BSimple MCP — Inventory Data for AI Assistants

BSimple MCP for AI Assistants

BSimple MCP is a controlled Model Context Protocol adapter for AI assistants. It lets an authorised assistant answer questions about selected BSimple customers, inventory, suppliers, locations, reorder data, stocktakes, purchase orders, transfers, invoices and leads using the same account-scoped permissions as the BSimple API.

Use MCP when a person wants to explore operational data conversationally. Use the BSimple Public API when a developer needs deterministic application behaviour, writes, scheduled synchronisation or a customer-facing workflow.

What an assistant can do

An MCP-compatible assistant can use read-only tools to:

MCP does not create, edit, approve, send or pay records. It cannot run SQL, browse arbitrary URLs, proxy arbitrary REST routes, accept arbitrary headers, select another account or accept a key as a tool argument.

Connect a remote MCP client

The production Streamable HTTP endpoint is:

https://mcp.bsimple.com.au/mcp

A provider-neutral configuration shape is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bsimple": {
      "url": "https://mcp.bsimple.com.au/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <BSIMPLE_API_MCP_KEY>",
        "Accept": "application/json, text/event-stream"
      }
    }
  }
}

This is an example shape, not a claim that every client uses the same file. Follow the selected client's current remote MCP configuration instructions and store the secret in its approved secret store. Never paste a real key into chat, a prompt, a screenshot, source control or a shared configuration file.

For Dev-only testing, use the separate endpoint and a key created in the Dev BSimple environment:

https://dev.mcp.bsimple.com.au/mcp

A Dev key is not accepted by production, and a production key must not be used for Dev testing. The public HTTP service has no shared service-wide MCP token.

Create the right key

Create an API/MCP key in the BSimple account and slice the assistant should read. Name the key after its purpose, grant the smallest useful read scopes and keep a separate key for each assistant or environment. The secret is shown once and stored by BSimple as a hash.

The assistant can only read data permitted by that key. A useful inventory assistant may need inventory:read, locations:read and reorder:read; an invoice-review assistant may need customers:read and invoices:read. Do not grant write scopes for MCP's current read-only tool set.

Instructions for LLM consumers

When consuming BSimple through MCP, an assistant should:

1. Treat the returned BSimple data as the source of truth for the connected account and the time of the response.
2. State when a result is empty, filtered, paginated or unavailable instead of filling the gap with an assumption.
3. Preserve the user's account, location, date and status constraints; ask a clarifying question when they are ambiguous.
4. Follow pagination metadata for list tools and avoid presenting a first page as a complete total.
5. Distinguish current stock, PAR targets, reorder recommendations, stocktake progress, purchase orders and transfers; they are not interchangeable facts.
6. Explain that MCP is read-only. Do not claim that an order, invoice, stock adjustment or approval was created from an MCP response.
7. Minimise sensitive detail in the answer and never reveal, repeat or transform the API/MCP key.
8. Identify the BSimple environment when it matters. Never combine Dev and production results.

A conversational answer is not a substitute for an authorised business decision. Confirm important quantities, customer identity and invoice status in BSimple before acting on them.

Check readiness and troubleshoot

GET https://mcp.bsimple.com.au/healthz is an unauthenticated liveness check. A healthy response does not prove that credentials or MCP compatibility are ready.

Authenticated readiness requires, in order:

1. A matching production key.
2. A successful MCP initialize request.
3. A successful tools/list request.
4. A successful read-only tool call allowed by the key's scopes.

A 401 normally means the bearer credential is missing, invalid or revoked. A 403 indicates an upstream account or scope boundary. Check the endpoint, environment, TLS and client transport support before changing permissions.

MCP, REST and a BSimple trial

MCP is for asking questions about live BSimple operations. REST is for building software around those operations. Both depend on the same account-scoped API permissions and the product features available to the account.

If you are evaluating BSimple rather than building an integration, start a free trial and manage your inventory, customers, orders and invoices in a real account. You can then decide whether you need an AI assistant, a custom API connection, a native integration, or simply a clearer operational system.

For implementation details, read the API reference and getting-started guide. For native and custom connection choices, see BSimple Integrations.