Read staff, projects, clients, time, expenses and invoices; create time entries in BigTime. For professional services firms that track time and bill clients in BigTime. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"bigtime": {
"url": "https://bigtime.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"bigtime": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://bigtime.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
List the time entries of a project and read the project team.
bigtime_list_project_time bigtime_get_project_team bigtime_get_project
Read the timesheet of a staff member and the daily hour totals.
bigtime_list_staff bigtime_get_timesheet bigtime_get_daily_totals
List the invoices of a client and open one. Check the draft invoices too.
bigtime_list_client_invoices bigtime_get_invoice bigtime_list_draft_invoices
List the expense reports and open one expense entry.
bigtime_list_expense_reports bigtime_get_expense
Read a report definition and run the saved report.
bigtime_get_report_definition bigtime_run_report
Create a time entry on a project task.
Changes data · bigtime_list_project_tasks bigtime_create_time_entry
The login page asks for your BigTime API token and BigTime firm id.
A BigTime firm administrator creates the API token in BigTime. The firm id is shown with the token. The token has the rights of the user who created it. It is used only to call the BigTime API for you and to derive a private account id.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your BigTime API token and BigTime firm id. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the BigTime connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
bigtime_list_staff | read | List staff List staff members (id = staff sid, name, email). Good first call. BigTime API: GET /staff. |
bigtime_get_staff | read | Get a staff member Get one staff member by staff sid. BigTime API: GET /staff/detail/{sid}. |
bigtime_list_projects | read | List projects List projects (id, name, client, status). BigTime API: GET /project. |
bigtime_get_project | read | Get a project Get one project by sid, with budget, dates and billing setup. BigTime API: GET /project/detail/{sid}. |
bigtime_get_project_team | read | Get a project team List the staff assigned to a project. BigTime API: GET /project/team/{sid}. |
bigtime_list_clients | read | List clients List clients (id, name, client id). BigTime API: GET /client. |
bigtime_get_client | read | Get a client Get one client by sid. BigTime API: GET /client/detail/{sid}. |
bigtime_list_project_tasks | read | List tasks of a project List the tasks of one project. BigTime API: GET /task/listByProject/{ProjectSid}. |
bigtime_list_staff_tasks | read | List tasks of a staff member List the tasks assigned to one staff member. BigTime API: GET /task/ListByStaffer/{StaffSid}. |
bigtime_get_task | read | Get a task Get one task by sid. BigTime API: GET /task/detail/{TaskSid}. |
bigtime_get_timesheet | read | Get a timesheet List the time entries of one staff member in a date range. BigTime API: GET /time/Sheet/{staffsid}. |
bigtime_list_project_time | read | List time entries of a project List the time entries logged on one project in a date range. BigTime API: GET /time/ByProject/{Id}. |
bigtime_get_time_entry | read | Get a time entry Get one time entry by sid. BigTime API: GET /time/{sid}. |
bigtime_get_daily_totals | read | Get daily hour totals Get the hours per day for one staff member in a date range. BigTime API: GET /time/TotalByDay/{staffsid}. |
bigtime_get_expense | read | Get an expense entry Get one expense entry by sid. BigTime API: GET /expense/detail/{sid}. |
bigtime_list_expense_reports | read | List expense reports List expense reports. BigTime API: GET /expense/reports. |
bigtime_list_invoices | read | List invoice history List issued invoices in a date range. BigTime API: GET /invoice/history. |
bigtime_list_draft_invoices | read | List draft invoices List draft invoices, optionally in a date range. BigTime API: GET /invoice/drafts. |
bigtime_get_invoice | read | Get an invoice Get one invoice by sid. BigTime API: GET /invoice/detail/{sid}. |
bigtime_list_client_invoices | read | List invoices of a client List the invoices of one client in a date range. BigTime API: GET /invoice/GetInvoicesByClientId. |
bigtime_list_payments | read | List payment history List payments received in a date range. BigTime API: GET /payment/history. |
bigtime_get_report_definition | read | Get a report definition Get the definition (fields and filters) of a saved report. BigTime API: GET /report/detail/{id}. |
bigtime_run_report | read | Run a saved report Run a saved BigTime report and return its rows. Pass the report filters as a JSON object, for example {"DT_BEGIN":"2026-01-01","DT_END":"2026-01-31"}. Read only. BigTime API: POST /report/data/{id}. |
bigtime_create_time_entry | write | Create a time entry WRITE: log time for a staff member on a project. Creates a new time entry in BigTime (it does not replace one). Set mark_submitted to submit it for approval at once. BigTime API: POST /time. |
bigtime_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
bigtime_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the BigTime tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
bigtime_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on BigTime (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $39/month or $390/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
bigtime_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's BigTime Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run bigtime_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this BigTime server only. Subscribe with bigtime_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with bigtime_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running bigtime_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Check the time on a project. Review a timesheet. Review invoices of a client. Review expenses. Run a saved report. Log time for a person. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by BigTime. The server calls the BigTime API with your own BigTime access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your BigTime API token and BigTime firm id. See Before you connect for where to find them.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your BigTime API token and BigTime firm id. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the BigTime API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in BigTime.
Yes, if you approve it. 1 of the 24 BigTime tools can create or change data. The other 23 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this BigTime server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run bigtime_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run bigtime_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run bigtime_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with bigtime_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.