Smart 145 can connect to an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT. The assistant can then read your company's work orders, customers, inventory, and employees, and answer questions about them in plain language.
The connection uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP is an open standard that lets an AI assistant call "tools" on an external system. Smart 145 provides an MCP server for each company.
This article explains:
What the MCP service does and what it does not do.
How to configure the connection, step by step.
The tools that are available.
Example questions that you can ask.
Troubleshooting and security notes.
1. What the MCP service does
The assistant reads Smart 145 data. It cannot create, change, or delete records.
The assistant acts as you. It can only see the data that your Smart 145 user can see.
The connection is for internal users (employees) only. Customer portal users cannot use it.
Each company is isolated. A connection to your company's address can never see another company's data.
More modules will be added over time. This article lists the modules available today.
2. Before you start
Make sure that you have these items:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Your company's MCP address | Your normal Smart 145 web address with |
MCP enabled for your company | The feature is off by default. Contact Smart 145 Support at support@smart145.com to enable it. |
A Smart 145 user login | An internal (employee) user. The tools you get match the permissions of this user (see section 4). |
An AI assistant that supports MCP connectors | Claude (web, desktop, or Claude Code), ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible client. |
You do not need an API key or a secret. The assistant finds the connection details from the address. It then opens a Smart 145 sign-in page where you approve the connection.
3. Configure the connection
3.1 Claude (web and desktop app)
Open Claude and go to Settings.
Select Connectors.
Select Add custom connector.
In Name, type
Smart 145.In Remote MCP server URL, paste your company's MCP address:
https://your-company.smart145.com/mcp.Select Add.
Select Connect next to the new connector. A Smart 145 sign-in window opens.
Sign in with your Smart 145 user and password.
On the consent screen, select Approve.
Return to Claude. The Smart 145 tools are now available in your chats.
To use the tools in a chat, make sure that the Smart 145 connector is switched on in the tools menu (the "+" or tools icon in the message box).
3.2 Claude Code (command line)
Run this command in a terminal. Replace your-company with your company's subdomain.
claude mcp add --transport http smart145 https://your-company.smart145.com/mcp
The first time you use a Smart 145 tool, Claude Code opens the sign-in page in your browser. Sign in and approve the connection.
3.3 ChatGPT
The location of the connector settings depends on your ChatGPT plan and workspace.
Open ChatGPT and go to Settings.
Select Connectors (in some workspaces, this is under Apps & Connectors or Developer mode).
Select Create or Add a custom connector.
In Name, type
Smart 145.In MCP server URL, paste
https://your-company.smart145.com/mcp.Set authentication to OAuth and save.
Select Connect. Sign in with your Smart 145 user and approve the connection.
In a chat, enable the Smart 145 connector to use the tools.
3.4 Other MCP clients and your own agents
Point the client at https://your-company.smart145.com/mcp and use the standard OAuth 2.1 authorization code flow. The server publishes its OAuth endpoints at /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server and supports dynamic client registration. No pre-provisioned client ID or secret is required.
Menu names in AI products change over time. If a menu name in this article is different in your product, look for Connectors, Custom connector, or Add MCP server, and use the address above.
4. Available tools
The assistant selects the tool automatically from your question. You do not need to name a tool. This table shows what each tool does and the Smart 145 permission that your user must have.
Module | Tool | What it does | Required permission |
|---|---|---|---|
Work Orders |
| Lists work orders with full details (number, dates, part, status, step, customer, shop, employee, costs, quote figures, addresses, days in shop, labels). Filters: status, date range, exact number, customer. By default it shows only active work; invoiced and closed work orders are included only when you ask for them. Sub work orders are excluded unless you ask for them. | Work Orders: List |
Work Orders |
| Shows one work order by its number. | Work Orders: List |
Work Orders |
| Finds work orders whose number starts with a text. By default it searches Open, Quoted, Approved, and Rejected work orders. Returns up to 50 results. | Work Orders: List |
Work Orders |
| Shows the process steps a work order has moved through, newest first: step name, date, time in step, employee who moved it, overdue flag, and notes. | Work Orders: List |
Customers |
| Lists customers with details (name, number, balance, credit limit and hold, payment terms, contacts, addresses). The assistant uses this list to find the customer you mean, then uses the customer's ID to get that customer's work orders. | Customers: List |
Inventory |
| Lists parts, one row per part number, with the part fields (description, NSN, manufacturer, unit of measure, master cost, sell and list price, serialized, shelf life, alternates) and the Inventory Browser totals (Total In Stock, Total Committed, Total Outside Repair, Total Qty Rejected, Total On Exchange, ALT In Stock). Filters: part number prefix, description word, in stock only (default). | Inventory Browser: List |
Inventory |
| Shows one part number with its stock lines: stock number, serial number, condition, location, warehouse, quantity, committed, on order, on repair, unit cost, price, owner, PO number, received date, shelf life, lot or batch number. Shows up to 200 lines per part. | Inventory Browser: List |
Employees |
| Lists employees as a staff directory: employee number, name, initials, status, employee types (Technician, Inspector, and so on), job title, shop, department, work email and phone, external flag. Only active employees are shown unless you ask for former employees. Wages, personal identifiers, home address, and private contact details are never included. | Employees: List |
Notes:
If your user does not have permission to access a module, the assistant does not see that module's tools.
Long lists are returned in pages of 25 rows (up to 100). Ask the assistant for "the next page" to continue.
Draft (preview) work orders are never shown.
If your company restricts employees to their own records, a user without the "View All Employees" permission sees only their own row, as on the Employees screen.
Money values are in your company's currency.
5. Example questions
You can ask questions in plain language. The assistant selects the tool and the filters.
Work orders
"List our open work orders."
"Which work orders were opened this month?"
"Show me work order 10432."
"Search for work orders that start with 2026-."
"Which quoted work orders are older than 30 days?"
"List the closed work orders from last week."
"Show me the next page."
Work order progress
"Show me the step history of work order 10432."
"Which work orders are overdue in their current step?"
"Who moved work order 10432 to Final Inspection, and when?"
"How long did work order 10432 stay in Quote Approval?"
Customers
"Find the customer Acme Aviation."
"Show me the open work orders for Acme Aviation."
"Which customers are on credit hold?"
"What are the payment terms for Acme Aviation?"
Inventory
"Do we have part number 123-456 in stock? Where, and how many?"
"List the parts whose part number starts with MS20."
"Which bearings do we have in stock?"
"List the parts described as 'filter', including the ones we are out of."
"Show me the serial numbers and conditions of part number 123-456."
"How many units of part number 123-456 are committed or on repair?"
Employees
"Who are our technicians?"
"Find employee Smith and show me their department and shop."
"List the inspectors in the Avionics shop."
"Include former employees in the list."
Combined questions
"Find the customer Acme Aviation, then list their work orders and tell me which ones are still in the shop."
"For work order 10432, show me the current step and the employee who moved it there."
"Which of our open work orders belong to customers on credit hold?"
The assistant can also summarize, count, and compare the data it reads. For example: "Summarize the open work orders by status" or "Compare the days in shop of the open work orders for Acme Aviation."
6. Troubleshooting
Problem | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
"Not authenticated" or a 401 error | The connection was not approved, or the access token expired. | Disconnect and reconnect the connector. Sign in and approve the connection. |
"MCP is not enabled for this company" or a 403 error | The MCP feature is off for your company. | Contact Smart 145 Support to enable it. |
A tool is missing | Your Smart 145 user does not have the permission for that module. | Ask your Smart 145 administrator to give you the permission listed in section 4, then reconnect. |
No Smart 145 tools appear at all | You signed in with a customer portal user. | Sign in with an internal (employee) user. Customer portal users cannot use the MCP tools. |
The data is from the wrong company, or nothing is found | The address does not point to your company. | Check the subdomain in the address: |
The consent screen does not open | A pop-up blocker stopped the sign-in window. | Allow pop-ups for the AI product and try again. |
"Work order not found" or "Part number not found" | The number does not exist, or the record is a draft. | Check the number in Smart 145. Draft (preview) work orders are never shown. |
7. Security
The assistant uses your permissions. It cannot do more than your user can do in Smart 145.
The service is read-only. No tool can create, change, or delete data.
Customer portal users cannot use the tools.
The connection uses OAuth 2.1. No passwords or API keys are stored in the AI product.
To revoke an AI product's access, remove the connector in the AI product. A Smart 145 administrator can also revoke the user's access in Smart 145.
Each company's data stays completely separate.
Need help?
Contact Smart 145 Support at support@smart145.com.