AI assistant and MCP server for time and invoices
Sumhour comes with Pip, an assistant inside the app that logs time, checks your week, runs reports and drafts invoices, and shows every change on a card that waits for your click. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any other MCP app connect to Sumhour’s time tracking MCP server with the permissions you tick, so you can log time with Claude in plain words.
In every plan. 30 days free, no card.
Draft an invoice for Fieldwork’s hours so far this month
List time entries
Draft an invoice
- Client
- Fieldwork
- Through
- 11 Nov 2026
- Time
- 24:00 at USD 125.00
- Expenses
- USD 86.40
- Amount
- USD 3,086.40
Maya asks Pip to draft Fieldwork’s November invoice
Maya types the request in the bar at the bottom of the page. Pip gathers the unbilled time and expenses and shows the draft on a card. Nothing is created until she presses the button.
Only Pip waits for a click. An app connected over MCP, or a script with an API token, makes the same change straight away, within the permissions you granted.
| Design10:00 × 125.00 | 1,250.00 |
|---|---|
| Development14:00 × 125.00 | 1,750.00 |
| Train ticket, Rina Akterbillable expense | 86.40 |
| Draft INV-1043 on the card | 3,086.40 |
Demo workspace: Birch & Row Studio, USD
AI and MCP in Sumhour, step by step
- 01
Ask Pip
Press ⌘J (Ctrl+J on Windows and Linux) or click the bar at the bottom of any page, then type or say what you need.
- 02
Read the card
Lookups run straight away. A change stops on a card with the project, date, duration or invoice number, and nothing happens until you press the button.
- 03
Connect your AI app
Add Sumhour’s MCP address in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP app, pick the workspace and untick any permission you do not want to share.
- 04
Script the rest
Make a personal API token with a preset or your own permissions, for your own scripts. The sumhour command line tool joins it at launch.
Say it out loud, then say “yes”
Where voice is on, the message box has a microphone and a language button. Your words appear as you talk, and Pip sends them when you pause. With a card on screen, say "yes" or "no" in English or Bangla, or press the button as usual.
Pip can also read its replies aloud in the language of the reply. Your voice goes from the browser to Deepgram, which turns it into text; Sumhour keeps only the text.
- Your browser’s languages first, about 60 others below
- Deletions show in red, so you can see what a “yes” will delete
Delete the half hour on Harbor Health from Monday
Delete a time entry
- Project
- Monthly design support · Harbor Health
- Date
- Mon 9 Nov 2026
- Duration
- 0:30
Time tracking MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor
AI apps that speak MCP connect to https://app.sumhour.com/mcp. The app sends you to Sumhour to approve it. The approval page shows where the request came from, a workspace picker, because one connection covers one workspace, and each permission as a checkbox.
A connected app acts as you and never beyond your role. Owners and admins see everyone’s connected apps and can disconnect any of them at once.
Connect an AI app over MCPRegistered at claude.ai. Only continue if you started this.
WorkspaceBirch & Row Studio (owner)It asks to
- See entries, the timer and timesheets
- Log, change and delete time, run the timer, submit weeks
- See projects, tasks and clients
- Draft invoices and record payments
- Run reports
Untick anything you do not want to share.
Personal API tokens for your own scripts
A personal API token lets a script or an agent act as you in one workspace. Pick "Time tracking", "Read only" or "Everything your role allows", or pick from thirteen permissions. A token can never do more than your current role, checked on every call.
At launch, the sumhour command line tool goes on npm, so you can track time from a terminal. sumhour login will show a code to check in your browser and get its own token, valid for 180 days.
# the sumhour CLI, on npm at launch
$ sumhour login
# check the code in your browser: WDJB-MJHT
$ sumhour start fieldwork "field app" -m "Kickoff"
$ sumhour log 1:30 FW-2 -m "Design review" --dry-run
# shows the request without sending it
$ sumhour week && sumhour submit
API tokens
| Name | Permissions | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| Menu bar timerUsed today | Time tracking | 12 May 2027 |
| Weekly report scriptUsed 9 Nov | Read only | 1 Feb 2027 |
Turn it off for everyone, and see what it changed
Owners and admins have three switches under "AI and API access": the assistant, AI apps over MCP, and API tokens with the command line. Turning one off works at once for the whole workspace. Tokens and connections are kept, so turning it back on restores them.
Every change made outside the web app shows in Activity with where it came from, such as "via API", "via MCP" or "via assistant", and the name of the token or app. The person it acted for stays the author.
How the activity log worksAI and API access
Activity
- Maya Lind created a draft invoice for Fieldworkvia assistant
- Rina Akter logged 1:30 on Field appvia MCP · Cursor
- Sam Ortiz deleted a time entry on Monthly design supportvia assistant
AI and MCP: limits to know about
- API tokens and scripts make changes straight away. Pip shows a card and waits for your click, and Claude asks before each change because every Sumhour tool that changes data is marked as one.
- Pip only helps with your work in Sumhour. Each person can send 60 messages an hour and 200 a day.
- No connected app or token can send an invoice. Sending stays with a person in the app.
- The sumhour command line tool goes on npm with the public launch.
Missing something you need? Write to [email protected]. The person who builds Sumhour reads every message.
AI and MCP: Sumhour and other tools
Checked against each tool’s own pricing and help pages on November 5, 2026; the sources are under the table. Plans change, so check before you rely on a line.
| Feature | Sumhour | Harvest | Toggl Track | Kimai | solidtime | Invoice Ninja |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official MCP server, REST API and command line tool | Yes: MCP and API on every plan; CLI on npm at launch | MCP yes; API yes; CLI no | MCP and CLI only for the new Toggl app; Track API yes | MCP community only; API yes; CLI not found | MCP not found; API yes; CLI not found | MCP community only; API from Pro ($14); CLI no |
| Open-source code | Yes, AGPL-3.0; the code is public from launch day | No | No | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | Yes, AGPL-3.0 (self-hosted invoicing needs a paid licence) | Source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 |
Sources: Harvest MCP; Harvest API; Toggl MCP and CLI; Toggl Track API; Kimai on GitHub; kimai-mcp (community); solidtime on GitHub; Invoice Ninja pricing; Invoice Ninja on GitHub.
Full comparison: Sumhour vs Harvest.
AI and MCP: common questions
Is there an MCP server for time tracking?
Yes. AI apps that speak MCP connect to Sumhour at https://app.sumhour.com/mcp. You sign in, pick one workspace and untick any permission you do not want to share, then press “Allow”. The app acts as you, never beyond your role, and its changes are logged “via MCP” with the app’s name.
Connect an AI app in the guideCan I log time with Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes, once you connect them over MCP with the time permission. A connected app makes changes straight away, within your role, and the same locked weeks and required notes apply as in the web app. Disconnect it any time under “Connected apps” on the API tokens page.
Does the AI assistant change data without asking?
No. Pip runs lookups straight away, but anything that would change data stops on a card that describes the change in words. Nothing happens until you press the button, which names the change, such as “Create draft invoice”. “Cancel”, or typing a new message, declines it.
Can I track time from the command line?
From the public launch, yes. That is when the sumhour package goes on npm. It starts and stops the timer, logs finished time, edits entries, submits your week, adds expenses and runs reports, and every command takes --json. Until then, your own scripts can use a personal API token with the REST API.
How do I turn off AI for my whole workspace?
Owners and admins open Settings, then “AI and API access”, where three switches control the assistant, AI apps over MCP, and API tokens with the command line. All three are on by default. Turning one off takes effect at once for everyone; existing tokens and connections are kept and come back when you turn it on again.
