How to integrate Quaderno MCP with CrewAI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Quaderno to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Quaderno agent that can calculate tax rate for a u.s. sale, create an invoice for a new customer, email finalized invoice to a client through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your CrewAI agent real control over a Quaderno account through Composio's Quaderno MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Also integrate Quaderno with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get a Composio API key and configure your Quaderno connection
  • Set up CrewAI with an MCP enabled agent
  • Create a Tool Router session or standalone MCP server for Quaderno
  • Build a conversational loop where your agent can execute Quaderno operations

What is CrewAI?

CrewAI is a powerful framework for building multi-agent AI systems. It provides primitives for defining agents with specific roles, creating tasks, and orchestrating workflows through crews.

Key features include:

  • Agent Roles: Define specialized agents with specific goals and backstories
  • Task Management: Create tasks with clear descriptions and expected outputs
  • Crew Orchestration: Combine agents and tasks into collaborative workflows
  • MCP Integration: Connect to external tools through Model Context Protocol

What is the Quaderno MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Quaderno MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Quaderno account. It provides structured and secure access to your tax automation, invoicing, and compliance workflows, so your agent can calculate taxes, generate invoices, manage contacts and products, and handle essential document delivery on your behalf.

  • Automated tax rate calculation: Ask your agent to instantly determine the correct tax rate for any address or transaction type before creating invoices or processing sales.
  • Invoice creation and delivery: Let your agent generate detailed invoices for customers and deliver them directly via email, ensuring seamless billing operations.
  • Contact and product management: Easily create new customer or vendor contacts, add new products, or permanently delete outdated items from your Quaderno account—all through your agent.
  • Expense and tax ID cleanup: Direct your agent to remove specific expenses or registered tax IDs when they're no longer needed, keeping your records tidy and up to date.
  • Credit note and coupon handling: Your agent can deliver finalized credit notes to customers and permanently delete coupons as part of your accounting and revenue operations.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add Expense PaymentAdds a payment to an existing expense in Quaderno.
Calculate Tax RateTool to calculate applicable tax rate for given address and transaction type.
Create ContactTool to create a new contact (customer or vendor).
Create CouponTool to create a new discount coupon in Quaderno.
Create EstimateCreates a new estimate/quote in Quaderno for a customer with line items.
Create EvidenceTool to create a new location evidence for tax compliance.
Create ExpenseTool to create a business expense in Quaderno.
Create InvoiceCreates a new invoice in Quaderno for a customer with line items.
Create ProductCreates a new product that can be used as a line item in invoices, credit notes, and expenses.
Create ReceiptCreates a new receipt in Quaderno documenting payment for goods or services.
Create RecurringTool to create a recurring document in Quaderno that automatically generates invoices on a schedule.
Create Report RequestTool to request a new report generation in Quaderno.
Create Tax IDTool to create a tax ID in a specific jurisdiction.
Create TransactionTool to create a sale or refund transaction in Quaderno.
Create WebhookTool to create a new webhook in Quaderno to receive event notifications.
Delete ContactTool to permanently delete a contact by ID.
Delete CouponTool to permanently delete a coupon.
Delete EstimatePermanently deletes an estimate from Quaderno by its ID.
Delete ExpensePermanently deletes an expense from Quaderno by its ID.
Delete ProductTool to permanently delete a product by ID.
Delete RecurringTool to permanently delete a recurring by ID.
Delete Tax IDPermanently deletes a registered tax ID from your Quaderno account.
Delete WebhookTool to permanently delete a webhook by ID.
Deliver Credit NoteSends a credit note to the customer via email.
Deliver EstimateDelivers an estimate to the customer via email.
Deliver InvoiceDelivers an invoice to the customer via email.
Deliver ReceiptSends a receipt to the customer via email.
Get AuthorizationTool to retrieve account credentials and verify API access.
Get EstimateTool to retrieve the details of an existing estimate by ID.
List ContactsTool to list contacts, paginated and filterable by name, email, or tax ID.
List CouponsTool to list all coupons.
List CreditsTool to list all credit notes from Quaderno.
List EstimatesTool to list all estimates in the account, paginated and sorted by creation date (newest first).
List EvidenceTool to list all evidence objects.
List ExpensesList all expenses from Quaderno with pagination support.
List InvoicesTool to list all invoices from Quaderno with filtering support.
List Tax JurisdictionsTool to list all tax jurisdictions.
List ProductsList all products (goods and services) from your Quaderno account.
List ReceiptsTool to list all receipts from Quaderno with optional filtering by search query, date range, payment state, processor ID, or customer ID.
List RecurringsList all recurring documents (invoices, expenses, or estimates) from your Quaderno account.
List Registered Tax IDsTool to list all registered tax IDs.
List Reporting RequestsRetrieves all reporting requests for the account with their current status and download URLs.
List SessionsList Quaderno Checkout sessions with optional filtering and pagination.
List Tax CodesTool to list all supported tax codes.
List WebhooksTool to list all webhooks.
Mark Invoice UncollectibleTool to mark an invoice as uncollectible (bad debt).
Ping API ServiceTool to check if the Quaderno API service is up and verify credentials.
Record Invoice PaymentTool to record a payment on an existing invoice.
Remove Invoice PaymentTool to remove a payment from an invoice.
Retrieve ContactTool to retrieve details of an existing contact by ID.
Retrieve Contact by Processor IDTool to retrieve a contact by external payment processor customer ID and gateway name.
Retrieve CouponRetrieve detailed information about a specific coupon by its ID.
Retrieve Credit NoteTool to retrieve details of an existing credit note by ID.
Retrieve EvidenceRetrieves a specific evidence object by its ID.
Retrieve ExpenseTool to retrieve details of an existing expense by ID.
Retrieve InvoiceTool to retrieve details of an existing invoice by ID.
Retrieve Tax JurisdictionTool to retrieve a tax jurisdiction by ID.
Retrieve ProductTool to retrieve details of an existing product by ID.
Retrieve ReceiptTool to retrieve details of an existing receipt by ID.
Retrieve RecurringTool to retrieve details of an existing recurring document by ID.
Retrieve Reporting RequestTool to retrieve the status and download URL of a specific report request by ID.
Retrieve Tax CodeTool to retrieve a specific tax code by ID.
Retrieve Tax IDTool to retrieve details of a specific tax ID by its ID.
Update ContactTool to update an existing contact in Quaderno.
Update CouponTool to update an existing coupon.
Update Credit NoteTool to update a credit note.
Update EstimateUpdates an existing estimate in Quaderno by modifying allowed fields.
Update EvidenceTool to update an evidence object.
Update ExpenseUpdates an existing expense in Quaderno by modifying allowed fields.
Update InvoiceUpdates an existing invoice in Quaderno by modifying allowed fields.
Update productTool to update a product; unspecified fields remain unchanged.
Update RecurringTool to update a recurring document in Quaderno.
Update Tax IDTool to update an existing tax ID in Quaderno.
Update WebhookTool to update an existing webhook configuration.
Validate Tax IDTool to validate a tax ID.
Void Credit NoteTool to void a credit note.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account and API key
  • A Quaderno connection authorized in Composio
  • An OpenAI API key for the CrewAI LLM
  • Basic familiarity with Python

Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio

OpenAI API Key
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.

Install dependencies

bash
pip install composio crewai crewai-tools[mcp] python-dotenv
What's happening:
  • composio connects your agent to Quaderno via MCP
  • crewai provides Agent, Task, Crew, and LLM primitives
  • crewai-tools[mcp] includes MCP helpers
  • python-dotenv loads environment variables from .env

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • USER_ID scopes the session to your account
  • OPENAI_API_KEY lets CrewAI use your chosen OpenAI model

Import dependencies

python
import os
from composio import Composio
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
import dotenv

dotenv.load_dotenv()

COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set")
What's happening:
  • CrewAI classes define agents and tasks, and run the workflow
  • MCPServerHTTP connects the agent to an MCP endpoint
  • Composio will give you a short lived Quaderno MCP URL

Create a Composio Tool Router session for Quaderno

python
composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio_client.create(user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID, toolkits=["quaderno"])

url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • You create a Quaderno only session through Composio
  • Composio returns an MCP HTTP URL that exposes Quaderno tools

Initialize the MCP Server

python
server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users search the internet effectively",
        backstory="You are a helpful assistant with access to search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )
What's Happening:
  • Server Configuration: The code sets up connection parameters including the MCP server URL, streamable HTTP transport, and Composio API key authentication.
  • MCP Adapter Bridge: MCPServerAdapter acts as a context manager that converts Composio MCP tools into a CrewAI-compatible format.
  • Agent Setup: Creates a CrewAI Agent with a defined role (Search Assistant), goal (help with internet searches), and access to the MCP tools.
  • Configuration Options: The agent includes settings like verbose=False for clean output and max_iter=10 to prevent infinite loops.
  • Dynamic Tool Usage: Once created, the agent automatically accesses all Composio Search tools and decides when to use them based on user queries.

Create a CLI Chatloop and define the Crew

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

conversation_context = ""

while True:
    user_input = input("You: ").strip()

    if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
        print("\nGoodbye!")
        break

    if not user_input:
        continue

    conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

    task = Task(
        description=(
            f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
            f"Current request: {user_input}"
        ),
        expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
        agent=agent,
    )

    crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
    result = crew.kickoff()
    response = str(result)

    conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
    print(f"Agent: {response}\n")
What's Happening:
  • Interactive CLI Setup: The code creates an infinite loop that continuously prompts for user input and maintains the entire conversation history in a string variable.
  • Input Validation: Empty inputs are ignored to prevent processing blank messages and keep the conversation clean.
  • Context Building: Each user message is appended to the conversation context, which preserves the full dialogue history for better agent responses.
  • Dynamic Task Creation: For every user input, a new Task is created that includes both the full conversation history and the current request as context.
  • Crew Execution: A Crew is instantiated with the agent and task, then kicked off to process the request and generate a response.
  • Response Management: The agent's response is converted to a string, added to the conversation context, and displayed to the user, maintaining conversational continuity.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Quaderno and CrewAI:

python
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew, LLM
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

GOOGLE_API_KEY = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not GOOGLE_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set in the environment.")

# Initialize Composio and create a session
composio = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio.create(
    user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
    toolkits=["quaderno"],
)
url = session.mcp.url

# Configure LLM
llm = LLM(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
)

server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users with internet searches",
        backstory="You are an expert assistant with access to Composio Search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        llm=llm,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )

    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

    conversation_context = ""

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()

        if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
            print("\nGoodbye!")
            break

        if not user_input:
            continue

        conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
        print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

        task = Task(
            description=(
                f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
                f"Current request: {user_input}"
            ),
            expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
            agent=agent,
        )

        crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
        result = crew.kickoff()
        response = str(result)

        conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
        print(f"Agent: {response}\n")

Conclusion

You now have a CrewAI agent connected to Quaderno through Composio's Tool Router. The agent can perform Quaderno operations through natural language commands.

Next steps:

  • Add role-specific instructions to customize agent behavior
  • Plug in more toolkits for multi-app workflows
  • Chain tasks for complex multi-step operations

How to build Quaderno MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Quaderno MCP?

With a standalone Quaderno MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Quaderno tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Quaderno and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with CrewAI?

Yes, you can. CrewAI fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Quaderno tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Quaderno while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Quaderno scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Quaderno data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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HubSpot
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Entelligence
Rolai

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