Production Viability Report

Xero Fully viable

API: Comprehensive REST API with full OAuth 2.0 authentication. Well-documented with SDKs for Node.js, Python, PHP, and others.

What we can do in production:

• Pull trial balances, chart of accounts, and journal entries (replaces our sample data)
• Read and create invoices, credit notes, and bank transactions
• Access contacts, fixed assets, and reporting data
• Create journal entries to correct miscoded items (currently simulated)
• Read bank reconciliation status
• CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) data for UK-specific features

Limitations: Rate limits apply (60 calls/minute for most endpoints). Xero partner programme required for production apps with more than 25 connections. No direct MTD submission through Xero's API — Xero handles this internally.

Effort to integrate: Medium. OAuth 2.0 flow needs implementing, but the API is mature and well-documented. Estimated 2-3 weeks for core accounting data features.

Microsoft 365 / Outlook Fully viable

API: Microsoft Graph API. Unified REST API covering mail, calendar, contacts, Teams, OneDrive, and more. OAuth 2.0 with Azure AD.

What we can do in production:

• Read client emails from shared/individual mailboxes (replaces simulated inbox)
• Create draft emails in Outlook (currently faked — would be real)
• Send emails on behalf of the practice
• Create calendar events and reminders
• Post messages to Teams channels
• Search mail for client correspondence history

Limitations: Requires Azure AD tenant and app registration. Delegated permissions need user consent; application permissions need admin consent. Mail.Send permission is a sensitive scope. Rate limits: 10,000 requests per 10 minutes per mailbox.

Effort to integrate: Medium. Azure AD setup and OAuth flow are the main hurdle. The Graph API itself is straightforward. Estimated 2-3 weeks including auth flow and email features.

Companies House Fully viable

API: Free public REST API provided by the UK Government. API key authentication (HTTP Basic).

What we can do in production:

• Look up company profiles including registration date, SIC codes, registered office
• Retrieve filing history (confirmation statements, annual accounts, etc.)
• Check officer details (directors, secretaries)
• Get next filing due dates and identify overdue filings
• Access persons with significant control (PSC) register
• Real-time streaming API available for monitoring changes

What we cannot do: The public API is read-only. Filing submissions (confirmation statements, accounts) require the separate Companies House Filing API, which uses OAuth 2.0 and is available to authorised filing software providers. Ashworth Thornton would need to be registered as a filing agent or use existing software (e.g. TaxCalc) for submissions.

Effort to integrate: Low. Simple API key auth, well-structured JSON responses. The read endpoints are all we need for the monitoring/alerting features. Estimated 1 week.

HMRC Making Tax Digital Viable with caveats

API: Official HMRC REST APIs for MTD. OAuth 2.0 authentication. Sandbox and production environments.

What we can do in production:

• Retrieve VAT obligations (which periods are due, submitted, or overdue)
• Submit VAT returns programmatically
• Retrieve VAT liabilities and payment history
• Check client MTD status

Limitations: Becoming a recognised MTD software vendor requires HMRC approval — there is an application process and the software must meet specific requirements including fraud prevention headers. This is a significant compliance hurdle. Practically, it may be better to trigger submissions through Xero (which is already HMRC-recognised) rather than submitting directly.

Effort to integrate: High if going direct to HMRC (3-6 months including approval process). Low if triggering via Xero's built-in MTD submission.

Breathe HR Fully viable

API: REST API with API key authentication. Developer documentation at developer.breathehr.com.

What we can do in production:

• List all employees and their details
• Retrieve absence/leave records (filterable by date, type, department)
• Retrieve sickness records and create new ones
• Access holiday allowances
• Read organisational structure (departments, divisions, locations)

Limitations: The API is read-heavy. Write operations exist for some resources (sickness records, absence cancellations) but full CRUD is not available on all entities. Rate limits apply but are not publicly documented. Requires an active Breathe HR subscription.

Effort to integrate: Low. Simple API key auth, well-structured endpoints. The cross-check feature (Breathe vs payroll) would work with real data. Estimated 1 week.

TaxCalc Not viable — no API

API: None. TaxCalc does not provide a public API, developer portal, or any documented integration endpoint for third parties.

What exists:

• TaxCalc has built-in integrations with Xero, FreeAgent, and QuickBooks for importing trial balance data — but these are internal to TaxCalc, not accessible externally
• TaxCalc consumes HMRC APIs for filing, but does not expose its own computation data
• CloudConnect product has an integration with Engager (practice management) but this is a specific partnership, not a public API

Workarounds:

• Indirect via Xero: Pull the same trial balance data from Xero that TaxCalc uses, and run our own AI-powered tax review against it. This wouldn't read TaxCalc computations directly but could replicate much of the review functionality.
• File-based: TaxCalc can export computations as PDFs. An AI could parse these for review purposes, though this is fragile.
• Contact TaxCalc: A partnership or custom integration may be possible through direct negotiation with Acorah Software Products Ltd.

Assessment: The TaxCalc Review tab in the demo would need to be reimagined. The AI review of tax computations could still work by pulling data from Xero and applying tax rules, but it would not have access to draft CT600 data or computation details held in TaxCalc.

Payroll Professional (IRIS) Viable with migration

API: IRIS Payroll Professional (the desktop product) has no public API. It is a legacy Windows application that supports only file-based imports/exports (CSV for pensions, journal exports).

However: IRIS is actively migrating customers to Staffology Payroll, which has a comprehensive REST API described as "API-first".

What Staffology's API can do:

• Full payroll lifecycle: employee management, pay runs, payslip data
• RTI submissions (FPS, EPS) to HMRC
• Pension auto-enrolment
• Journal posting to accounting platforms
• Employee data CRUD operations

Authentication: API key via HTTP Basic Auth (recommended) or OAuth.

Assessment: If Ashworth Thornton is on IRIS Payroll Professional, the payroll cross-check features would require either migrating to Staffology or working with CSV exports. If they migrate, full API integration is straightforward.

Phase 1 — Core (4-6 weeks)

• Xero integration for real trial balance data, bank reconciliation status, and client accounting data
• Companies House API for real-time filing monitoring and deadline alerts
• Breathe HR API for employee leave data (real cross-check against payroll)
• Claude API for all AI analysis, drafting, and chat (already working)

Phase 2 — Email and Calendar (2-3 weeks)

• Microsoft Graph API for reading client emails and creating real Outlook drafts
• Calendar integration for reminders and deadline management
• This turns the simulated Outlook integration into a real one

Phase 3 — Extended (timeline varies)

• MTD submission tracking via Xero's built-in HMRC connection
• Payroll integration if/when Ashworth Thornton migrates to Staffology
• TaxCalc workaround: AI tax review using Xero data + UK tax rules, without needing TaxCalc's API
• Practice management dashboard using aggregated data from all connected platforms

Security and Compliance

• Data protection: Client financial data is sensitive. Server-side API calls with encrypted credential storage are essential — the current demo's browser-based API key approach would not be suitable for production.
• GDPR: Processing client data through Claude's API means data leaves the practice's infrastructure. Anthropic's data processing terms and a DPIA would be required.
• Professional indemnity: AI-generated advice and draft communications should always be reviewed by a qualified accountant before sending. The system should be positioned as an assistant, not a decision-maker.
• Audit trail: All AI-generated actions (emails sent, journals suggested, filings triggered) need logging for regulatory compliance.

Cost Estimate

• Claude API: Approximately $3-8 per 1M input tokens depending on model. For a practice with 500 clients, estimate $200-500/month for moderate usage.
• Xero API: Free for certified partners (requires Xero partner programme membership). App certification process takes 4-6 weeks.
• Microsoft Graph: Included with Microsoft 365 business subscription. No additional API costs.
• Companies House: Free. No usage limits documented.
• Breathe HR: API included with subscription. No additional cost.
• Development: Estimated 8-12 weeks for Phase 1 and 2 with a single developer.

The demo is a credible representation of what a production system could do. Five of the seven external platform integrations can be built with existing public APIs. The two gaps (TaxCalc, legacy Payroll Professional) have workarounds.

The most impactful production features — email analysis, Companies House monitoring, Xero data review, and Breathe HR cross-checking — are all fully achievable with documented, stable APIs. The AI layer (Claude) is already operational in the demo and would carry over directly.

The recommended approach is to start with Xero + Companies House + Breathe HR (the lowest-effort, highest-impact integrations), then add Microsoft 365 email in a second phase. This gives a working production system within 6-8 weeks.