> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.apexgenius.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # FreshBooks MCP Setup > Set up FreshBooks MCP in ApexGenius: sign in on FreshBooks' page, turn on one business, review the 21 operations, and test with a first read. **Status: Available.** FreshBooks publishes no hosted MCP server, so ApexGenius calls the official FreshBooks API with FreshBooks' own browser sign-in. You do not paste an API key. One connection is one FreshBooks login. Every call goes to the one business you turn on. [Explore the FreshBooks connector](https://www.apexgenius.ai/connectors/freshbooks). ## What you need * A FreshBooks login that keeps books for the business you want to use * An ApexGenius account > **How to connect FreshBooks** > > **Before you start** > > * An account with permission to use the FreshBooks resources you intend to connect. > > **1. Open FreshBooks in Connections** > > Choose Connect, or Add connection when offered. Give the connection a name if prompted. If Gateway setup pending appears, contact ApexGenius support before continuing. > > **2. Choose the account and review access** > > Sign in to FreshBooks in the browser and allow access for ApexGenius. FreshBooks uses browser authorization; no API key is pasted into ApexGenius. ApexGenius asks for read scopes plus project and time-entry access. > > **3. Review the connected account and resources** > > Find Allowed resources on the connection page. Each FreshBooks business your login keeps books for is listed. Turn on exactly one; every call goes to that business. A login with one business has it turned on already. > > **4. Check the connection** > > Use Test connection or Check again and read the reported status. Add an AI agent from the AI agents page, choose Read only for the first test, and try the question below. > > ![The full ApexGenius connection page for FreshBooks, marked Ready for tools with Provider check passed and five successful agent reads, a red box and arrow on Test connection, and the account email and credits blurred.](https://www.apexgenius.ai/images/integration-guides/freshbooks/20261020-connect.webp) > > **Try a first question with your AI agent** > > ```text theme={"system"} > Which FreshBooks business is connected? List its five most recent invoices with client, amount and status. Do not change anything. > ``` > > Compare the returned account and resource with FreshBooks. Check the connection status separately from the result of the first read. > > [Add your AI agent](/guides/mcp-setup) · [Official FreshBooks instructions](https://www.freshbooks.com/api/start) ## Tools and the FreshBooks skill Open **Skills** on the connection to read **FreshBooks**, or read that MCP prompt in a compatible AI client with `prompts/get`. It covers the first safe read, the business rule, how to log time, and what the connector cannot do. Three ApexGenius tools route the FreshBooks operations: | ApexGenius tool | What it does | Access | | - | - | - | | `freshbooks_search_operations` | Lists the 21 reviewed FreshBooks operations with their inputs | Read | | `freshbooks_read_operation` | Runs the 17 reads, such as `get_identity`, `list_invoices`, `list_expenses` and `get_profit_and_loss_report` | Read | | `freshbooks_write_operation` | Runs the 4 writes: `create_project`, `update_project`, `create_time_entry` and `update_time_entry` | Write | The reads cover your login and its businesses, clients, invoices, expenses, payments, projects, time entries, and the profit and loss, tax summary, invoice details and payments collected reports. Your AI discovers the tools with `apex_search_tools`. Reads use `apex_call_read_tool`; the project and time-entry writes use `apex_call_write_tool`. Enabled writes run immediately. Turn a tool off to block calls. ## One business per connection A FreshBooks login can keep books for more than one business. Each business shows up as an account on the FreshBooks connection page. Turn on exactly one. ApexGenius fills in the business for every call, so your AI never passes it and cannot reach a business that is off. ## What it cannot do * Accounting is read only. It cannot create, send or change an invoice, and it cannot record a payment. * It cannot delete anything, including a project or a time entry. * It cannot read estimates. A project or time entry made by mistake can be fixed with `update_project` or `update_time_entry`, or deleted by you in FreshBooks. Disconnecting stops future access. It does not undo a change that already ran. ## Connector, tools, and skill | Layer | What must work | | - | - | | Connector | Sign-in completes, the FreshBooks login and its businesses are shown, exactly one business is on, and health is current. | | Tools | `freshbooks_search_operations`, `freshbooks_read_operation` and `freshbooks_write_operation` are discoverable and a real read such as `get_identity` succeeds. | | Skill | The `FreshBooks` MCP prompt is readable and routes the agent through discovery, the business rule, the read route and the write limits. | If any row fails, FreshBooks is **partially ready**. A saved sign-in by itself is not a fully ready connection. ## Troubleshooting * **Unavailable to this account:** check that you are signed in to the intended ApexGenius account and refresh Connections. * **Turn on exactly one account:** open the FreshBooks connection page and turn on one business. * **Wrong business:** turn that one off and turn on the business you want. To use a different FreshBooks login, disconnect and connect again. * **Reconnect required:** use the connection page to sign in to FreshBooks again. * **A read returns nothing:** check that the business you turned on is the one that holds the records. * **Tool disabled:** the owner has turned the tool off. Review tool access on the connection page. [Explore the FreshBooks connector](https://www.apexgenius.ai/connectors/freshbooks) · [Open FreshBooks Connections](https://www.apexgenius.ai/connections/freshbooks) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.