Frequently Asked Questions

FreshBooks MCP is a hosted service that connects your FreshBooks account to AI assistants like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Continue, and Cline. It uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an open standard that allows AI assistants to securely interact with external services. With FreshBooks MCP, you can manage invoices, track time, record expenses, and more using natural language.

MCP is an open protocol developed by Anthropic that allows AI assistants to connect to external tools and data sources. Think of it as a "USB port" for AI — it provides a standardized way for AI assistants to interact with services like FreshBooks. You don't need to understand MCP to use our service; we handle all the technical details.

We officially support:

• Claude Desktop (Windows and Mac)
• Cursor (IDE)
• Windsurf (IDE)
• Continue (VS Code extension)
• Cline (VS Code extension)

Any other MCP-compatible client should also work via the standard MCP protocol.

No. We've designed the setup to be as simple as possible. You don't need a FreshBooks developer account, API credentials, or any coding knowledge. Just sign up, connect your FreshBooks account, copy your API key to your AI client, and you're ready to go. We provide step-by-step configuration examples for each supported client.

You can manage almost everything in FreshBooks using natural language:

• Invoicing: Create, view, update, and send invoices
• Clients: Look up, create, and manage client information
• Time Tracking: Log time entries, start/stop timers
• Expenses: Record and categorize business expenses
• Projects: Create and manage projects and tasks
• Payments: Record client payments and track payment status
• Vendors & Bills: Manage vendor information and bills
• Reports: Generate profit & loss, payments collected, and tax summary

FreshBooks MCP includes 92 tools covering the entire FreshBooks API across 22 categories. Both monthly and annual plans include access to all tools — there are no feature tiers or limitations.

Currently, each FreshBooks MCP account connects to one FreshBooks account. If you need to manage multiple FreshBooks accounts, you would need separate FreshBooks MCP subscriptions for each.

Yes. Security is our top priority:

• AES-256-GCM encryption for all OAuth tokens at rest
• HTTPS/TLS for all data in transit
• Row-level security in our database
• Read-only mode by default — write operations are disabled until you enable them

Importantly, we never store your FreshBooks data (invoices, clients, expenses, etc.). We only store the authentication tokens needed to access your account on your behalf.

By default, FreshBooks MCP operates in read-only mode, meaning AI can only view your FreshBooks data — it cannot create, update, or delete anything. This gives you time to get comfortable with the service before enabling write operations. You can enable write access for specific categories (like invoices or time entries) from your dashboard settings.

Yes. You have granular permission controls:

• Read-only mode: Disable all write operations globally
• Category permissions: Enable/disable access to specific areas (invoices, clients, etc.)
• Tool-level control: Fine-grained control over individual operations

Changes take effect immediately — no need to reconnect your MCP client.

Only you. Your FreshBooks data is accessed directly from FreshBooks when your AI assistant makes a request — we don't store or cache it. Our staff cannot see your FreshBooks data. We only store encrypted OAuth tokens and basic account information (email, subscription status). See our Privacy Policy for full details.

We offer two plans:

• Monthly: $29/month — billed monthly, cancel anytime
• Annual: $24/month ($288/year) — save 17%

Both plans include all 92 tools and identical features. The only difference is billing frequency.

Yes! Both plans include a 14-day free trial. You'll need to enter a credit card to start the trial (to prevent abuse), but you won't be charged until the trial ends. Cancel anytime before your trial ends and you won't pay anything.

Yes. You can upgrade from monthly to annual (and get the discount) or downgrade from annual to monthly at any time from your dashboard. When upgrading, you'll receive a prorated credit for your remaining monthly subscription.

You can cancel anytime from your dashboard. Go to Settings and click "Manage Subscription" to access the Stripe billing portal. When you cancel, you'll retain access until the end of your current billing period.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) through our payment processor, Stripe. We do not accept PayPal or cryptocurrency at this time.

After signing up and starting your trial:

1. Click "Connect FreshBooks" in your dashboard
2. You'll be redirected to FreshBooks to authorize the connection
3. Log in to FreshBooks and click "Allow"
4. You'll be redirected back to your dashboard, now connected

The entire process takes less than a minute.

After connecting FreshBooks, you'll see your API key in the dashboard. We provide copy-paste configuration examples for each supported client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Continue, Cline). Just copy the configuration, paste it into your client's settings file, and restart the client.

FreshBooks OAuth requires requesting full permissions — there's no way to request partial access. However, you control what the AI can actually do through our permission settings. By default, all write operations are disabled (read-only mode). You can enable only the specific categories and operations you need.

Yes. You can disconnect your FreshBooks account at any time from your dashboard. This immediately revokes access and deletes your stored OAuth tokens. You can reconnect later if you change your mind.

This usually means:

• The API key was copied incorrectly — try copying it again from your dashboard
• Your subscription has expired — check your subscription status in the dashboard
• You haven't connected FreshBooks yet — make sure you've completed the OAuth connection

If the problem persists, try regenerating your API key from the dashboard.

This means the operation is blocked by your permission settings. By default, all write operations are disabled (read-only mode). To enable the operation:

1. Go to Settings in your dashboard
2. Find the category (e.g., Invoices, Clients) you want to enable
3. Toggle on the permissions you need

Changes take effect immediately — no need to reconnect your MCP client.

OAuth tokens occasionally expire or become invalid. Try these steps:

1. Go to your dashboard and check if FreshBooks shows as connected
2. If disconnected, click "Connect FreshBooks" to re-authorize
3. If still connected but not working, try disconnecting and reconnecting

Our system automatically refreshes tokens before they expire, but occasional manual reconnection may be needed if you revoke access from FreshBooks directly.

If you're experiencing issues not covered here:

• Email us at support@freshbooks.goodsamsoftware.com
• Include your account email and a description of the problem
• We typically respond within 24 hours on business days