---
title: ClearBooks API Integration on Truto
slug: clearbooks
category: Accounting
canonical: "https://truto.one/integrations/detail/clearbooks/"
---

# ClearBooks API Integration on Truto



**Category:** Accounting  
**Status:** Built on request

## How it works

1. **Link your customer's ClearBooks account.** Use Truto's frontend SDK; we handle every OAuth and API key flow so you don't need to create the OAuth app.
2. **Authentication is automatic.** Truto refreshes tokens, stores credentials securely, and injects them into every API request.
3. **Call Truto's API to reach ClearBooks.** The Proxy API is a 1-to-1 mapping of the ClearBooks API.
4. **Get a unified response format.** Every response uses a single shape, with cursor-based pagination and data in the `result` field.

## Use cases

- **Sync sales data into ClearBooks with correct UK VAT treatment** — E-commerce platforms and PoS systems can automatically push daily sales summaries or individual transactions into ClearBooks as Sales Invoices, mapping line items to the correct VAT rates (Standard, Reduced, Zero-rated) so UK merchants stay MTD-compliant without manual data entry.
- **Automate expense coding for UK corporate card programs** — Spend management and expense tracking SaaS can push card transactions and receipt data into ClearBooks as Bills or Expenses, pre-coded to the user's Chart of Accounts and VAT rates — eliminating month-end reconciliation headaches for finance teams.
- **Push payroll journals to keep wage accounts accurate** — HR and payroll platforms serving UK businesses can post summarized Journal Entries to ClearBooks after each pay run, updating wage expenses, PAYE liabilities, and pension accounts without exposing individual employee details in the ledger.
- **Generate CIS-compliant subcontractor bills for construction SaaS** — Vertical SaaS for UK construction can push approved subcontractor timesheets as Bills into ClearBooks, which natively calculates CIS tax deductions — keeping contractors HMRC-compliant and eliminating dual data entry between project management and accounting.
- **Reconcile marketplace payments against open invoices** — B2B marketplaces and payment platforms can push Payment objects to ClearBooks and allocate them against outstanding invoices, automatically marking them as paid and saving users from manual bank reconciliation.

## What you can build

- **Chart of Accounts & VAT rate mapper** — Pull your end user's ClearBooks nominal codes and UK tax rates into your app so they can map your product categories to the right accounts and VAT treatments before any data flows.
- **Automated invoice creation with line-item detail** — Generate fully itemized Sales Invoices in ClearBooks from orders, deals, or billing events in your platform — complete with contact lookup, VAT calculation, and correct account coding.
- **Two-way contact sync for customers and suppliers** — Search ClearBooks for existing Contacts by name or email before creating records, ensuring invoices and bills always attach to the right entity without duplicates.
- **Real-time payment reconciliation** — When a payment clears in your platform, push a Payment object to ClearBooks and allocate it to the matching open invoice so the user's books are always up to date.
- **Receipt-attached expense push** — Send categorized expenses with receipt image URLs directly into ClearBooks, pre-coded with the correct VAT rate and nominal account so MTD returns are populated automatically.
- **Payroll journal entry sync** — Post summarized payroll journals to ClearBooks after each pay cycle, correctly splitting amounts across wage, tax, NI, and pension liability accounts.

## FAQs

### What authentication method does ClearBooks use?

ClearBooks uses API key-based authentication. Your end users generate an API key from their ClearBooks account settings, which Truto securely stores and manages on your behalf — no OAuth flow required.

### Is the ClearBooks API REST or SOAP?

ClearBooks historically provided a SOAP-based API. Truto abstracts this entirely, so you interact with a clean REST-style interface regardless of the underlying protocol.

### What objects can I read and write through the ClearBooks integration?

Common objects include Contacts (Customers & Suppliers), Invoices, Bills, Credit Notes, Payments, Expenses, Journal Entries, Chart of Accounts (Nominal Codes), and Tax Rates. Specific tools are built on request — contact Truto to prioritize the endpoints you need.

### Are there rate limits I need to worry about?

ClearBooks enforces rate limits on their API. Truto handles rate limit detection, backoff, and retry logic automatically so your integration doesn't break during high-volume syncs.

### Is ClearBooks only relevant for UK-based end users?

Yes. ClearBooks is built exclusively for the UK market, with native support for HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD), CIS, and UK VAT schemes. If your product serves UK small businesses, accountants, or contractors, this integration is highly relevant.

### What if I need a ClearBooks endpoint that isn't available yet?

Truto builds ClearBooks tools on request. Share your required data models and workflows, and the team will scope and deliver them — typically without you needing to read ClearBooks API documentation at all.