Paymo MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Paymo time tracking and invoicing. Enables Claude Desktop to manage time entries, projects, tasks, and generate invoice timesheets.

Features

• ✅ Time Entry Management: Create and manage time entries via natural language

• ✅ Project & Task Discovery: List and search projects/tasks by name

• ✅ Invoice Timesheet Export: Generate CSV timesheets for specific invoices

• ✅ Unbilled Time Analysis: Track unbilled hours and revenue

• ✅ Batch Operations: Submit multiple entries from YAML format

• ✅ Smart Filtering: Filter entries by project, date range, billing status

• ✅ Chronological Sorting: All exports automatically sorted by date

Installation

git clone https://github.com/feamster/paymo-mcp.git
cd paymo-mcp
pip install -r requirements.txt

Requirements

• Python 3.8+

• Paymo account with API access

• fastmcp for MCP server functionality

Configuration

Configuration is split between non-sensitive settings and auth:

~/.mcp-config/paymo/config.json (non-sensitive, can be in dotfiles):

{
  "timezone": "America/Chicago",
  "projects": {
    "Client Matter Name": {
      "project_id": 12345,
      "task_id": 67890
    }
  }
}

~/.mcp-auth/paymo/auth.json (sensitive, sync separately):

{
  "api_key": "your-paymo-api-key-here"
}

Getting Your API Key

1. Log into Paymo

2. Go to Settings → API

3. Generate a new API key

4. Copy the key to your config file

Usage

As a CLI Tool

# List projects
python3 paymo_timesheet.py list-projects

# List tasks for a project
python3 paymo_timesheet.py list-tasks --project-id 12345

# Create a single entry
python3 paymo_timesheet.py create-entry \
  --task-id 67890 \
  --date 2025-12-10 \
  --hours 3.5 \
  --description "Document review and analysis"

# Export invoice timesheet by invoice number
python3 paymo_timesheet.py export-invoice-timesheets \
  --invoice-number INV-20260331-241 \
  --output-dir ./invoices

# List unbilled entries
python3 paymo_timesheet.py list-entries \
  --start 2025-11-01 \
  --end 2025-11-30 \
  --unbilled

As an MCP Server

1. Start the Server

python3 paymo_timesheet.py mcp

2. Configure Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paymo": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["/path/to/paymo-mcp/paymo_timesheet.py", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

The Paymo tools will now be available in Claude Desktop.

MCP Tools Reference

Project & Task Management

list_paymo_projects()

List all active Paymo projects.

Returns: List of projects with IDs, names, and client information.

list_paymo_tasks(project_id: int)

List all tasks for a specific project.

Args:

• project_id: The Paymo project ID

Returns: List of tasks with IDs, names, and billing information.

Time Entry Management

create_paymo_entry(task_id, date, duration_hours, description)

Create a single time entry.

Args:

• task_id (int): Task ID to log time against

• date (str): Date in YYYY-MM-DD format

• duration_hours (float): Hours worked (e.g., 3.5)

• description (str): Description of work performed

Returns: Created entry details.

Example:

create_paymo_entry(
    task_id=31450618,
    date="2025-12-10",
    duration_hours=6.0,
    description="Expert report drafting and analysis"
)

submit_paymo_timesheet(yaml_content: str)

Submit multiple entries from YAML format.

Args:

• yaml_content: YAML string with timesheet entries

Returns: Summary of created entries.

Example YAML:

matter: "Patent Litigation Matter"
client: "Law Firm Client"
rate: 650

entries:
  - date: "2025-12-02"
    start_time: "09:00"
    end_time: "12:30"
    timezone: "America/Chicago"
    task_id: 31450618
    description: "Case strategy meeting"

  - date: "2025-12-03"
    duration_hours: 5.0
    task_id: 31450740
    description: "Expert witness report preparation"

list_paymo_entries(start_date, end_date, project_id=None, billed=None)

List time entries with optional filters.

Args:

• start_date (str): Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• end_date (str): End date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• project_id (int, optional): Filter by project

• billed (bool, optional): Filter by billing status (True=billed, False=unbilled, None=all)

Returns: List of entries with task names, durations, descriptions, and billing status.

Invoice Management

list_paymo_invoices(client_id=None, status=None)

List Paymo invoices with optional filters.

Args:

• client_id (int, optional): Filter by client

• status (str, optional): Filter by status ("draft", "sent", "viewed", "paid")

Returns: List of invoices with numbers, amounts, dates, and statuses.

get_outstanding_invoices_last_week()

Get outstanding invoices from the last 7 days.

Returns: List of recent invoices with status "sent" or "viewed".

export_invoice_timesheet(invoice_number: str, strict: bool = True)

Export a formatted, billing-ready timesheet CSV for a specific invoice. This is the primary tool for generating invoice timesheets.

Args:

• invoice_number (str): The invoice number as shown on the invoice (e.g., "INV-20260331-241")

• strict (bool): If True (default), validate that calculated totals match invoice. If False, skip validation.

Returns: Formatted CSV content with:

• Header section: Matter name, Invoice number, Period, Total Hours, Fees, Expenses, Total Due

• Data section: Date, Start Time (HH:MM), End Time (HH:MM), Duration, Task, Description

• Footer: Expenses summary

Features:

• Strict matching (default): Only includes entries explicitly linked to that invoice via invoice_item_id, and validates that calculated fees match invoice totals within 5%

• Chronologically sorted by date (earliest first)

• Clean HH:MM time format (not raw ISO timestamps)

• Billing-ready format with summary header

• 90-day lookback to capture all entries

Example:

export_invoice_timesheet("INV-20260331-241")           # strict validation (default)
export_invoice_timesheet("INV-20260331-241", False)    # skip validation

When to use:

• "Export timesheet for invoice INV-20260331-241"

• "Generate the timesheet for my latest invoice"

• "Get a billing-ready timesheet for invoice X"

If validation fails: Use export_paymo_timesheet(start_date, end_date, project_id) to export by date range instead.

export_invoice_paymo_format(invoice_number: str, strict: bool = True)

Export timesheet in exact Paymo native format with all standard columns. Use this when you need the export to match Paymo's own export format exactly.

Args:

• invoice_number (str): The invoice number (e.g., "INV-20260331-241")

• strict (bool): If True (default), validate totals match invoice

Returns: CSV with exact Paymo columns:

User, Internal User Id, Project, Internal Project Id, Project Description,
Tasklist, Internal Tasklist Id, Task, Internal Task Id, Start Time, End Time,
Worked Time, Decimal Hours, Time In Seconds

When to use:

• Need exact Paymo format for import into another system

• Need all internal IDs (user, project, task, tasklist)

• User explicitly asks for "Paymo format"

Example:

export_invoice_paymo_format("INV-20260331-241")

export_paymo_timesheet(start_date, end_date, project_id=None, format="csv")

Export timesheet for a date range.

Args:

• start_date (str): Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• end_date (str): End date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• project_id (int, optional): Filter by project

• format (str): Export format ("csv" or "xls")

Returns: Path to exported file.

Example Queries (via Claude Desktop)

Time Entry Creation

• "Create a 3.5 hour entry for the Patent Litigation project on Dec 10 for prior art research"

• "Log 6 hours today on expert report drafting for the IP case"

• "Add a 2 hour call entry for yesterday on the litigation support task"

Project & Invoice Discovery

• "List all my active projects"

• "Show me tasks for the Corporate Advisory project"

• "What invoices do I have outstanding from last week?"

• "List all unpaid invoices for Client XYZ"

Analytical Queries

• "How much unbilled time do I have in the last 30 days?"

• "Which projects haven't had an invoice in the last month?"

• "Show me unbilled hours for the Patent Litigation project"

• "What's my total billed revenue for November 2025?"

• "Calculate my unbilled revenue by project for Q4"

Timesheet Export

• "Export the timesheet for invoice INV-20260331-241"

• "Generate timesheet for my latest DivX invoice"

• "Export timesheets for all outstanding invoices from last week"

• "Generate a CSV of my December time entries"

Example Output

Invoice Timesheet Export

When you run export_invoice_timesheet("INV-20260331-241"), you get a billing-ready CSV:

Matter,DivX vs. Netflix
Invoice,INV-20260331-241
Period,2026-03-04 to 2026-03-25
Total Hours,239.01
Fees,$143406.00
Expenses,$1016.95
Total Due,$144422.95

Date,Start Time,End Time,Duration (hours),Task,Description
2026-03-04,09:00,10:30,1.50,Trial Prep,Trial prep
2026-03-04,11:00,13:00,2.00,Trial Prep,"Post outline review session: incorporated feedback on outline flow"
2026-03-06,01:00,04:00,3.00,Trial Prep,"Solo trial prep: reviewing patent materials and invalidity case outline"
2026-03-06,16:00,17:30,1.50,Trial Prep,"Trial prep run-through with counsel re: patent technical benefits section"

Expenses,$1016.95

Key features:

• Header with Matter, Invoice, Period, Total Hours, Fees, Expenses, Total Due

• Times in clean HH:MM format (not raw ISO timestamps)

• Entries sorted chronologically by date

• Footer with expenses

Unbilled Time Analysis

When you ask "How much unbilled time do I have?", Claude might respond:

You have 47.5 unbilled hours across 3 projects:

Patent Litigation Matter: 30.75 hours ($19,987.50)
Corporate Advisory: 12.00 hours ($7,800.00)
Expert Witness Case: 4.75 hours ($3,087.50)

Total unbilled: $30,875.00

How It Works

Natural Language to API Calls

The MCP server enables Claude to automatically translate natural language to Paymo API calls:

You say: "Create a 6 hour entry for the litigation project on Dec 10"

Claude automatically:

1. Calls list_paymo_projects() to find projects

2. Searches for "litigation" in project names

3. Calls list_paymo_tasks(project_id) to get tasks

4. Creates the entry with create_paymo_entry()

You say: "Which projects have unbilled time?"

Claude automatically:

1. Calls list_paymo_projects() to get all projects

2. For each project, calls list_paymo_entries() with billed=False

3. Aggregates and reports unbilled hours by project

Invoice-Specific Exports

The export_invoice_timesheet() function provides billing-ready timesheets with strict validation:

1. Finds invoice by number (e.g., "INV-20260331-241")

2. Retrieves invoice and its line items

3. Finds all time entries linked to those invoice items (via invoice_item_id)

4. Validates totals: Checks that (hours × rate) matches invoice total within 5%

5. Looks back 90 days to catch all entries (handles monthly billing cycles)

6. Fetches task names and project/matter name

7. Sorts entries chronologically by date (earliest first)

8. Generates formatted CSV with:

   • Header: Matter, Invoice, Period, Total Hours, Fees, Expenses, Total Due

   • Data: Date, Start Time (HH:MM), End Time (HH:MM), Duration, Task, Description

   • Footer: Expenses summary

This ensures you get only the entries actually billed on that specific invoice, with validation that the totals match.

Alternative - Date Range Export: If you need entries by date range regardless of invoice linkage (or if strict validation fails), use export_paymo_timesheet(start_date, end_date, project_id) instead.

Rate Limiting

The script automatically handles Paymo's API rate limits:

• Monitors X-Ratelimit-Remaining headers

• Adds 2-second delays between task lookups

• Retries on 429 errors with exponential backoff

• Displays warnings when approaching limits

Troubleshooting

"API key not configured"

Create ~/.mcp-auth/paymo/auth.json with your API key (see Configuration section).

"fastmcp not installed"

Install the MCP server dependency:

pip install fastmcp

"Rate limit exceeded"

The script will automatically wait and retry. If you see this frequently, reduce batch operation sizes.

Empty invoice exports

Some invoices may not have time entries (flat fee or expense-only invoices). Verify the invoice includes time entries in Paymo.

Development

Project Structure

paymo-mcp/
├── paymo_timesheet.py  # Main script (CLI + MCP server)
├── requirements.txt    # Python dependencies
└── README.md          # This file

Key Classes

• PaymoClient: API wrapper with rate limiting and retry logic

• TimesheetProcessor: YAML parsing and batch entry creation

Adding New MCP Tools

1. Add the @mcp.tool() decorator

2. Define clear docstrings with arg descriptions

3. Load config and create PaymoClient

4. Return structured data (dicts/lists, not strings)

Example:

@mcp.tool()
def my_new_tool(arg1: str, arg2: int) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """
    Brief description of what this tool does

    Args:
        arg1: Description of first argument
        arg2: Description of second argument

    Returns:
        Description of return value
    """
    config = load_config()
    api_key = config.get('api_key')
    client = PaymoClient(api_key)

    # Implementation here
    return {"result": "data"}

License

MIT

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome! Please ensure:

• Code follows existing style

• New features include documentation

• MCP tools have clear docstrings

• Rate limiting is respected

Acknowledgments

Built with FastMCP for Model Context Protocol support.