Tabs MCP Connector — Setup & Usage Guide

Overview

The Tabs MCP connector lets AI assistants like Claude query your billing, revenue, and contract data through the Model Context Protocol. Connect your AI tools to Tabs and ask questions in natural language — no custom integration code required.

Protocol: Model Context Protocol (MCP) over Streamable HTTP

Authentication: OAuth 2.0

Version: 1.0.0

Prerequisites

Before connecting, you'll need:

• A Tabs platform account with access to at least one Tabs instance

• An MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or any client supporting MCP over Streamable HTTP)

Getting Started

1. Connect Your MCP Client

Claude Desktop

Option 1: Custom Connector (Recommended)

Check if the Tabs connector is already available in your account:

1. Open Claude Desktop or go to claude.ai

2. Navigate to Settings → Connectors

3. Look for "Tabs" in the list of available connectors

If Tabs is listed, toggle it on — you're done. The connector syncs across Claude Desktop, claude.ai, and mobile.

If Tabs is not listed and you have admin access to your Claude organization:

1. Go to Settings → Connectors

2. Click + then Add custom connector

3. Enter the URL: https://integrators.prod.api.tabsplatform.com/mcp

4. Click Add

If you don't have admin access, contact your Claude organization admin to add the Tabs connector.

Option 2: Local MCP Server

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\\Claude\\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tabs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "<https://integrators.prod.api.tabsplatform.com/mcp>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add the following to your MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tabs": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "<https://integrators.prod.api.tabsplatform.com/mcp>"
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

Point any Streamable HTTP-compatible MCP client at:

POST <https://integrators.prod.api.tabsplatform.com/mcp>

The server is stateless — no session management required.

2. Authenticate

When you first interact with a Tabs tool, your MCP client will prompt you to sign in via OAuth. The connector uses standard OAuth 2.0 discovery (RFC 8414 / RFC 9728), so compatible clients handle the flow automatically — no API keys or manual token management needed.

3. Working with multiple Tabs Instances

After authenticating, Claude will call list_merchants to see which Tabs instances your account has access to. If you only have access to one instance, it's selected automatically.

If you have access to multiple Tabs instances, just tell Claude which one you want to work with (e.g., "Use the Acme Corp instance" or "Switch to our production instance"). Claude handles passing the correct instance ID to each tool call.

Available Tools

All tools are read-only (readOnlyHint: true). Every tool except list_merchants is scoped to a specific Tabs instance.

Setup

Customers

Contracts

Invoices

Payments

Credit Memos

Items & Products

Revenue & Commitments

Renewals & Reports

Response Format

Successful tool response

Tool results are returned as JSON text content. For single-resource tools:

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "name": "Acme Inc.",
  "parentCustomerId": null,
  "defaultCurrency": "USD",
  "primaryBillingContactName": "John Doe",
  "primaryBillingContactEmail": "john.doe@example.com",
  "secondaryBillingContacts": ["jane.doe@example.com"],
  "billingAddress": {
    "line1": "123 Main St",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "postalCode": "94105",
    "country": "US"
  },
  "externalIds": [
    { "type": "NETSUITE", "id": "NS-10042" }
  ],
  "lastUpdatedAt": "2025-06-15T14:30:00.000Z",
  "customFields": [],
  "autoCharge": true,
  "dunningDisabled": false
}

Paginated list response

List tools return data with pagination metadata:

{
  "data": [
    { "id": "...", "name": "Acme Inc.", "..." : "..." },
    { "id": "...", "name": "Globex Corp.", "..." : "..." }
  ],
  "currentPage": 1,
  "limit": 50,
  "totalItems": 142
}

Error response

When a tool encounters an error, it returns an error message with isError: true:

{
  "error": "You do not have access to this Tabs instance. Call list_merchants to see available options."
}

Common error scenarios:

Filtering

Tools that support filtering accept a filter string parameter. Use the format:

property:rule:value

Combine multiple filters with commas:

name:eq:Acme Corp,status:eq:active

Available rules:

Each tool's description lists which filter properties it supports.

Pagination

List tools support pagination with two optional parameters:

Rate Limits

Requests are rate-limited per Tabs instance. If you exceed the limit, the server returns HTTP 429 with a message indicating the current limit and reset window.

Rate limit headers are included on every response:

If you hit a rate limit, wait for the reset window before retrying. AI clients will typically handle this automatically.

Examples

Here are some things you can ask your AI assistant once connected:

Revenue overview

"Show me this month's revenue broken down by customer"

Overdue invoices

"Which invoices are overdue and what's the total outstanding amount?"

Contract details

"Pull up the contract for Acme Corp and show me the billing term groups"

Cash forecasting

"What does our cash forecast look like?"

Customer lookup

"Find the contact info for Wilson Electric"

The AI assistant will automatically call the right tools, handle pagination, and combine results to answer your question.

FAQ

Do I need an API key?

No. The Tabs MCP connector uses OAuth 2.0. Your MCP client handles the sign-in flow automatically.

Can AI assistants modify my data?

No. All tools are read-only. The connector can only retrieve data — it cannot create, update, or delete anything.

Which AI clients are supported?

Any MCP-compatible client that supports Streamable HTTP transport, including Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and other tools implementing the Model Context Protocol.

What data can I access?

You can access the same data available through the Tabs Integrators API: customers, contracts, invoices, payments, credit memos, items, products, revenue, commitments, renewals, and reports.

How is my data secured?

Authentication is handled via OAuth 2.0. All requests are scoped to the Tabs instances your account has access to — you can only query data you're authorized to see.

Is there a privacy policy?

Yes. See the Tabs Privacy Policy for details on how your data is handled.

Versioning & Changelog

The Tabs MCP connector follows semantic versioning. The current version is 1.0.0.

Breaking changes will be communicated in advance via email and release notes. Non-breaking additions (new tools, new filter properties) are deployed continuously.

Support

If you need help or run into issues:

• Email: support@tabsplatform.com

• Slack: Reach out via your dedicated Tabs <> Customer Slack channel

• Documentation: Tabs API Docs

When reaching out, include the error message and the tool name you were calling so we can help quickly.