Zapier's MCP Client connects a Zap to tools on a remote MCP server. Those tools can be used as triggers, read-only searches, or actions; an AI step is optional, not required. ExpenseBot is an OAuth-enabled remote (Streamable HTTP) MCP server, so it connects without any manual client credentials. If you only want to use ExpenseBot from a chat assistant, use ChatGPT or Claude instead. If you are assembling a broader accounting workflow — capture through hand-off — see "How do I automate my accounting workflow end to end?" for where the Zapier leg fits.
Two ways to connect ExpenseBot and Zapier
- Native ExpenseBot integration — live in the Zapier App Directory — this is the route you want for a normal Zap; see Connect ExpenseBot to Zapier and which route to pick — — focused triggers, searches, and actions for building Zaps: upload receipts (JPEG/PNG/HEIC/PDF) through the signed pipeline and poll the exact result, create reviewed expenses, add mileage and income with retry-safe source event IDs, run and monitor Gmail receipt scans, find expenses, and generate reports.
- Zapier MCP Client (beta) — a separate route connecting Zapier to ExpenseBot's broader MCP toolset, usable today. This guide covers that path. It is not the native integration.
In both: ExpenseBot handles extraction, duplicate detection, review, financial validation, and the Google Sheets record; Zapier coordinates triggers, delays, paths, and notifications. Downstream accounting platforms remain the accounting source of truth.
⚠️ Zapier's MCP Client is in beta. Zapier may change its behaviour or availability. Treat it accordingly, and verify a read-only request before you build anything on top of it.
Setup
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In Zapier, open the MCP Client and choose to add a custom MCP connection.
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Paste the ExpenseBot server URL:
https://mcp.expensebot.ai/mcp -
Authenticate in the browser when Zapier opens ExpenseBot's sign-in and consent screen. Leave any optional client-ID and client-secret fields blank — the connection uses OAuth discovery, Dynamic Client Registration and PKCE, so there is nothing to copy by hand.
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ExpenseBot's tools appear once Zapier completes discovery.
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Verify read-only first, before anything else: "Show my top five expense categories this month. Do not change anything."
What you can build
The connected tool list is authoritative. The capabilities include:
- Search expenses and pull spending summaries across categories, merchants, months or tags.
- Submit receipts from your workflow — the intake handles images and PDFs, in batches.
- Start a bounded Gmail receipt scan (using the Gmail access you have separately authorized) and check its progress until it reports a terminal status.
- Create an expense report from dates, clients, projects or tags, and share it.
The boundary
- Beta client. Zapier's MCP Client is Zapier's beta, not a finished surface.
- Configured write tools can write. A Zap action runs when the workflow reaches it, and submitting a receipt can add a row after processing. Review mappings before enabling the Zap, map the trigger's stable unique ID into ExpenseBot's Source Event ID, test one controlled record, and route unclear outcomes to Review Expenses. Some conversational and bulk tools add preview-and-confirm, but that is not a universal runtime gate for every integration action.
- Retries are idempotent. Replaying the same Source Event ID creates one financial record, not a duplicate.
- Your data stays in your own Google Sheet. ExpenseBot's expense records live in a Google Sheet in your Drive; the connector reads and writes there rather than copying your records somewhere new.
- Revoke anytime. Disconnect the connection in Zapier, and revoke ExpenseBot's authorization from ExpenseBot's side, to end access.
Related
- Choose the right connection for your AI — the canonical chooser across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini Spark, remote agents and desktop clients.
- What an MCP connector is — the category explainer, including how connector capability varies between platforms.
- ExpenseBot AI prompt guide — practical requests to try once connected.