How to integrate Zoho invoice MCP with Autogen

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho invoice to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Zoho invoice agent that can list all unpaid invoices from last month, show expenses categorized by project for may, find payments received from a specific client through natural language commands.

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

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

Also integrate Zoho invoice with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install the required dependencies for Autogen and Composio
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Zoho invoice
  • Wire that MCP URL into Autogen using McpWorkbench and StreamableHttpServerParams
  • Configure an Autogen AssistantAgent that can call Zoho invoice tools
  • Run a live chat loop where you ask the agent to perform Zoho invoice operations

What is AutoGen?

Autogen is a framework for building multi-agent conversational AI systems from Microsoft. It enables you to create agents that can collaborate, use tools, and maintain complex workflows.

Key features include:

  • Multi-Agent Systems: Build collaborative agent workflows
  • MCP Workbench: Native support for Model Context Protocol tools
  • Streaming HTTP: Connect to external services through streamable HTTP
  • AssistantAgent: Pre-built agent class for tool-using assistants

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

The Zoho invoice MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Zoho Invoice account. It provides structured and secure access to your invoicing, billing, and expense data, so your agent can perform actions like listing invoices, fetching payments, retrieving contacts, and managing expenses on your behalf.

  • Comprehensive invoice management: Let your agent list and review all invoices, making it easy to track billing history, filter by status, or check for outstanding payments.
  • Automated expense tracking: Have your agent retrieve and organize expense records, helping you monitor spending and simplify bookkeeping.
  • Contact catalog access: Quickly pull a list of clients, vendors, or customers from your Zoho Invoice account to streamline outreach and relationship management.
  • Real-time payment tracking: Direct your agent to list all payments, filter by customer or date range, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
  • Itemized inventory insights: Fetch detailed item catalogs or retrieve specific item details to keep your invoicing accurate and up to date.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add Credit Note to InvoicesTool to apply a credit note to one or more invoices.
Add Invoice CommentTool to add a comment to an invoice.
Apply Credits to InvoiceTool to apply credit notes to an invoice in Zoho Invoice.
Cancel Write Off InvoiceTool to cancel a write-off on an invoice.
Clone Zoho Invoice ProjectTool to clone an existing project.
Create Additional AddressTool to add an additional address to a contact.
Create ContactTool to create a contact in Zoho Invoice.
Create Contact PersonTool to create a contact person for an existing contact.
Create Credit NoteTool to create a credit note to refund or give credit to a customer.
Create Credit Note CommentTool to add a comment to a credit note.
Create CurrencyTool to create a new currency in Zoho Invoice.
Create Customer PaymentTool to create a customer payment in Zoho Invoice.
Create EmployeeTool to create an employee in Zoho Invoice.
Create EstimateTool to create a new estimate (quote) for a customer.
Create Estimate CommentTool to add a comment to an estimate.
Create Exchange RateTool to create an exchange rate for a specified currency.
Create Expense CategoryTool to create a new expense category in Zoho Invoice.
Create InvoiceTool to create a new invoice for a customer in Zoho Invoice.
Create ItemTool to create a new item in Zoho Invoice.
Create Project CommentTool to post a comment to a project.
Create Recurring InvoiceTool to create a recurring invoice profile that automatically generates invoices at specified intervals.
Create Refund Credit Note RefundsTool to create a refund for a credit note.
Create TaskTool to create a new task in a Zoho Invoice project.
Create TaxTool to create a new tax in Zoho Invoice.
Create Tax GroupTool to create a new tax group in Zoho Invoice.
Create Time EntryTool to log time entries for projects in Zoho Invoice.
Create Zoho Invoice UserTool to create a new user in Zoho Invoice.
Delete Additional AddressTool to delete an additional address from a contact.
Delete ContactTool to delete a contact from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Contact PersonTool to delete a contact person from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Credit Notes Applied to InvoiceTool to delete invoices credited from a credit note.
Delete CurrencyTool to delete a currency from Zoho Invoice settings.
Delete Customer PaymentTool to delete an existing payment from Zoho Invoice.
Delete EmployeeTool to delete an employee from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Estimate CommentTool to delete a comment from an estimate.
Delete EstimatesTool to delete one or more estimates (quotes).
Delete ExpenseTool to delete an expense from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Expense CategoryTool to delete an expense category from Zoho Invoice.
Delete InvoiceTool to delete an existing invoice from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Invoice AttachmentTool to delete an attachment from an invoice.
Delete Invoice CommentTool to delete a comment from an invoice.
Delete Invoice Expense ReceiptTool to delete the receipt attached to an expense in Zoho Invoice.
Delete ItemTool to delete an existing item from Zoho Invoice.
Delete ProjectTool to delete a project from Zoho Invoice.
Delete Project CommentTool to delete a comment from a project.
Delete TaxTool to delete a simple or compound tax from Zoho Invoice settings.
Delete TaskTool to delete a task from a Zoho Invoice project.
Delete Time EntryTool to delete a time entry from Zoho Invoice.
Delete UserTool to delete a user from Zoho Invoice.
Disable Contact Payment RemindersTool to disable payment reminders for a contact.
Disable Invoice Payment ReminderTool to disable payment reminders for an invoice.
Email Contact StatementTool to email a statement to a contact in Zoho Invoice.
Email EstimateTool to email an estimate to a customer.
Email InvoiceTool to email an invoice to customers.
Email Multiple EstimatesTool to send estimates via email to customers in bulk.
Enable Invoice Payment ReminderTool to enable payment reminders for an invoice.
Enable Payment RemindersTool to enable payment reminders for a contact.
Enable Portal AccessTool to enable portal access for contact persons in Zoho Invoice.
Bulk Export InvoicesTool to bulk export multiple invoices as a single PDF file.
Get All TasksTool to list all tasks in a Zoho Invoice project.
Get Client ReviewTool to retrieve details of a particular client review by comment ID.
Get ContactTool to retrieve a specific contact by ID.
Get Contact AddressesTool to retrieve all addresses for a contact.
Get Contact PersonTool to retrieve details of a specific contact person.
Get Credit NoteTool to retrieve the details of a specific credit note by creditnote_id.
Get Credit Note Email HistoryTool to retrieve email history for a credit note.
Get Credit Note RefundTool to retrieve details of a specific credit note refund.
Get ExpenseTool to retrieve a specific expense by ID.
Get InvoiceTool to retrieve the details of a specific invoice by invoice_id.
Get Invoice AttachmentTool to get invoice attachment details.
Get Invoice Email ContentTool to retrieve the email content for a specific invoice.
Get Zoho Invoice ItemTool to retrieve the details of a specific item by item_id.
Get Payment Reminder Mail ContentTool to retrieve payment reminder mail content for a specific invoice.
Get Price ListTool to retrieve the details of a specific price list by pricebook_id.
Get ProjectTool to retrieve details of a specific project by project ID.
Get Project UserTool to retrieve a specific user from a project.
Get Recurring InvoiceTool to retrieve the details of a specific recurring invoice by recurring_invoice_id.
Get Statement Mail ContentTool to retrieve statement mail content for a specific contact.
Get TaskTool to retrieve a specific task from a Zoho Invoice project.
Get TaxTool to retrieve details of a specific tax by tax_id.
Get Tax GroupTool to retrieve a specific tax group by ID.
Get Time EntryTool to retrieve a specific time entry from Zoho Invoice.
Inactivate ProjectTool to deactivate a project in Zoho Invoice.
List Child Expenses CreatedTool to list child expenses created from a recurring expense.
List Client ReviewsTool to retrieve all client reviews for contacts.
List Contact CommentsTool to list all comments on a contact.
List Contact RefundsTool to list refunds associated with a contact.
List ContactsTool to list contacts.
List Credit NotesTool to list credit notes.
List CurrenciesTool to list all currencies configured for the organization.
List Customer Payment RefundsTool to list refunds of a customer payment.
List EmployeesTool to list all employees in the organization.
List EstimatesTool to list all estimates.
List Expense CategoriesTool to list all expense categories with optional filtering, sorting, and pagination.
List Expense CommentsTool to list expense history and comments.
List ExpensesList all expenses with optional filtering, sorting, and pagination.
List Invoice CommentsTool to list all comments and history for an invoice.
List Invoice PaymentsTool to list payments for a specific invoice.
List InvoicesTool to list invoices.
List Invoices CreditedTool to list invoices to which a specific credit note has been applied.
List ItemsTool to list all items.
List OrganizationsTool to list all organizations.
List PaymentsTool to list payments.
List Price ListsTool to list all price lists.
List Project CommentsTool to list all comments for a project.
List Project InvoicesTool to list all invoices for a specific project.
List ProjectsTool to list all projects.
List Project UsersTool to list all users assigned to a specific project.
List Recurring InvoicesTool to list recurring invoices.
List Retainer InvoicesTool to list retainer invoices.
List Retainer Invoice TemplatesTool to list retainer invoice templates.
List UsersTool to list users in a Zoho Invoice organization.
Mark Contact as ActiveTool to mark an inactive contact as active.
Mark Contact as InactiveTool to mark a contact as inactive in Zoho Invoice.
Mark Contact Person as PrimaryTool to mark a contact person as primary in Zoho Invoice.
Mark Estimate as DeclinedTool to mark an estimate as declined.
Mark Expense Category as ActiveTool to mark an inactive expense category as active.
Mark Invoice as SentTool to mark an invoice as sent.
Mark Invoice as VoidTool to mark an invoice as void.
Mark Item as InactiveTool to mark an active item as inactive.
Mark Retainer Invoice as SentTool to mark a retainer invoice as sent.
Bulk Print EstimatesTool to bulk print multiple estimates as PDF.
Bulk Print InvoicesTool to bulk print invoices as PDF.
Refund Customer PaymentTool to refund an excess customer payment.
Resume Recurring InvoiceTool to resume a recurring invoice in Zoho Invoice.
Send Bulk Invoice ReminderTool to send payment reminders for multiple invoices in bulk.
Send Contact EmailTool to send an email to a contact in Zoho Invoice.
Start TimerTool to start a timer on an existing time entry in Zoho Invoice.
Stop Recurring InvoiceTool to stop a recurring invoice in Zoho Invoice.
Update Additional AddressTool to update an additional address for a contact.
Update ContactTool to update an existing contact in Zoho Invoice.
Update Contact PersonTool to update a contact person in Zoho Invoice.
Update Credit NoteTool to update an existing credit note in Zoho Invoice.
Update Credit Note TemplateTool to update the template associated with a credit note.
Update Customer Payment RefundTool to update an existing customer payment refund.
Update Estimate Shipping AddressTool to update the shipping address for an estimate.
Write Off InvoiceTool to write off an invoice.

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

You will need:

  • A Composio API key
  • An OpenAI API key (used by Autogen's OpenAIChatCompletionClient)
  • A Zoho invoice account you can connect to Composio
  • Some basic familiarity with Autogen and Python async

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 python-dotenv
pip install autogen-agentchat autogen-ext-openai autogen-ext-tools

Install Composio, Autogen extensions, and dotenv.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to Zoho invoice via MCP
  • autogen-agentchat provides the AssistantAgent class
  • autogen-ext-openai provides the OpenAI model client
  • autogen-ext-tools provides MCP workbench support

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
USER_ID=your-user-identifier@example.com

Create a .env file in your project folder.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY is required to talk to Composio
  • OPENAI_API_KEY is used by Autogen's OpenAI client
  • USER_ID is how Composio identifies which user's Zoho invoice connections to use

Import dependencies and create Tool Router session

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Zoho invoice session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["zoho_invoice"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • load_dotenv() reads your .env file
  • Composio(api_key=...) initializes the SDK
  • create(...) creates a Tool Router session that exposes Zoho invoice tools
  • session.mcp.url is the MCP endpoint that Autogen will connect to

Configure MCP parameters for Autogen

python
# Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
    url=url,
    timeout=30.0,
    sse_read_timeout=300.0,
    terminate_on_close=True,
    headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
)

Autogen expects parameters describing how to talk to the MCP server. That is what StreamableHttpServerParams is for.

What's happening:

  • url points to the Tool Router MCP endpoint from Composio
  • timeout is the HTTP timeout for requests
  • sse_read_timeout controls how long to wait when streaming responses
  • terminate_on_close=True cleans up the MCP server process when the workbench is closed

Create the model client and agent

python
# Create model client
model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
)

# Use McpWorkbench as context manager
async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
    # Create Zoho invoice assistant agent with MCP tools
    agent = AssistantAgent(
        name="zoho_invoice_assistant",
        description="An AI assistant that helps with Zoho invoice operations.",
        model_client=model_client,
        workbench=workbench,
        model_client_stream=True,
        max_tool_iterations=10
    )

What's happening:

  • OpenAIChatCompletionClient wraps the OpenAI model for Autogen
  • McpWorkbench connects the agent to the MCP tools
  • AssistantAgent is configured with the Zoho invoice tools from the workbench

Run the interactive chat loop

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
print("Ask any Zoho invoice related question or task to the agent.\n")

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

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

    if not user_input:
        continue

    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

    # Run the agent with streaming
    try:
        response_text = ""
        async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
            if hasattr(message, "content") and message.content:
                response_text = message.content

        # Print the final response
        if response_text:
            print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
        else:
            print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")
What's happening:
  • The script prompts you in a loop with You:
  • Autogen passes your input to the model, which decides which Zoho invoice tools to call via MCP
  • agent.run_stream(...) yields streaming messages as the agent thinks and calls tools
  • Typing exit, quit, or bye ends the loop

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Zoho invoice and AutoGen:

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Zoho invoice session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["zoho_invoice"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url

    # Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
    server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
        url=url,
        timeout=30.0,
        sse_read_timeout=300.0,
        terminate_on_close=True,
        headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
    )

    # Create model client
    model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
        model="gpt-5",
        api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
    )

    # Use McpWorkbench as context manager
    async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
        # Create Zoho invoice assistant agent with MCP tools
        agent = AssistantAgent(
            name="zoho_invoice_assistant",
            description="An AI assistant that helps with Zoho invoice operations.",
            model_client=model_client,
            workbench=workbench,
            model_client_stream=True,
            max_tool_iterations=10
        )

        print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
        print("Ask any Zoho invoice related question or task to the agent.\n")

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

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

            if not user_input:
                continue

            print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

            # Run the agent with streaming
            try:
                response_text = ""
                async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
                    if hasattr(message, 'content') and message.content:
                        response_text = message.content

                # Print the final response
                if response_text:
                    print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
                else:
                    print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Conclusion

You now have an Autogen assistant wired into Zoho invoice through Composio's Tool Router and MCP. From here you can:
  • Add more toolkits to the toolkits list, for example notion or hubspot
  • Refine the agent description to point it at specific workflows
  • Wrap this script behind a UI, Slack bot, or internal tool
Once the pattern is clear for Zoho invoice, you can reuse the same structure for other MCP-enabled apps with minimal code changes.

How to build Zoho invoice MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Zoho invoice MCP?

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Autogen?

Yes, you can. Autogen 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 Zoho invoice tools.

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

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Zoho invoice 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 Zoho invoice data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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