model, same credits, same validation.

One ledger, many surfaces

SurfaceRole
ChatGPT / Claude / Perplexity / Grok / MistralConversational bookkeeping
GitHub Copilot / Cursor / Windsurf / Claude CodeAccounting next to your code
Microsoft 365 CopilotEnterprise read/fetch via federated connectors
Your agent / backendDeterministic REST automation

Switch clients without migrating books. See Connect your AI.

Cost and architecture that scale

Economics

  • $0.01 per write; reads and reports free
  • No per-seat licensing for “users” of the AI UI
  • New orgs get 500 free credits

Reliability

  • Worker-based processing for complex writes
  • Multi-organization hierarchy (owned vs linked)
  • API keys and OAuth with org-scoped access
  • Optional draft approval for human-in-the-loop agent writes

Example: firm with many clients

Isolated linked orgs under a billing master, each with its own books, shared credit pool if you want — see Multi-Organization Benefits.

Still building software?

Crane Ledger remains a full headless API for platforms, ERPs, and custom portals:

  • Embed accounting in your SaaS
  • White-label client portals
  • SDK-friendly REST (API Reference)

The difference is the default path is no longer “build an accounting app first” — it is “connect an AI and start working,” with the same backend underneath.

Getting started

  1. Quick Start — account → connect AI → first prompts
  2. Connect your AI — per-tool setup
  3. Core Concepts — how the ledger works
  4. Use Cases — AI-first and entity patterns
curl -X POST https://api.craneledger.ai/accounts/master \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Your Company","base_currency_code":"USD"}'

Crane Ledger is the accounting system under your AI — durable books, any generative UI.

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.