How to Connect ServiceM8 to Claude
ServiceM8 holds your jobs, quotes, schedule, staff time, materials and payments. Claude can answer questions about all of it in natural language, but only if it has a way to reach the data. There are now two ways to connect ServiceM8 to Claude: ServiceM8's own MCP connector, which is built for running the day's work, and Tugger, which syncs your ServiceM8 data into a managed warehouse for reporting. This guide covers both, and when you'd use each.
What you can ask once ServiceM8 is connected to Claude
Either route lets Claude read your ServiceM8 records and answer questions from your own numbers. With Tugger, your ServiceM8 data syncs on a schedule into a managed data warehouse, and Claude queries that warehouse through Tugger's read-only MCP server, so it never touches ServiceM8 directly.
Typical questions:
- What did we invoice by month and by job category over the last twelve months?
- What is our quote win rate, and how does it vary by staff member?
- Which completed jobs still have no payment recorded, and what do they add up to?
- How many hours did each technician record last week, and how much of that was travel?
- Which materials carry the highest margin, and which are we selling at cost?
Claude writes the query, runs it, and explains the result. You can follow up in the same conversation, ask for a chart, or ask Claude to break a figure down by client or category.
ServiceM8's own Claude connector
ServiceM8 provides a hosted MCP server that you add to Claude as a custom connector. It's aimed at operational tasks: finding a client, checking who's free, booking a job, sending a message. On an individual Claude plan:
- In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors.
- Click the plus icon and choose Add custom connector.
- Name it "ServiceM8" and enter the server URL https://api.servicem8.com/mcp.
- Click Add, then Connect, and sign in to ServiceM8 to authorise access.
- In a new conversation, open the connectors menu and switch ServiceM8 on.
On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner has to add the connector under Organization settings first; after that, each person connects it from their own Connectors page. Once it's on, Claude can search clients and jobs, list staff and queues, read job diaries and notes, create jobs from templates, add notes, check availability, schedule bookings, change job status, and send job-linked emails and SMS messages.
Where the official connector stops
ServiceM8's connector is a good way to work ServiceM8 from a chat window. It's less suited to reporting, for four reasons.
- Write access. The official connector can create jobs, move them between queues, change status and send messages to clients. That's useful on a Monday morning and a risk when you only wanted a number. Tugger's MCP server is read-only by design, so a mistyped question can't change anything in ServiceM8.
- History and trends. Questions such as "invoiced value by category for the last twelve months" or "quote win rate by staff member" need every job, every line and every payment. The official connector works through ServiceM8's actions one lookup at a time; it isn't built to aggregate a year of records.
- Cross-system questions. ServiceM8 doesn't hold your accounts. Matching ServiceM8 invoices to Xero or QuickBooks payments, or comparing field hours with payroll, needs both systems in one place.
- Consistency. With a direct connection, Claude rebuilds its understanding of your data on every question and can take a different path each time. With a warehouse, the tables, names and relationships are fixed, so the same question gives the same answer next week.
The two aren't exclusive. You can keep the official connector for scheduling and messaging, and use Tugger for the questions that need the whole dataset.
What you need
- A Tugger account. You can start a free 10-day trial if you don't have one.
- Admin access to your ServiceM8 account, so you can authorise the connection.
- A Claude plan that supports connectors (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise).
Step 1: connect ServiceM8 to Tugger
Tugger's ServiceM8 connector authenticates with ServiceM8 directly, so there are no API keys to generate.
- Log in to Tugger, go to Connectors and choose ServiceM8.
- Give the connector a name, such as "ServiceM8", and choose the date you want history to start from.
- Click Connect. You'll be sent to ServiceM8 to sign in and authorise Tugger.
- Approve the access request and you'll be returned to Tugger.
Once saved, Tugger runs a first sync and then refreshes on a schedule. You can see sync status and history in the Tugger dashboard. If you use the ServiceM8 Assets, Inventory or Material Bundles add-ons, those tables fill as part of the same sync.
Step 2: add Tugger's MCP server to Claude
- In Tugger, open AI Insights and copy your MCP server URL.
- In Claude, go to Settings, then Connectors.
- Choose Add custom connector.
- Name it "Tugger" and paste the MCP server URL.
- Click Add, then Connect, and sign in to Tugger when prompted.
In any new chat, open the connectors menu and switch Tugger on. Claude can now see the tables Tugger has synced from ServiceM8.
Step 3: ask your first question
Start with something simple to confirm the connection is working:
"Show me invoiced value by job category for the last three months."
Claude will identify the relevant tables, run the query and return the result. From there you can ask follow-ups, request a chart, or ask Claude to explain how it built the query.
What syncs from ServiceM8
Tugger brings across the full job lifecycle plus the configuration tables you need to label it properly.
| Data | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Jobs | Every job from quote to work order to completed or unsuccessful, with quote, invoice and completion dates, totals and site address |
| Job materials and labour lines | Each invoice line with quantity, price, cost and tax rate |
| Job payments | Deposits, partial and final payments by method |
| Job activities and allocations | Scheduled bookings, recorded check-ins and travel, and daily run-sheet allocations by staff member |
| Clients and contacts | Companies and individuals, their contacts, and per-job contacts |
| Staff and security roles | Technicians, dispatchers and admins, with the role that governs their permissions |
| Categories, queues and allocation windows | The labels your dispatch board runs on |
| Materials, bundles and suppliers | Your catalogue with price, cost and stock; bundles and suppliers need the matching add-on |
| Assets and asset types | Customer equipment you service, with custom fields; needs the Assets add-on |
| Forms and form responses | On-site checks and sign-offs, with the captured answers |
| Checklists, tasks and notes | Job checklist items, standalone tasks and free-text notes, including action-required flags |
| Attachments, inbox messages and feedback | Photo and document records, inbound emails, SMS and online bookings, and customer ratings |
If you need an entity that isn't listed, ask us. Tugger's ServiceM8 connector is extended based on customer requests.
Which should you use?
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Book a job, move it to a queue or message a client from Claude | ServiceM8's connector |
| Check today's schedule or who's free this afternoon | ServiceM8's connector |
| Report on revenue, win rates, hours or margin over months or years | Tugger |
| Combine ServiceM8 with Xero, QuickBooks or a payroll system | Tugger |
| Give the office read-only access to the numbers without ServiceM8 logins | Tugger |
| Feed the same data to Power BI or Tableau as well as Claude | Tugger |
Tugger is UK-based and ISO 27001:2022 certified. Your warehouse is hosted on Azure, in the UK by default or any Azure region on request, and the same warehouse feeds Power BI and Tableau if you use them. Tugger's MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini.
Related guides
- Why Claude needs a data warehouse
- What is an MCP server?
- Simpro MCP server guide
- How to connect Xero to Claude
- How to connect QuickBooks to Claude
- How to connect Breathe HR to Claude
- How to build a Claude dashboard
Get started
Connecting ServiceM8 to Claude with Tugger takes no code and no faff. Try Tugger free for 10 days or book a demo and we'll walk through it with your own ServiceM8 data.
