How to integrate Zoho invoice MCP with Pydantic AI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho invoice to Pydantic AI 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 Pydantic AI 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:
  • How to set up your Composio API key and User ID
  • How to create a Composio Tool Router session for Zoho invoice
  • How to attach an MCP Server to a Pydantic AI agent
  • How to stream responses and maintain chat history
  • How to build a simple REPL-style chat interface to test your Zoho invoice workflows

What is Pydantic AI?

Pydantic AI is a Python framework for building AI agents with strong typing and validation. It leverages Pydantic's data validation capabilities to create robust, type-safe AI applications.

Key features include:

  • Type Safety: Built on Pydantic for automatic data validation
  • MCP Support: Native support for Model Context Protocol servers
  • Streaming: Built-in support for streaming responses
  • Async First: Designed for async/await patterns

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

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account with an active API key
  • Basic familiarity with Python and async programming

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 pydantic-ai python-dotenv

Install the required libraries.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to external SaaS tools like Zoho invoice
  • pydantic-ai lets you create structured AI agents with tool support
  • python-dotenv loads your environment variables securely from a .env file

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

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates your agent to Composio's API
  • USER_ID associates your session with your account for secure tool access
  • OPENAI_API_KEY to access OpenAI LLMs

Import dependencies

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()
What's happening:
  • We load environment variables and import required modules
  • Composio manages connections to Zoho invoice
  • MCPServerStreamableHTTP connects to the Zoho invoice MCP server endpoint
  • Agent from Pydantic AI lets you define and run the AI assistant

Create a Tool Router Session

python
async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Zoho invoice
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["zoho_invoice"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")
What's happening:
  • We're creating a Tool Router session that gives your agent access to Zoho invoice tools
  • The create method takes the user ID and specifies which toolkits should be available
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use

Initialize the Pydantic AI Agent

python
# Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
zoho_invoice_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
agent = Agent(
    "openai:gpt-5",
    toolsets=[zoho_invoice_mcp],
    instructions=(
        "You are a Zoho invoice assistant. Use Zoho invoice tools to help users "
        "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
    ),
)
What's happening:
  • The MCP client connects to the Zoho invoice endpoint
  • The agent uses GPT-5 to interpret user commands and perform Zoho invoice operations
  • The instructions field defines the agent's role and behavior

Build the chat interface

python
# Simple REPL with message history
history = []
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
print("Try asking the agent to help you with Zoho invoice.\n")

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", flush=True)

    async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
        collected_text = ""
        async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
            text_piece = None
            if isinstance(chunk, str):
                text_piece = chunk
            elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                text_piece = chunk.delta
            elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                text_piece = chunk.text
            if text_piece:
                collected_text += text_piece
        result = stream_result

    print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
    history = result.all_messages()
What's happening:
  • The agent reads input from the terminal and streams its response
  • Zoho invoice API calls happen automatically under the hood
  • The model keeps conversation history to maintain context across turns

Run the application

python
if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
What's happening:
  • The asyncio loop launches the agent and keeps it running until you exit

Complete Code

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

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Zoho invoice
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["zoho_invoice"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")

    # Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
    zoho_invoice_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    agent = Agent(
        "openai:gpt-5",
        toolsets=[zoho_invoice_mcp],
        instructions=(
            "You are a Zoho invoice assistant. Use Zoho invoice tools to help users "
            "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
        ),
    )

    # Simple REPL with message history
    history = []
    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
    print("Try asking the agent to help you with Zoho invoice.\n")

    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", flush=True)

        async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
            collected_text = ""
            async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
                text_piece = None
                if isinstance(chunk, str):
                    text_piece = chunk
                elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                    text_piece = chunk.delta
                elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                    text_piece = chunk.text
                if text_piece:
                    collected_text += text_piece
            result = stream_result

        print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
        history = result.all_messages()

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

Conclusion

You've built a Pydantic AI agent that can interact with Zoho invoice through Composio's Tool Router. With this setup, your agent can perform real Zoho invoice actions through natural language. You can extend this further by:
  • Adding other toolkits like Gmail, HubSpot, or Salesforce
  • Building a web-based chat interface around this agent
  • Using multiple MCP endpoints to enable cross-app workflows (for example, Gmail + Zoho invoice for workflow automation)
This architecture makes your AI agent "agent-native", able to securely use APIs in a unified, composable way without custom integrations.

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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 Pydantic AI?

Yes, you can. Pydantic AI 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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