Using ChatGPT with your accounting data: what it can and can’t do

Three ways people use ChatGPT for finance

How a connected app works

1. You add the app in ChatGPT and connect your account with the app’s provider.
2. You connect your accounting software through its own sign-in page (Xero, Intuit, Sage or FreeAgent). You approve what the app may access. Neither ChatGPT nor the app sees your accounting password.
3. You ask a question. ChatGPT calls the app, the app fetches the relevant figures, and ChatGPT writes the answer from them.
4. You can disconnect at any time. OpenAI’s help centre says disconnecting an app account stops future access through that connection, but does not delete existing chats.

OpenAI also explains that when ChatGPT uses an app, relevant parts of the conversation are shared with that app, and each provider handles that data under its own terms and privacy policy.

Checks before you connect

• Who builds the app? The app is usually made by a third party, not by OpenAI or your accounting software provider.
• What can it read? Look at the access you are asked to approve: transactions, contacts, reports, payroll.
• Can it change your books? If so, check that every change needs your approval and that you see the entry first.
• Where are your accounting credentials held? They should sit with the app provider, encrypted, never in the chat.
• Is your data used for training? OpenAI says it does not use Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace data for training by default; on personal plans it follows your “Improve the model for everyone” setting.
• How do you leave? Find out how to disconnect and how to have the provider delete your data.

Questions that work well

• “How much cash do we have, and how long will it last at our current burn?”
• “Which customers are past their payment terms, and by how much?”
• “Why did gross margin fall last month?”
• “What tax payments and filings are due in the next 60 days?”
• “Is anything in the books unexplained or unreconciled?”

Good answers name their figures and the period they cover. If an answer does not, ask “which figures is that based on?”

Example · illustrative figures

Question: “How long will our cash last?”
Answer from a connected app: “Cash at bank is £48,200. Average net burn over the last three months is £6,500 a month, so cash covers about 7.4 months at that rate. Two overdue invoices worth £9,800 are not included.”

Without a connection, ChatGPT could only explain how runway is calculated. With one, it can give the figure for your business.

Limits to keep in mind

• Answers are only as good as the books. An unreconciled bank account or missing bills will flow into every answer.
• Information is not advice. A connected app can show what is owed and when. Whether to claim a relief or how to structure a payment is for your accountant.
• Check the important numbers. Before you act on a figure, confirm it in your accounting software.

Nella in ChatGPT

Nella is listed in ChatGPT’s app directory, approved through OpenAI’s app review in October 2026. Find Nella in ChatGPT’s apps and choose Connect. It is built by Nella Finance AI Limited, not by OpenAI, Xero or Intuit.

Nella connects to Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage or FreeAgent and answers from your live figures. It covers cash and runway, profit and KPIs, the tax and VAT timeline, anomaly flags and a monthly management pack, and your Nella Score. Nella changes your books only through an entry you approve on Nella’s card; it files nothing, pays nothing and moves no money. The ChatGPT app is included on every plan, including Nella Free. Setup steps are in the ChatGPT help guide.

Using Xero specifically? See Can ChatGPT or Claude connect to Xero? Using Claude instead? See Using Claude with your accounting data.

Sources

• OpenAI Help Center: Data sharing and privacy for apps in ChatGPT
• Model Context Protocol specification: Authorization

Nella provides financial information and education, not accounting or tax advice. Nella shows you the numbers. When a question needs professional judgement, such as a filing or a tax decision, Nella says so and points you to a qualified accountant.