**BETA FEATURE** MCP Sever Access - Connecting ChatGPT to shopVOX

Crystal Richard Updated by Crystal Richard

BETA FEATURE:

Connecting ChatGPT to Your shopVOX Data

Beta: This connector is in beta testing. Send feedback and issues to betatest@shopvox.com. Please be aware that responses may take 24-48 hours.

How to connect ChatGPT to shopVOX, so ChatGPT can answer questions about your orders, invoices, quotes, customers and jobs — and make changes for you when you ask.

What Can You Do With It?

Ask questions instead of running a report

Some questions you can ask:

  • How many orders did we take today, Chicago time — and what were they worth?
  • Pull up order 2168 — who is it for, what is the total, and what state is it in?
  • What invoices have we raised lately?
  • How much is still owed on invoice 7001?
  • What quotes are out at the moment?
  • What is in our sales pipeline at the moment?
  • Give me the full picture on Acme Signs — contacts, recent orders, invoices.
  • Where is production on sales order 2168 up to?

You do not need to know shopVOX field names or report screens. ChatGPT decides what to look up.

Make changes

Some changes you can ask for:

  • Add a note to Acme Signs: "Called about the summer campaign."
  • Log a lead called "Mall signage refresh" for a new prospect, Northside Mall. The deal is worth $12,000.
  • Change Sam Reyes's title at Acme Signs to Production Manager.
  • Mark the current step on order 2168's job as finished.

ChatGPT can:

  • create, update and delete companies, contacts, notes and sales leads,
  • create sales orders and update their details (title, dates, PO number, contact, sales rep),
  • create jobs, and start, stop and complete job steps,
  • record payments that you already received.

What ChatGPT cannot do

Some things are not available through the plugin. Do them in shopVOX:

  • Create or change quotes, or turn a quote into an order.
  • Create an invoice, or void or delete one.
  • Add, remove or change the line items on an existing order.
  • Price the line items of a new order with materials, machine time or labor. Each line item on an order that ChatGPT creates has only a name, a quantity and a unit price. Build priced production items in shopVOX.
  • Change the status of an order, or delete an order.
  • Show the whole Production Board, or every job that is late. ChatGPT looks up the jobs of one order, invoice or quote at a time.
  • Take a card or bank payment. ChatGPT only records a payment that you already received.
  • Change many records at once. ChatGPT changes one record at a time.

REQUIRED! Before You Begin

You need:

  • A shopVOX PRO plan with Advanced API access. The plugin does not work on the Express plan.
    • On the newest PRO plan, an admin can turn on Advanced in Settings > API. Advanced adds a monthly charge.
    • If you do not see that screen, or you are not sure, contact shopVOX support.
  • Your shopVOX email and password.
  • A ChatGPT account that can turn on Developer mode.
    • OpenAI offers Developer mode on the Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.
    • To let ChatGPT make changes in shopVOX, OpenAI currently requires a Business, Enterprise or Edu plan. On other plans, ChatGPT can only read.
    • On Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, an admin must first add the plugin for the workspace (see For workspace admins).
  • ChatGPT on the web, at chatgpt.com. The shopVOX plugin does not work in the ChatGPT mobile apps.

shopVOX is not in ChatGPT's plugin directory yet, so you add it yourself with Developer mode. OpenAI shows Developer mode as an "elevated risk" setting because it lets you add plugins that OpenAI has not reviewed. The shopVOX plugin is made by shopVOX and connects only to your own shopVOX account.

Setting It Up

Business, Enterprise and Edu plans: your admin adds the shopVOX plugin for the workspace (see For workspace admins). Then open Plugins in the left sidebar, click shopVOX, connect it, and continue with Step 3.

Step 1: Turn on Developer mode

  1. In ChatGPT, click your name in the bottom-left corner, then click Settings.
  2. Click Security and login.
  3. Under Developer mode, turn on Developer mode.
Screenshot 1

On some accounts the switch is in Settings > Apps > Advanced settings instead. If you cannot find it at all, your plan or your workspace admin does not allow Developer mode.

Step 2: Add the shopVOX plugin

  1. Close Settings. In the left sidebar, click Plugins.
  2. Click the + button next to Search plugins.
Screenshot 2
  1. In the New Plugin window, enter:
    • Name: shopVOX
    • Connection: keep Server URL selected and enter https://mcp.shopvox.com/mcp
    • Authentication: keep OAuth

Leave Icon and Description empty if you like; they are optional.

Screenshot 3
  1. Do not change Advanced OAuth settings, and do not enter a client ID or a secret. ChatGPT reads the sign-in settings from shopVOX and selects Client Identifier Metadata Document (CIMD) for you.
  2. Read the warning, select I understand and want to continue, and click Create.
  3. ChatGPT shows Add shopVOX to ChatGPT. Click Sign in with shopVOX.
Screenshot 4

Step 3: Sign in to shopVOX

  1. The shopVOX sign-in page opens in a new tab. Sign in with your normal shopVOX email and password. If you are already signed in to shopVOX in this browser, this step is skipped.
Screenshot 5
  1. shopVOX asks: "Authorize ChatGPT to use your account?" and shows what ChatGPT will be able to do:
    • Read your shop data — orders, invoices, quotes, customers and jobs.
    • Create, change and delete your shop data — companies, contacts, notes, sales leads, sales orders, jobs and payments. Deleting a company also removes its contacts.
    • Stay connected — so you do not have to sign in again each time.

Click Authorize. If you click Deny, nothing is connected.

Screenshot 6
  1. You return to ChatGPT. The shopVOX plugin now shows your account under Connected accounts, and a list of Actions.

If the list says "No app actions available yet", click Refresh next to Information, below the list.

Screenshot 7

Step 4: Set when ChatGPT asks before it acts

On the same screen, click Permissions and choose when ChatGPT asks you before it uses shopVOX:

  • Always ask — ChatGPT asks before it reads or makes changes.
  • Allow read actions — ChatGPT reads without asking, but asks before it makes changes.
  • Allow low-risk actions (the default) — ChatGPT approves actions it thinks are low-risk without asking you. It can also refuse an action that involves sensitive information.
  • Allow all actions — ChatGPT never asks before it reads or makes changes.

We recommend Allow read actions. Then ChatGPT asks you before every change in shopVOX.

When ChatGPT asks, read the options before you click. Some options also approve future actions through your shopVOX connection, not only this one. To make ChatGPT ask again, change Permissions back to Allow read actions.

Screenshot 8

Step 5: Ask your first question

  1. Open a new chat.
  2. Click + in the message box and select shopVOX. You can also type @shopVOX in the message box.
Screenshot 9
  1. Ask about your shop in your own words.
Screenshot 10

To see what ChatGPT asked shopVOX, click Called tool above the answer.

If ChatGPT does not find what you want on the first try, add more detail: a customer name, an order number or a date range.

Helpful Information

Access and Permissions:
- Reading data: ChatGPT reads shop data from the shopVOX API, including orders, invoices, quotes, payments, customers, contacts, sales leads, and jobs.
- Divisions and role settings: These settings limit what ChatGPT reads for sales orders, invoices, quotes, payments, jobs, and sales leads. They don’t limit companies, contacts, or notes.
- Other role settings: These settings don’t limit what ChatGPT reads. For example, a role that can’t see invoices in shopVOX won’t stop ChatGPT from reading them.

Making changes: ChatGPT can only change what your shopVOX role lets you change.

To let ChatGPT change…

Your role needs

Companies and contacts

Customers: Editable

Sales leads

Sales Lead: Editable

Sales orders

Sales Orders: Editable

Payments

Payments: Editable

Job steps

Jobs: Visible

New jobs

Jobs: Visible and Create Job: Enabled

Notes

nothing extra

Everything ChatGPT does, it does as you.

Making changes in shopVOX

When ChatGPT asks for approval, it shows what it is about to do. Read it carefully before you approve, especially when it deletes something.

  • Deleting does not erase a company, a contact or a sales lead. shopVOX makes it inactive and keeps it. To bring it back, open the record in shopVOX and click Enable Customer (company), Enable Contact (contact) or Mark as Active (sales lead). ChatGPT cannot do this for you.
  • Deleting a company also makes its contacts and addresses inactive. Making the company active again does not do the same for its contacts. Make each contact active again separately
  • A deleted note cannot be brought back. Treat deleting a note as final.
  • Creating a job is not a draft. shopVOX makes the job's first step current at once, so the job goes onto the shop floor immediately.
  • Other changes have no undo. To reverse one, make the opposite change in shopVOX.
  • shopVOX does not remove duplicates. If ChatGPT reports an error after a change, ask it to check whether the record was saved before you ask it again.
Tips for better answers
  • Select shopVOX, or type @shopVOX, when a question needs shopVOX data (Step 5). If ChatGPT answers without looking in shopVOX, ask again with @shopVOX.
  • Say your time zone for questions about "today" or "this week", for example "today, Chicago time". Without it, ChatGPT counts in UTC.
  • Use numbers when you have them: order, invoice or quote numbers find the exact record.

Ask what is switched on: "Check my shopVOX connection." ChatGPT tells you which shopVOX features your account has.

Some actions are missing, or answers are short

Some actions depend on features that are turned on for your shopVOX account. If ChatGPT says it cannot find your orders, invoices or jobs, or it returns only 5 results, ask: "Check my shopVOX connection." Then contact shopVOX support to turn on the missing features.

ChatGPT keeps the list of actions from the time you added the plugin. Refresh and Reconnect do not add new actions. After support makes a change, wait 10 minutes. Then open Settings > Plugins > shopVOX, click ⋯ > Delete, and add the plugin again (Step 2). In a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace, ask your admin (see For workspace admins).

For workspace admins

On ChatGPT Business, only an admin or owner can add the shopVOX plugin. On Enterprise and Edu, a member can add it only if an admin gave them Developer mode access in Permissions & Roles.

Usually an admin or owner adds it once for the workspace:

  1. Turn on Developer mode for yourself (Step 1). On Enterprise and Edu, first give yourself access in Workspace settings > Permissions & Roles.
  2. Create the shopVOX plugin in Workspace settings, with the same values as in Step 2.
  3. Publish it to the workspace. On Enterprise and Edu, use Configure Access to choose which groups can use it. On Business, every member can use it.

Each member then connects the plugin with their own shopVOX login (Step 3), and ChatGPT acts as that member in shopVOX.

ChatGPT does not update a published plugin by itself. When shopVOX adds actions:

  • Enterprise and Edu: open Workspace settings > Apps, click ⋯ next to shopVOX, and click Action control. Click Refresh. New actions start switched off. Turn them on.
  • Business: you cannot update a published plugin. Delete the shopVOX plugin, create it again with the values in Step 2, and publish it again. Then each member connects it again (Step 3).

Other ChatGPT features
  • Deep research can read shopVOX data, but it cannot make changes.
  • Agent mode does not use the shopVOX plugin.

Managing access

Open Settings > Plugins > shopVOX and click ⋯ (top right):

  • Disconnect removes ChatGPT's access to your shopVOX account. To connect again, open Settings > Plugins. If shopVOX is in the list, click it, then click Connect another account. If it is not in the list, add it again (Step 2).
  • Reconnect signs you in to shopVOX again.
  • Delete removes the shopVOX plugin from ChatGPT.

If a person leaves your company, deactivate their shopVOX user. Their ChatGPT connection then stops working at once. To stop all access from the shopVOX side, contact shopVOX support.

Troubleshooting

What you see

What to do

There is no + button on the Plugins page

Turn on Developer mode (Step 1). If you cannot turn it on, your ChatGPT plan or your workspace admin does not allow it.

"CIMD is unavailable because the server did not advertise CIMD support." under Advanced OAuth settings

Check the URL: https://mcp.shopvox.com/mcp. If the URL is correct, contact shopVOX support.

"No app actions available yet"

Open Settings > Plugins > shopVOX and click Refresh.

ChatGPT says it can only read, not make changes

Open Settings > Plugins > shopVOX, click ⋯ > Delete, and add the plugin again (Step 2).

Every request fails

Check that your shopVOX user is active and that your account has Advanced API access.

Need Help?

If you cannot connect, or ChatGPT's answers do not look right, contact shopVOX support.

Beta: This connector is in beta testing. Send feedback and issues to betatest@shopvox.com. Please be aware that responses may take 24-48 hours.

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