Connect DATEV to Microsoft Copilot: DATEV MCP Connector

Connect DATEV to Copilot

DATEV is the accounting software most German tax consultancies (Steuerberater) work in. With AnythingMCP, Copilot can read your DATEV Mandanten and their DATEV Unternehmen online (DUO) document settings through DATEV's official Online APIs, and you ask for them in plain language instead of clicking through DATEV.

The connector is read-only today: six tools for client master data and document metadata. It does not post bookings, read payroll or upload receipts (see the FAQ below).

What you can ask Copilot

• "List all Mandanten I have access to in DATEV." Uses datev_list_clients.
• "Show the master data for Müller GmbH: consultant number, client number, address." Uses datev_list_clients to find the Mandant, then datev_get_client.
• "Which of my Mandanten use DATEV Unternehmen online for documents?" Uses datev_documents_list_clients.
• "Which document types (Belegtypen) are set up for Müller GmbH?" Uses datev_list_document_types.
• "Which file types can Müller GmbH upload to DUO, and which DUO version are they on?" Uses datev_get_duo_version.
• "Compare my client list with the DUO list and tell me who has no DUO access yet." Uses datev_list_clients and datev_documents_list_clients.

What you need

• An app on the DATEV developer portal, created as a confidential client with the OpenID Connect Authorization Code Flow. Its redirect URI is https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/api/mcp-oauth/callback on AnythingMCP Cloud, or <your AnythingMCP URL>/api/mcp-oauth/callback if you self-host.
• Subscriptions to two API products for that app: accounting:clients 2.0 and accounting:documents 2.0.
• The app's client ID and client secret, which go into DATEV_CLIENT_ID and DATEV_CLIENT_SECRET. The portal shows the secret only once, so copy it in full.
• A DATEV-Konto user with SmartLogin or SmartCard/mIDentity. DATEV has no machine-to-machine access for these APIs: every call runs on behalf of a real DATEV user, and Copilot sees only the Mandanten that user may see.
• DATEV's production approval for live data. Every new DATEV app runs in the sandbox until DATEV approves it. Until then, use the DATEV Online APIs (Sandbox) connector, which is set up for DATEV's test data.

Step 1 — Create the DATEV app

Register at the DATEV developer portal, create the app as described above, subscribe it to accounting:clients 2.0 and accounting:documents 2.0, and note the client ID and secret.

Step 2 — Install the DATEV connector

On AnythingMCP Cloud, open Connectors, pick DATEV Online APIs (or the Sandbox variant) and paste the client ID and secret.

To self-host instead, start AnythingMCP with Docker and install the connector from the store at http://localhost:3000/connectors/store:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HelpCode-ai/anythingmcp/main/docker-compose.quickstart.yml -o docker-compose.yml
printf 'JWT_SECRET=%s\nENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\n' "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d

Step 3 — Sign in with your DATEV-Konto

On the connector page, click Authorize with Provider and log in with your DATEV-Konto. AnythingMCP stores the refresh token encrypted and renews access tokens on its own. Confidential DATEV clients get rolling refresh tokens that last two years. Every call then carries the access token and the X-DATEV-Client-Id header that DATEV requires; you don't set either by hand.

Step 4 — Add it to Microsoft Copilot

Your server URL: in AnythingMCP, open MCP Servers → the server this connector is on, and copy its URL (https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/…). Use it wherever this guide shows YOUR_SERVER_ID.

Microsoft Copilot uses MCP servers through agents built in Copilot Studio: you add AnythingMCP to an agent as a tool, then publish the agent to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams. Copilot Studio connects from Microsoft's cloud over Streamable HTTP, which AnythingMCP supports.

1. In Copilot Studio, open your agent (or create one), go to Tools and choose Add a tool → New tool → Model Context Protocol.
2. Enter a Server name (for example AnythingMCP), a Server description that says what the connector does, and the Server URL https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID. Copilot Studio uses the description to decide when to call the server.
3. Under authentication, choose API key, set Type to Header and the header name to X-API-Key, then select Create.
4. In Add tool, choose Create a new connection, paste an MCP API key from AnythingMCP (MCP Servers → your server → API keys) and select Add to agent.
5. Try it in the agent's Test pane: ask for something that needs the DATEV tools.
6. Select Publish, then Channels → Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, keep Make agent available in Microsoft Copilot selected and choose Add channel. See agent in Teams installs it for you; in Microsoft 365 Copilot, type @ and pick the agent.

Prefer per-user sign-in? Choose OAuth 2.0 → Dynamic discovery instead of an API key: each user then signs in to AnythingMCP the first time the agent calls it.

Self-hosting? Use your instance's public HTTPS address instead of https://cloud.anythingmcp.com. Copilot Studio connects from Microsoft's cloud, so localhost does not work.

Available tools

Every per-client tool takes the Mandant's UUID as clientId. Copilot gets it from datev_list_clients; it is not the same thing as your app's DATEV_CLIENT_ID.

Troubleshooting

• The DATEV login works, but the connection still fails. The token exchange after the login needs the exact client secret. DATEV expects it via HTTP Basic, which the connector does for you, so the usual cause is a secret that was copied incompletely or belongs to a different app. Create a new secret in the portal, paste it again and click Authorize with Provider once more.
• Calls are refused although you are signed in. Check in the portal that the app is subscribed to both accounting:clients 2.0 and accounting:documents 2.0. The document tools need the second one.
• The sandbox works, production does not. Your app has no production approval yet. Stay on the Sandbox connector until DATEV approves the app, then switch to DATEV Online APIs with the same credentials.
• A Mandant is missing. datev_list_clients returns only the Mandanten your DATEV user has rights for, and datev_documents_list_clients only those with active DUO access. Check the user's rights in DATEV rather than the connector.

FAQ

Can Copilot post bookings or upload receipts to DATEV? No. The connector reads client master data and document settings only. Uploading receipts to DUO needs binary file uploads that the connector engine does not handle yet, and bookings, payroll (Lohn) and DMS are separate DATEV API products that this connector does not cover.

Is it free? AnythingMCP is open source under AGPL-3.0, so self-hosting is free, including commercial use inside your own company. AnythingMCP Cloud comes with a 7-day free trial. Access to DATEV itself is governed by your DATEV contract and the developer portal's terms.

Is my data stored by AnythingMCP? Your DATEV client secret and refresh token are stored encrypted (AES-256-GCM) in your workspace and are never shown to Copilot. When Copilot uses a tool, AnythingMCP calls DATEV and passes the result to Copilot, and the call is recorded in your workspace's audit log. AnythingMCP Cloud is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany; if the data must stay on your own infrastructure, self-host AnythingMCP.

Which Copilot is this for? Microsoft 365 Copilot at work, through agents built in Copilot Studio. The Microsoft Copilot app for personal accounts has no option to add your own MCP server.

What do I need? A work account with access to Copilot Studio (a license or a trial) to build the agent. People who use it in Microsoft 365 Copilot or Teams need access to the agent: share it with them, or ask an admin to publish it to the organization. If your organization applies data policies to Power Platform connectors, they cover MCP servers too.

The agent doesn't call the tools. Check that the header name is exactly X-API-Key and that the key belongs to the same MCP server as the URL, and make the server description specific: Copilot Studio uses it to decide when to call the server. Publish the agent again after each change; in an open chat, type "start over" to get the new version.

Next steps

• DATEV MCP server for other AI clients
• Connect DATEV to Claude
• Connect DATEV to ChatGPT
• Connect DATEV to Cursor
• Connect DATEV to Gemini
• Connect DATEV to Meta Muse