Read expenses, invoices, receipts and card transactions, and add expenses or notes in ExpenseIn. For finance and admin teams that approve expense claims in ExpenseIn. 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": {
"expensein": {
"url": "https://expensein.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"expensein": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://expensein.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 expenses that await approval, with their approver. Open one expense to read its details.
expensein_list_expenses_for_approval expensein_get_expense
List the card transactions of a date range, filtered by cardholder. Then get the user record of that cardholder.
expensein_list_card_transactions expensein_get_user
List the expense categories, with the tax rate each one defaults to. Then list the tax rates on the account.
expensein_list_categories expensein_list_tax_rates
Create an expense for a user, for example a mileage claim. Each call creates another expense, so do not repeat a call.
Changes data · expensein_create_expense
List the supplier invoices and credit notes, then add a text note to one invoice.
Changes data · expensein_list_invoices expensein_add_invoice_note
The login page asks for your ExpenseIn API key.
Create it in ExpenseIn → Admin → Integration → ExpenseIn API → New API Key. Tick the permissions the tools need. Leave Allowed IP Addresses empty, because our servers do not have fixed IP addresses. Your key is used only to call the API on your behalf and to derive a private account id; it is never shown to anyone.
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 ExpenseIn API key. 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 ExpenseIn connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
expensein_list_expenses | read | List expenses List expenses with optional filters by user, type, status, and Unix-second date ranges (expense, submitted, approved). Returns the full filtered set. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/expenses. |
expensein_get_expense | read | Get an expense Get one expense by id. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/expenses/{id}. |
expensein_list_expenses_for_approval | read | List expenses for approval List expenses awaiting, approved or rejected by approval. 'from' and 'to' (Unix seconds) filter approved or rejected expenses only. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/approval/expenses/{awaiting|approved|rejected}. |
expensein_list_invoices | read | List invoices List supplier invoices and credit notes, with filters by status, supplier, approver and date. Returns the full filtered set. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/invoices. |
expensein_get_invoice | read | Get an invoice Get one invoice by id. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/invoices/{id}. |
expensein_add_invoice_note | write | Add a note to an invoice Add a free-text note to an invoice. This adds a new note each time, so do not repeat the call. ExpenseIn API: POST /1.0/invoices/{id}/note. |
expensein_list_receipts | read | List receipts List receipts with optional filters by user, expense, date range and whether they are attached to an expense. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/receipts. |
expensein_get_receipt | read | Get a receipt Get one receipt by id. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/receipts/{id}. |
expensein_list_users | read | List users List standard users, with filters by reference, e-mail, or a search term. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/users. |
expensein_get_user | read | Get a user Get one standard user by id. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/users/{id}. |
expensein_list_categories | read | List categories List expense categories and what each applies to (purchase, mileage, time, invoicing), with visibility and default tax rate. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/categories. Also the cheapest call to test an API key. |
expensein_list_projects | read | List projects List projects. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/projects. |
expensein_list_departments | read | List departments List departments. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/departments. |
expensein_list_suppliers | read | List suppliers List suppliers. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/suppliers. |
expensein_list_merchants | read | List merchants List merchants. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/merchants. |
expensein_list_tax_rates | read | List tax rates List tax rates. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/taxrates. |
expensein_list_policies | read | List expense policies List the expense policies on the account. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/policies. |
expensein_list_card_transactions | read | List card transactions List expense-card transactions, filtered by Unix-second date range, cardholder id or a search term. Returns the full filtered set. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/cardtransactions. |
expensein_list_purchase_requests | read | List purchase requests List purchase requests, filtered by owner user id and status. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/purchaserequests. |
expensein_get_server_change_counter | read | Get the server change counter Get the current server change counter. Save it after a sync, then pass it as last_server_change_counter next time to read only changes. ExpenseIn API: GET /1.0/serverchangecounter. |
expensein_create_expense | write | Create an expense Create a new expense for a user. Each call creates another expense, so do not repeat it. ExpenseIn API: POST /1.0/expenses. |
expensein_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. | |
expensein_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the ExpenseIn 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. | |
expensein_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on ExpenseIn (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. | |
expensein_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's ExpenseIn 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 expensein_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 ExpenseIn server only. Subscribe with expensein_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with expensein_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running expensein_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Find expenses waiting for approval. Review card transactions for a cardholder. Check expense categories and tax rates. Create an expense for a user. Add a note to a supplier invoice. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ExpenseIn. The server calls the ExpenseIn API with your own ExpenseIn 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 ExpenseIn API key. See Before you connect for where to find it.
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 ExpenseIn API key. 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 ExpenseIn 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 ExpenseIn.
Yes, if you approve it. 2 of the 21 ExpenseIn tools can create or change data. The other 19 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 ExpenseIn server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run expensein_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run expensein_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run expensein_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 expensein_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.