ExpenseBot

Group an exact set of recorded expenses for a client, project, trip, job, or other user-named purpose. Examples: 'group my Mexico meals for client Rob', 'put these Vegas expenses under the Vegas project', or 'group these for client Rob and create a report'. The user does not need to know about tags: ExpenseBot resolves the requested name against existing groups and proposes creating one only when needed. Use exact expenseId values returned by search_expenses. A grounded preview is automatic for every bulk request; the user does not need to ask for one. First call with confirm omitted/false, show the returned exact rows, count, totals, proposed group, exclusions, and conflicts, then ask for approval. Only after explicit user approval, repeat the same operationId and selection with confirm:true. A premature confirm:true is converted to preview. When the request includes a report, set createReport:true on that confirmed group_expenses call and use its report result; do not run a separate broader create_report query. For 'without personal expenses', set excludePersonal:true; ExpenseBot removes Personal-tagged and Personal-category rows before preview so their Personal marker is never overwritten. The confirmed operation returns exact report and Bill Client links. Expenses already assigned to another ordinary report are excluded; if none remain, no duplicate report is created and the result links to Reports instead. Keep the user-facing response concise and do not add unsolicited tax or substantiation advice. Do not call check_compliance, get_report_details, or tax/deductibility tools before or after this workflow unless the user explicitly asks for that separate analysis. In user-facing prose call the destination a group, not a tag. Treat preview totals as provisional; after confirmation use only the terminal result's exact count, total, and currency without reconciling it against the preview. A returned Bill Client URL opens the reviewed billing handoff and does not m…

List the user's configured expense categories and billing accounts. Use this BEFORE calling tools that need a category (add_cash_expense, add_mileage_entry, create_report) so you pass the user's actual category names, not guesses. Returns the live list from their spreadsheet.

List the user's issued client invoices (accounts receivable) — who owes them money, how much, and when it is due. Examples: 'which invoices are outstanding', 'what does Acme still owe me', 'any overdue invoices', 'how much am I waiting to get paid'. status accepts 'active' (default), 'open', 'overdue', 'needs_review', 'paid', 'void', 'superseded', or 'all'. Returns invoice numbers, status, totals by currency, delivery state, and private document links. Read-only.

List ExpenseBot's fixed income tax categories. Unlike Expense Accounts, these are not user-configured. Use this BEFORE calling add_income so you pass an exact canonical category instead of guessing.

List the user's expense reports with pagination. Filter by status (All, Draft, Submitted, Shared). Each exact report includes its app, Bill Client, and accounting handoff URLs. Use the matching accounting URL only when the user explicitly asks to send or export that report; the app keeps organization, mapping, preview, and final confirmation.

List the user's configured groups. ExpenseBot stores clients, projects, project codes, properties, and trips as tags (for example 'Client: Acme', 'Vegas Trip', or 'Property: 123 Main'). Use this when the user asks 'what groups/projects/clients do I have?' and before filtering, grouping, or reporting when the intended existing name is unclear.

Mark an issued client invoice as paid after explicit confirmation. Requires a strict calendar-valid paidDate in YYYY-MM-DD format. This updates the accounts-receivable invoice record only; it never creates or moves an Income row. Record the actual payment separately or link an existing Income row.

Parse a natural language expense description into structured fields. Does NOT add the expense — just returns the parsed fields for review. Example: "Lunch at Chipotle $15.50 today" → {merchant: "Chipotle", total: 15.50, ...}

Prepare a client invoice from a saved ExpenseBot report without creating it. Reads canonical report rows, allocates a unique invoice number, verifies the client ledger identity and advance, and returns exact totals plus a short-lived preparationId. Call this first, show the preview to the user, then call create_client_invoice after explicit confirmation. It reserves the invoice number and preview for 30 minutes but creates no invoice, document, Income row, email, or payment.

Process specific Gmail emails as receipts. Pass Gmail message IDs and they'll be converted to PDF, extracted by AI, and added to the user's expense spreadsheet. Max 25 emails per request. Requires Gmail to be connected in ExpenseBot settings.

Request support for an accounting package only after checking ExpenseBot's reviewed direct and import-file destinations and finding no matching package. Do not use this for a listed or Beta destination, a general compatibility question, or without the exact package name. This is a confirmation-gated write: after the user approves, it creates one deduplicated request bound to the authenticated ExpenseBot account and emails ExpenseBot's internal team. It does not create an integration or make the requested package immediately available. On accepted or previously recorded requests, tell the user ExpenseBot will email them within one week with an update.

Trigger a background Gmail scan to discover and process receipt emails from the last ~60 days (default). Runs asynchronously — returns immediately, user gets an email summary when done. Like clicking "Find Receipts in Gmail" in the UI. For whole PAST YEARS (e.g. 2023, or 2020-2022) use scan_gmail_years instead; to check a scan's progress use get_scan_status.

Scan one or more COMPLETED PRIOR years of the user's Gmail for receipts (e.g. years:[2023] or years:[2020,2021,2022]). Long-running background job: the first eligible year starts immediately and the rest queue, running one at a time (each full year typically takes a couple of hours; the user can close the app). ALWAYS call first WITHOUT confirmStart to preview which years are eligible, then ask the user to confirm, then call again with confirmStart:true. For receipts from the last ~60 days use scan_gmail instead. To check how a scan is going, use get_scan_status. The current in-progress year cannot be year-scanned.

Search the user's ExpenseBot data — expenses, reports, and knowledge base. Returns matching items with id, title, and url. Use the returned id with the `fetch` tool to get full details. Powers Deep Research and Company Knowledge integrations.

Search and filter the user's expenses. Returns matching expense rows from their spreadsheet. Filter by category, merchant, date range, amount, or tags. Results are paginated: when hasMore is true, call again with nextCursor and the same filters. Do not split a date range into repeated overlapping searches. Use the optional query parameter for deterministic natural-language recall over merchant, city/location, Notes (including receipt items, delivery source, payer, and Business purpose), Tag, and category. Each matching result includes matchedFields and a short matchReason so you can explain why it was selected. When several rows plausibly match, a disambiguation list is returned; each option carries the exact expenseId. Structured filters (categories, merchants, dateRange, tags, minAmount, maxAmount) combine with the query using AND semantics. Each result includes expenseId, the exact durable Receipt ID required by update_expense.

Search ExpenseBot's complete product and help knowledge base. Use this before guessing when the user asks how a feature works, what ExpenseBot supports, or needs setup, billing, Gmail, scan, report, workflow, or troubleshooting instructions. Set fullAnswer:true on the first call when the user asks for complete, detailed, or step-by-step instructions. Use the default excerpt mode for discovery and quick answers; if an excerpt is truncated, call again with fullAnswer:true before presenting complete instructions. Each result has a stable id.

Review and then post an ExpenseBot report to the owner's accounting destination. STEP 1: call with provider, reportId, and optional mode/mappings, without confirm. The server reads the live report and destination, applies Omit/Personal/split/date/currency rules, checks Zoho bank-feed matches, and returns the complete proposal plus proposalId. NOTHING is posted in step 1. Show the complete proposal and ask for approval. STEP 2: call with only provider, proposalId, and confirm:true. The server posts only the frozen, account-bound proposal, revalidates live state, and rejects changed reports or mappings. Never add mapping fields to the confirmation call. Owner accounts only; acting for a client is not supported. Agent-driven posting is currently available only for Zoho Books (zoho_books); QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave, and FreeAgent are intentionally not accepted by this tool yet because their previews cannot freeze/revalidate the canonical provider plan that shareReport executes. Use those providers' web flows until they satisfy the full push contract.

Share one existing expense report after confirmation. Default to reviewer: they can open and edit that report's Google Sheet, inspect receipts, comment, approve, or request changes, but cannot act for the owner or use accounting integrations. Use accountant only when the user explicitly asks for ongoing accounting access; it creates the established accountant relationship and broader report-management workflow.

Submit a photo or PDF of a receipt for processing. Covers requests phrased as 'log this', 'log this receipt', 'save this receipt', 'expense this', or 'add this to my expenses', including when the user simply shares a photo of a receipt or invoice. The receipt image is validated, uploaded to cloud storage, and processed by AI to extract vendor, amount, date, tax, and category. The expense appears in the user's spreadsheet in about 1-3 minutes, and longer for PDFs or large batches. Handles images and PDFs, mixed together in one batch. TO SEND FILES (preferred, and required for PDFs): call this tool with filesToUpload listing every file the user gave you. It returns one signed upload URL per file. Upload them ONE AT A TIME with an HTTP PUT, telling the user which file you just finished and how many remain, then call this tool ONCE with uploadRefs for all of them — that processes the whole set as a single batch, like the ExpenseBot web app. Do not call this tool once per file. Use the photo parameter for one image or PDF attached in ChatGPT. MCP clients that cannot supply file references may use photoBase64 for one small image; use the upload flow for large files or batches. Optional note and tag values use the same receipt metadata path as ExpenseBot's camera, file uploader, and forwarded-email intake. The note is stored in the Notes column (L); the tag is stored in the Tag column (K). Batch defaults apply to every file, and each uploadRefs item may override either value for that file.

Trace what happened to a specific receipt, invoice, forwarded email, Gmail receipt, or PDF in ExpenseBot processing. Use when the user asks where a document went, why it did not show up, whether it was skipped, routed to income, deduped, or removed as a duplicate. Returns a read-only timeline from the user's lineage audit trail.

Update a single existing expense row's category, tag, merchant, or business purpose (e.g. 'recategorize expense X to Meals' or 'tag it Client – Acme'). Identify it only by the exact expenseId returned by search_expenses (the full Receipt ID from Column Q). Never use a date, displayed number, or sheet row number as expenseId. Two-phase operation: calls with confirm omitted or false return a preview of the current→proposed change and make no change. After user confirmation, a call with confirm:true applies the proposed change. If the expense is not found, search once for a current exact expenseId; never retry the same stale ID. If a business-purpose update exceeds the Notes capacity, stop and send the user to https://www.expensebot.ai/review-expenses?source=mcp instead of retrying. Only category/tag/merchant/businessPurpose are editable — amounts, dates, and notes are not editable via the assistant. Does not create or delete rows.

Can I afford $X/month? Recomputes the user's Safe Monthly Draw (how much they can safely pay themselves) with an added recurring monthly cost, and returns a yes/tight/no verdict plus the before/after numbers. Use for questions like 'can I afford a $500/mo hire' or 'what if I add a $200/mo software subscription'. Requires at least 3 months of income history — otherwise returns insufficient_data rather than a guess.

What if a client pays late or leaves? mode='late30' shifts that client's OPEN invoice amounts out of the near-term expectation (they still owe it, it's just not landing this month). mode='gone' removes that client's trailing monthly income contribution and recomputes Safe Draw against the reduced baseline. Use for questions like 'what if Acme Corp pays 30 days late' or 'what happens if I lose my biggest client'. Client identity is matched against the Income tab's tag/source/description fields — best effort, not a guaranteed match.

What should I set aside for taxes? Surfaces the same monthly tax set-aside estimate already computed for Safe Monthly Draw — wiring, not new math. Flat-rate estimate (default 30%) against trailing income minus recurring + variable spend. Use for 'how much should I set aside for taxes this month'.