After Years of Price Rises, He Rebuilt the Xero Parts He Uses With Claude and Codex and Cancelled
- Level Advanced
- Setup1–3 hrs (estimated)
- Evidence Anecdotal
- CostNot stated in source
- No-codeNo
What they did
Paying more every year for accounting software? A small business owner says he rebuilt the parts of Xero he actually uses for himself with Claude and Codex, then cancelled his subscription after years of price rises.
How it went
A small private tool that covers the few features you use.
Worth knowing
- One short X post, no details. Accounting software handles tax rules, audit trails and bank feeds; check what your accountant and tax office need before cancelling.
Prompt
Cleaned version rewritten from the source — not a direct quote.
I use [accounting app] only for [features, e.g. invoices, expenses, bank reconciliation]. Help me build a simple private app that does just those things. 1) Export my data from [app]. 2) Build the features one at a time with tests. 3) Keep a backup and an export to CSV. Tell me what I'd lose compared with the paid app, like tax filing links.
Recommended
Try it in Grok Bot
Grok Bot can work with Cursor agents on the same kind of rebuild.
- Copy the prompt (button below).
- Open Grok Bot chat and paste it. Replace any [bracketed] placeholders.
- Connect the listed tools (as needed) as connectors when Grok Bot asks.
- If the task repeats, ask: "Make this a daily routine."
Alternatives: the same prompt works in Claude, Codex, ChatGPT Agent, OpenClaw.
Set it up
Stack: Claude + Codex
- Read the original source for full context.
- Connect the tools your agent needs.
- Paste the prompt and replace [bracketed] placeholders.
- Run once manually and check the output before scheduling it.
Generic suggested steps, not from the source.
Evidence
First-hand X post: reverse-engineered Xero with Claude and Codex, cancelled after years of price rises. Nothing sold
Source: X · 2026-10-21 · Verified by us: not yet · Report broken or outdated