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MCP Deposits in Claude Code

Security and retainer deposits held per client, applied to the invoices the invoice server already holds. It records a deposit when the money arrives, in minor units and in the currency it arrived in, then answers for it: what is held per client and per currency, since when, and what has already gone. Applying a deposit to an invoice writes the payment onto that invoice under both locks, adding to what was already paid rather than replacing it, and it can never pay out more than the deposit still holds or more than the invoice still owes. Refunds hand the money back without touching the invoice, and the statement is one client in one currency, as text or as an A4 PDF that matches the invoice and credit note beside it.

Both servers read one XDG data directory per machine, so `claude mcp add deposits` beside `claude mcp add invoice` at any scope sees the same invoices, the same clients and the same business profile, and the five-deposit monthly allowance is counted once for the box rather than once per project.

What you get in Claude Code

You say	Tool
Record a 500 euro security deposit from Nordic Print, received today.	`deposit_record`
Apply 300 of that deposit to INV-2026-0001.	`deposit_apply`
How much are we holding for Nordic Print, and since when?	`deposit_balance`

deposit_apply ADDS to the invoice's amount paid rather than setting it. Measured through a real client on 2026-09-05: an invoice already carrying a EUR 200.00 bank transfer ended at paid_minor 50000 after a EUR 300.00 deposit was applied, reported as paid EUR 500.00 of EUR 1,230.00 with EUR 730.00 due. Writing this server against the same field is what surfaced that invoice_mark_paid was assigning rather than adding, which silently lost the earlier payment; the invoice server was fixed the same day and now adds too.

Install it in Claude Code

The file is .mcp.json, and the key inside it is mcpServers.

Scope	Path
local (default)	`~/.claude.json, this project only`
project	`.mcp.json at the repository root`
user	`~/.claude.json, every project`

claude mcp add deposits -- npx -y @theluckystrike/mcp-deposits
claude mcp list    # health-check it before the first prompt

# or --scope project, committed to .mcp.json for the team

No restart. The entry is picked up in the next session, and `/mcp` reconnects one on demand.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-deposits is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

There is no hosted endpoint for this one yet. MCP Deposits runs locally over stdio with the config above, which is also the only form in which it reads and writes files on your own disk. Three of the servers in this collection are served at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/<name> over MCP streamable HTTP: time-tracker, price-tracker and invoice.

Claude Code notes worth knowing first

The `--` is load-bearing: it separates Claude Code's own options, such as --transport, --env and --scope, from the command that runs the server. And the default scope is local, private to you and to the directory you ran it in, so adding it in the wrong folder leaves the tools absent with no error at all.

Free: 5 deposits recorded a calendar month, counted by received date. Applying to invoices, refunds, lists, balances and the text statement are unlimited on every tier: a cap that trapped a client's deposit would be a limit on their money rather than on yours. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Which scope should I use for MCP Deposits?

Local, the default, writes ~/.claude.json and is private to you and that directory. --scope project writes .mcp.json at the repository root, shared through version control. --scope user loads it everywhere.

Why did my first prompt ignore the server?

Measured, not documented: of three fresh projects, one first prompt made zero tool calls although initialize answered in 1.05 seconds. Run claude mcp list once first: it prints Connected, and the next run used the tool.

Can I use MCP Deposits without installing anything?

Not yet. MCP Deposits runs locally over stdio, which is also how it reads and writes files on your disk. The hosted endpoints at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp currently cover time-tracker, price-tracker and invoice.

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