Claude accounting skills: five that work on real books, and how to connect them
A Claude skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions, and optional scripts, that Claude loads only when a task matches it. Anthropic's free finance plugin has five that work on real books: journal-entry-prep, reconciliation, financial-statements, variance-analysis and close-management. A skill holds the method, not your numbers, so connect your books through an MCP server first. Accountable's server also serves 20 bookkeeping skills of its own.
Updated · 3 min read · By the Accountable team
- SkillSKILL.md: how to prepare an accrual or reconcile a bank account
- ClaudeLoads the skill when the task matches
- MCP serverReads your ledger and posts entries
- Your approvalBig changes wait for an owner
In Accountable, by default, journal entries of $5,000 or more and reopening a closed month wait for an owner.
The short version
- Anthropic launched Agent Skills on October 16, 2025; they work in the Claude apps on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, in Claude Code and through the API.
- A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file; Claude reads each skill's name and description and loads the full instructions only when a task needs them.
- Anthropic's open-source finance plugin includes skills for journal entries, reconciliations, financial statements, variance analysis, the month-end close and audit support.
- Skills contain no data: the finance plugin expects an accounting system connected through MCP to read the ledger and post entries.
- Accountable's MCP server lists up to 20 skills of its own, such as close-a-month and reconcile-an-account, through its list_skills and load_skill tools.
Five skills from Anthropic's finance plugin that work on a real ledger
Anthropic publishes a finance and accounting plugin in its knowledge-work-plugins repository on GitHub. These five skills do the monthly work of a startup's books; a sixth, audit-support, covers SOX control testing for larger companies.
| Skill | What it does | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| journal-entry-prep | Prepares accruals, prepaids, fixed assets, payroll and revenue entries with debits, credits and support | Your ledger, to post; documents for support |
| reconciliation | Compares ledger balances to the bank, a subledger or intercompany, and ages the differences | Ledger balances and bank statements |
| financial-statements | Builds the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, with period-over-period change | The trial balance |
| variance-analysis | Explains what moved, by price, volume or mix, with a written reason for each line | Two periods of the profit and loss |
| close-management | Sequences the month-end close checklist by day and tracks what is done | Your close tasks and the ledger's status |
A skill holds the method; the MCP server holds your books
Skills are instructions. They tell Claude how to prepare an accrual or read a variance, but they carry no balances and cannot post anything. The finance plugin lists an accounting-system connector as the first thing to connect.
Connect your books to Claude through an MCP server, then load the skill. With Accountable's connector, Claude reads every company you allow and, on Pro, posts entries. Accountable's server also lists its own skills, written for its books: run-the-books, close-a-month, reconcile-an-account, post-a-journal-entry, get-ready-for-taxes, intercompany-and-consolidation and more, 20 in all.
Write your own skill in five steps
Step 1: Create a folder named for the job, such as month-end-accruals.
Step 2: Add a SKILL.md file that starts with a name and a one-line description of when to use it; Claude reads only these until the skill is needed.
Step 3: Write the steps in plain words, with your account names and codes: which vendors to accrue, which schedule posts prepaid insurance, what needs your approval.
Step 4: Add a worked example with real numbers from a closed month, so Claude can check its own output.
Step 5: Test it on last month's books and compare its entries to what you posted.
- Skills in Anthropic's finance plugin
- 6
- Skills Accountable's MCP server lists
- 20
- Default size at which an agent's entry waits for an owner in Accountable
- $5,000
Put the skill in Claude's settings for the Claude apps, or in your project's skills folder for Claude Code.
Skills don't change what an agent is allowed to do
A skill can tell Claude to post an entry; whether the entry posts is up to the server. Keep the limits there, where a skill cannot remove them.
In Accountable, journal entries of $5,000 or more and reopening a closed month wait for an owner's approval, an agent never approves its own change, and every change is logged under the agent and the person and can be undone. See what connecting Claude does.
Questions founders ask
What are Claude skills?
Folders of instructions, and optional scripts and files, that Claude loads when a task matches. Each has a SKILL.md with a name and a description, which is all Claude reads until it needs the skill.
Are there Claude skills for accounting?
Yes. Anthropic's finance plugin on GitHub includes journal-entry-prep, reconciliation, financial-statements, variance-analysis, close-management and audit-support, and Accountable's MCP server serves bookkeeping skills of its own.
Can a Claude skill connect to QuickBooks or Xero?
Not by itself. A skill is instructions; the connection comes from an MCP server or connector, such as Intuit's QuickBooks connector, Xero's, or Accountable's.
Do I need Claude Code to use skills?
No. Skills work in the Claude apps on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, in Claude Code, and through the API.
Books Claude can run, with 20 skills built in
Add Accountable to Claude as a connector, choose the companies it may see, and Claude reads your books on every plan and changes them on Pro. Its skills cover the close, reconciliations, journal entries and taxes, and big changes wait for you.
Start freeSources, checked September 30, 2026: