# RareMargin

> RareMargin is an AI-native general ledger with continuous close for finance teams at SaaS companies.

RareMargin is a general ledger where revenue, amortization and accruals post the day they happen. AI drafts the entries you would write by hand, and nothing reaches the books until a person approves it. Month-end becomes a review, not a scramble.

- Website: https://raremargin.com/
- Pricing: https://raremargin.com/pricing ($99 a month per company, 14-day free trial, no card needed)
- Start a trial: https://raremargin.com/signup
- Contact: support@raremargin.com

## Built into the ledger

- **ASC 606 revenue schedules.** Each contract becomes a schedule that posts its revenue on time.
- **Double entry, always balanced.** An entry that does not balance never reaches the ledger.
- **SHA-256 hash chain.** Every posting is chained to the one before, so an edit cannot hide.
- **Approvals and segregation of duties.** Rules route entries to a reviewer, and nobody approves their own.
- **Multi-entity and FX.** Subsidiaries, currencies and exchange rates in one set of books.
- **REST API and MCP.** A versioned API, webhooks and an MCP server for AI agents.

## The command center

Everything waiting on a person, on one screen: entries to approve, matches to confirm and accruals the assistant proposed, beside cash, ARR, runway and the controls that check the books.

## Every subledger posts to one ledger

Billing, spend and cash don't sync into the books overnight. They are the books, so every report reads the same posted entries.

### Revenue: contracts in, recognized revenue out

- **Schedules from contracts.** ASC 606 schedules post revenue as each service period arrives; deferred revenue rolls forward on its own.
- **Invoices and collections.** AR aging by customer, and bank receipts matched to invoices.
- **SaaS metrics from the ledger.** MRR waterfall, ARR, NRR and GRR, from the same contracts that drive revenue.

### Spend: bills in, accruals before you ask

- **Bills and vendors.** AP aging by vendor, and spend by vendor, department or account.
- **Accruals, suggested.** When a regular vendor's bill hasn't arrived, the accrual is suggested for you, and it reverses itself next month.
- **Prepaids that amortize.** Amortization posts monthly from the schedule, not from a spreadsheet.

### Cash and close: cash matched, controls always on

- **Bank matching you can explain.** Every suggestion shows its score and the factors behind it.
- **Controls that never sleep.** Trial balance, tie-outs, closed periods, suspense and the hash chain, checked continuously.
- **A close that is a checklist.** By month-end the postings are done; what is left is review and sign-off.

## The assistant: AI drafts the entries, people approve them

Ask about the books, or have it draft the entry. Whatever it proposes goes to the approval queue, and only a person can post it. Each question counts toward the company's monthly assistant allowance (300 messages a month on a subscription, 50 during the trial).

## By the numbers

- **0** entries the assistant or an MCP client can post without a person approving them.
- **13** reports read straight from the ledger, from the trial balance to a 13-week cash forecast.
- **SHA-256** seal on every posted entry, chained so a change to any one of them shows.
- **14** days to try all of it, on your books or on a sample company with 14 months of history.

## Developers

The app, the REST API, webhooks and the MCP server all run on the same services, so a script gets exactly the rules a person does.

- **REST API at /v1.** Decimal-string amounts, idempotent writes, signed cursors and RFC 9457 errors. API keys carry a role, and their writes go through the same approval rules as anyone's.
- **MCP server at /mcp.** Connect Claude or any MCP client to the same tools the assistant uses. Write tools create approval requests, never postings.
- **Webhooks.** Signed with HMAC-SHA256, sent from a transactional outbox, retried with backoff, and every delivery logged in Settings.

## Pricing

One plan, every feature: $99 a month per company. No modules to unlock and no add-ons for the assistant or the API. Taxes are added at checkout where they apply.

Included: Double-entry general ledger, multi-entity and multi-currency; ASC 606 revenue schedules from contracts, with deferred revenue; Invoices, collections and AR aging; Bills, vendors, AP aging, suggested accruals and prepaid amortization; Bank matching with explained scores, and a 13-week cash forecast; Continuous controls and a close checklist; SHA-256 hash chain over every posted entry; Approval rules with materiality tiers and segregation of duties; 13 reports, from the trial balance to SaaS metrics (MRR, ARR, NRR, GRR); AI assistant that drafts entries for approval; REST API, MCP server and signed webhooks.

How the trial works:
1. **Sign up.** The company gets 14 days of full access and 50 assistant messages. Start from your own books or a sample company.
2. **Subscribe.** An owner or admin subscribes from Settings → Billing. Days left on the trial carry over, so nothing is charged until it ends.
3. **Or don't.** When a trial ends without a subscription, the company becomes read-only. Nothing is deleted, and everyone can still read and export the books.

## Questions

### What is RareMargin?

RareMargin is an AI-native general ledger with continuous close for finance teams at SaaS companies. Revenue schedules, amortization, accruals and bank matching post to one double-entry ledger as they happen, AI drafts the entries you would write by hand, and nothing reaches the books until a person approves it.

### What is continuous close?

Continuous close keeps the books closed through the month instead of catching up at the end of it. In RareMargin, recognized revenue and amortization post on schedule, accruals are suggested when a regular bill hasn’t arrived, bank lines are matched as they come in, and controls such as the trial balance and tie-outs are checked continuously. By month-end the postings are done, and the close is a review and sign-off.

### Who is RareMargin for?

RareMargin is for controllers, accountants and finance leads at SaaS companies who recognize subscription revenue under ASC 606, run more than one entity or currency, and want month-end to be a review rather than a scramble.

### How much does RareMargin cost?

RareMargin costs $99 a month per company, with every feature included: the ledger, revenue and AR, spend and AP, cash, the close, 13 reports, the AI assistant and the API. Every company starts with a 14-day free trial, and no card is needed to start.

### Does the AI post entries to the ledger by itself?

No. RareMargin’s assistant and any MCP client can only propose an entry. Each proposal goes to the approval queue with its reasoning, and it posts only after a person approves it. Approval rules also enforce segregation of duties, so nobody approves their own entry.

### Does RareMargin handle ASC 606 revenue recognition?

Yes. RareMargin turns each customer contract into a revenue schedule that posts recognized revenue as each service period arrives, deferred revenue rolls forward on its own, and MRR, ARR, NRR and GRR are read from the same contracts.

### Can I connect Claude or another AI agent to my books?

Yes. RareMargin runs a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at /mcp with the same tools as the built-in assistant, and Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex connect to it with an API key. Write tools create approval requests, never postings. A versioned REST API at /v1 and signed webhooks cover scripts and integrations.

### How does RareMargin compare with Rillet, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite?

RareMargin is self-serve at $99 a month per company, with a published price. Rillet is sold through a demo, with a managed implementation and SOC 2 reports; QuickBooks Online suits small businesses; NetSuite is a full ERP on an annual license.

### Can I try RareMargin without my own data?

Yes. RareMargin can start you on a sample SaaS company with 14 months of history: contracts, invoices, bills, bank lines and a closed ledger to explore for 14 days.

### Do I need a card to start the trial?

No. RareMargin’s trial needs no card: sign up, use everything, and add a card only when you subscribe.

### What counts as an assistant message?

Each question you send RareMargin’s assistant is one message, whatever tools it uses to answer. A subscribed company gets 300 a month, counted per calendar month in UTC; a trial gets 50.

### What happens when the trial ends?

If nobody has subscribed, the company becomes read-only in RareMargin: nothing is deleted, reports and CSV downloads keep working, and subscribing turns writing back on straight away.

### Can I cancel?

Yes, any time, from the billing portal in RareMargin’s Settings → Billing. You keep full access until the end of the period you have paid for.

### Who handles the payment?

Dodo Payments, RareMargin’s merchant of record. They take the payment, send the invoice and collect sales tax or VAT where it is due.

### Do you give refunds?

Yes. RareMargin gives a full refund within 14 days of your first payment; the refund policy has the details. If you were charged by mistake, write to us and we will sort it out.

### Can I get my data out?

Yes. Every RareMargin report downloads as CSV, and the REST API reads every account, entry, contract, invoice and bill.

## RareMargin vs Rillet

https://raremargin.com/compare/raremargin-vs-rillet · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin and Rillet are both AI-native general ledgers built for continuous close. Rillet is sold through a demo, with a CPA-led implementation, native integrations and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II reports. RareMargin is self-serve at $99 a month per company, and its AI can only propose entries that a person approves.

|  | RareMargin | Rillet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $99 a month per company, published, every feature included | Not published; the pricing page books a demo with sales |
| How you start | Sign up and use it the same day, with a 14-day free trial and no card | Book a demo with sales |
| Implementation | Self-serve, from your own books or a sample company | 4–6 weeks, led by CPAs, according to Rillet |
| AI | An assistant that answers questions and drafts entries; a person approves each draft before it posts | Aura AI, an assistant you can ask about the general ledger |
| Integrations | REST API, MCP server and signed webhooks; bank lines by CSV or the API | Native integrations, including Salesforce, Stripe, HubSpot, Ramp, Brex, BILL, Rippling and Plaid |
| Security reports | None yet | SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II |
| Sign-in | Email and password, with optional two-factor sign-in through an authenticator app | SSO through Google, Microsoft Entra or Rippling |
| Customers | New: launched in 2026 | 800+ customers in 70+ countries, according to Rillet |

### What is the difference between RareMargin and Rillet?

Rillet is a sales-led ERP with a CPA-led implementation and audited security reports; RareMargin is a self-serve general ledger with a published price.

Both keep the books closed through the month instead of catching up at month-end, both are built around SaaS revenue, and both have an AI assistant. They differ in how you buy them, how much is done for you, and how far the AI may go.

Rillet’s team implements the system and takes ownership of the data migration. Its website quotes 4–6 weeks led by CPAs, and support from a customer success manager and CPA team in a dedicated Slack channel. RareMargin is set up by your own team: sign up, start from your books or from a sample SaaS company with 14 months of history, and subscribe when the books are in.

### Is RareMargin a Rillet alternative?

Yes, for SaaS finance teams that want to start without a sales process: RareMargin is the self-serve alternative to Rillet, at $99 a month per company with a 14-day trial.

RareMargin covers the same core: a double-entry general ledger across entities and currencies, ASC 606 revenue schedules from contracts, bills and accruals, bank matching, a close checklist with continuous controls, and an AI assistant. It does not yet match Rillet’s integrations, security reports or single sign-on, covered below.

### How much do RareMargin and Rillet cost?

RareMargin costs $99 a month per company, with every feature included. Rillet doesn’t publish its prices; its pricing page asks you to book a demo with sales.

RareMargin’s plan includes the ledger, revenue and AR, spend and AP, cash, the close, 13 reports, the AI assistant (300 messages a month) and the API, with no per-user fee. Dodo Payments, the merchant of record, takes the payment, and a subscription can be cancelled at any time.

### Which is better if you need SOC 2 reports or SSO?

Rillet. It shows SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II reports and offers SSO through Google, Microsoft Entra and Rippling; RareMargin has neither yet.

Rillet’s security page also lists AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2 or later in transit, hosting on AWS, automated monitoring and penetration tests.

RareMargin has optional two-factor sign-in, four roles (owner, admin, accountant and viewer), approval rules with segregation of duties, and a SHA-256 hash chain over every posted entry, so a change to any past entry shows. If your auditors or customers ask for a SOC 2 report today, choose Rillet.

### Which has more integrations?

Rillet. Its integrations page lists native connections to tools such as Salesforce, Stripe, HubSpot, Ramp, Brex, BILL and Plaid; RareMargin connects through its API instead.

RareMargin has a REST API at /v1, webhooks for 34 event types and an MCP server for AI agents. Bank transactions come in by CSV upload or through the API, because RareMargin has no direct bank connections yet. A team that wants its billing, CRM and spend tools connected without writing code is better served by Rillet today.

### How do the AI assistants differ?

RareMargin’s assistant can read the books and draft entries, but it can’t post them: each draft waits in the approval queue for a person with the right role.

The same rule covers any AI agent connected through RareMargin’s MCP server. Of the 17 tools the assistant and MCP clients share, 15 only read and 2 propose a journal entry or an accrual. Agents and API keys can’t approve anything, and nobody can approve an entry they submitted.

Rillet’s assistant is Aura AI, which answers questions about the general ledger. The Rillet pages we read don’t say what Aura may change in the books, so ask in the demo.

### Should I choose RareMargin or Rillet?

Choose Rillet for a managed implementation, native integrations and SOC 2 reports now; choose RareMargin to start today, on a published price, with AI that only proposes.

- Rillet fits a company that wants its ERP implemented and its data migrated for it, needs SOC reports or single sign-on, or relies on integrations with tools such as Salesforce and Stripe.
- RareMargin fits a SaaS finance team that wants to try the product on its own data today, pay $99 a month per company, keep AI agents behind approvals, and connect its own tools through an API, webhooks and MCP.

Sources, read 2026-11-03:
- [Rillet: home page](https://www.rillet.com/)
- [Rillet: pricing, with its comparison to NetSuite](https://www.rillet.com/pricing)
- [Rillet: security](https://www.rillet.com/security)
- [Rillet: integrations](https://www.rillet.com/integrations)

## RareMargin vs QuickBooks Online

https://raremargin.com/compare/raremargin-vs-quickbooks-online · Updated 2026-11-03

QuickBooks Online is small-business accounting, with low entry prices, direct bank connections and decades of Intuit behind it. RareMargin is a general ledger for SaaS finance teams, with ASC 606 revenue schedules, multi-entity consolidation and a continuous close in one plan at $99 a month per company.

|  | RareMargin | QuickBooks Online |
| --- | --- | --- |
| List price a month | $99 a month per company | Simple Start $38, Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340, often discounted for the first months |
| Users | No per-user fee | 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced |
| ASC 606 revenue recognition | In the plan: schedules from contracts, allocated by standalone selling price | Listed among the Advanced plan’s features |
| More than one entity | Subsidiaries in one company, consolidated, with intercompany balances eliminated | Intuit points multi-entity organizations to Intuit Enterprise Suite |
| Bank transactions | CSV upload or the API; no direct bank connections yet | Direct bank connections |
| AI | Drafts entries and accruals; a person approves each before it posts | Categorizes expenses and answers questions in chat, some of it in beta |
| Track record | New: launched in 2026 | 40+ years and millions of customers, according to Intuit |

### Is RareMargin a QuickBooks Online alternative?

Yes, for SaaS companies that have outgrown it: RareMargin is the QuickBooks Online alternative that adds ASC 606 revenue schedules, multi-entity consolidation and continuous controls.

QuickBooks Online is built for small businesses in general: invoices and estimates, expenses, sales tax and bank connections. SaaS companies tend to outgrow it when deferred revenue, several entities or currencies, and month-end reconciliations start living in spreadsheets beside it.

RareMargin keeps those inside the ledger. Each customer contract becomes a revenue schedule, subsidiaries consolidate into a reporting currency with intercompany balances eliminated, and 11 controls check the books continuously.

### How much do RareMargin and QuickBooks Online cost?

RareMargin costs $99 a month per company, with every feature and no per-user fee. QuickBooks Online lists $38 to $340 a month, depending on the plan and how many users you need.

| QuickBooks Online plan | List price a month | Users |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Simple Start | $38 | 1 |
| Essentials | $85 | 3 |
| Plus | $140 | 5 |
| Advanced | $340 | 25 |

These are Intuit’s US list prices before its introductory discounts, as its website showed them on the date below.

### When is QuickBooks Online the better choice?

When you run a small business that needs simple bookkeeping, direct bank connections, sales tax and invoicing, for less than RareMargin costs.

QuickBooks Online also comes with Intuit’s 40-plus years in accounting software, millions of customers and app integrations. If you have one entity and no revenue to defer, it is likely the simpler choice.

### When is RareMargin the better choice?

When you recognize subscription revenue under ASC 606, run more than one entity or currency, and want month-end to be a review rather than a rebuild.

- Revenue: contracts become schedules that post recognized revenue as each service period arrives, and deferred revenue is checked against billings less recognition.
- Entities and currencies: each subsidiary keeps its own functional currency and consolidates into the reporting currency, with the translation difference in CTA.
- Close: a checklist of 11 tasks, 8 of which check themselves, and 11 controls that run continuously.
- AI with approvals: the assistant drafts entries, and a person approves each one before it posts.
- Developers: a REST API, signed webhooks and an MCP server, in the one plan.

### How do I move from QuickBooks Online to RareMargin?

Set up your accounts, post opening balances as a journal entry, add customers, contracts and vendors, and import bank lines from CSV; RareMargin has no one-click import yet.

Most of this can be scripted against RareMargin’s REST API, which creates accounts, journal entries, customers, contracts, vendors and bills. Run both systems side by side for a month before you switch, and compare the trial balances.

Sources, read 2026-11-03:
- [QuickBooks Online: plans and pricing](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [QuickBooks Online Plus](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/online/plus/)
- [QuickBooks Online Advanced](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/online/advanced/)

## RareMargin vs NetSuite

https://raremargin.com/compare/raremargin-vs-netsuite · Updated 2026-11-03

NetSuite is a full cloud ERP, sold on an annual license with a one-time implementation fee. RareMargin is a general ledger and continuous close for SaaS finance teams, self-serve at $99 a month per company, published.

|  | RareMargin | NetSuite |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing | $99 a month per company, published, every feature included | An annual license made of the core platform, optional modules and the number of users, plus a one-time implementation fee; no public price |
| How you start | Self-serve sign-up and a 14-day free trial, no card | Through sales, with a guided test drive |
| Scope | General ledger, revenue and AR, AP, cash, close, controls and reports | A full ERP suite, including order management and fulfillment |
| Revenue recognition | ASC 606 schedules from contracts, allocated by standalone selling price, recognized daily, evenly by period or at a point in time | Rules per product or service, allocation by standalone selling price, and subscription, fulfillment, milestone, percentage-of-completion and time-and-materials models |
| Customers | New: launched in 2026 | 44,000+ businesses, according to NetSuite |

### What is the difference between RareMargin and NetSuite?

NetSuite is an ERP that runs a whole business, from orders and fulfillment to the financials; RareMargin is only the finance part: the ledger, revenue, AP, cash and the close.

That difference decides most of the rest. NetSuite is fitted to each company through modules and an implementation project. RareMargin has one plan, the same for every company, which a finance team sets up itself.

### Is RareMargin a NetSuite alternative for SaaS companies?

Yes, for SaaS companies that need the finance side of an ERP without an ERP project: RareMargin covers the ledger, ASC 606 revenue, multiple entities and the close.

It is not a replacement where NetSuite runs operations too. If you need order management, fulfillment or other modules beyond finance, RareMargin doesn’t have them.

### How much does NetSuite cost compared with RareMargin?

NetSuite doesn’t publish prices: you pay an annual license plus a one-time implementation fee. RareMargin costs $99 a month per company, published on its pricing page.

According to NetSuite, the license has three parts: the core platform, optional modules and the number of users. Because those are quoted for each company, the only way to compare is to get a quote. RareMargin’s price is the same for every company and includes every feature, the AI assistant and the API.

### Which handles ASC 606 revenue recognition better?

NetSuite covers more revenue models; RareMargin covers subscription and service contracts, with the schedules and deferred revenue built into the ledger.

NetSuite lists recognition for subscriptions, fulfillment by quantity or date, project milestones or percentage of completion, and time and materials. RareMargin allocates each contract by relative standalone selling price and recognizes each line daily, evenly by period or at a point in time. If you sell hardware, projects or usage-based services alongside software, NetSuite is the safer fit.

### When should a company choose NetSuite?

When it needs one system for operations as well as finance, such as order management and fulfillment, or expects to customize the system heavily.

NetSuite also has the longer track record: it reports more than 44,000 customers.

### When should a company choose RareMargin?

When it is a SaaS company whose finance team wants ASC 606 revenue, multi-entity books and a continuous close without an ERP project, at a published price.

You can start the same day, on your own books or on a sample SaaS company with 14 months of history, and use everything free for 14 days.

Sources, read 2026-11-03:
- [NetSuite: home page](https://www.netsuite.com/portal/home.shtml)
- [NetSuite: revenue recognition, with how licenses are priced](https://www.netsuite.com/portal/products/erp/financial-management/revenue-management.shtml)

## ASC 606 revenue recognition in RareMargin

https://raremargin.com/docs/asc-606-revenue-recognition · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin turns each customer contract into a revenue schedule. It allocates the contract price across the contract’s lines by relative standalone selling price, then posts recognized revenue to the ledger as each service period arrives.

| ASC 606 step | What RareMargin does |
| --- | --- |
| 1. Identify the contract | You enter the customer contract: the customer, its term and how often it is billed |
| 2. Identify the performance obligations | Each contract line is a product, such as a subscription or an implementation |
| 3. Determine the transaction price | The sum of the contract lines’ amounts |
| 4. Allocate the price | Automatic, by relative standalone selling price (SSP) |
| 5. Recognize revenue | Automatic, from each product’s pattern: daily, evenly by period, or at a point in time |

### What are the five steps of ASC 606?

Identify the contract, identify its performance obligations, determine the transaction price, allocate that price to the obligations, and recognize revenue as each is satisfied.

IFRS 15, the international standard, uses the same five steps. In RareMargin, steps 1 to 3 are the contract you enter, and steps 4 and 5 happen automatically, as the table above shows.

### How does RareMargin allocate the transaction price?

By relative standalone selling price: each line gets the share of the contract price that its SSP is of the total SSP, and a line with no SSP uses its own contract amount.

For example, a one-year contract for $30,000 has two lines: the platform subscription, with an SSP of $27,000, and implementation, with an SSP of $6,000.

| Line | SSP | Share | Allocated |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Platform subscription | $27,000 | 81.8% | $24,545.45 |
| Implementation | $6,000 | 18.2% | $5,454.55 |
| Total | $33,000 | 100% | $30,000.00 |

Amounts are kept in cents, and the allocated amounts always add up to the contract price exactly. A recurring product’s SSP is a monthly price, scaled to the line’s quantity and term; a one-off product’s SSP is per unit.

### How does RareMargin recognize revenue over time or at a point in time?

Each product has a revenue pattern, daily, even by period or point in time, and RareMargin builds every contract line’s schedule from it.

- Daily: revenue follows the number of service days in each month, so a 31-day month earns more than a 28-day one.
- Even by period: each full month earns the same amount, and a partial first or last month earns its share of the days.
- Point in time: the whole amount is recognized on the line’s start date, for example a one-off setup fee.

Each schedule line is dated the last day of its month, or the service end date when that comes first. The lines always add up to the allocated amount, to the cent.

### How do invoices and deferred revenue work in RareMargin?

Invoices follow their own billing schedule, monthly, quarterly, annual or upfront, so billing never has to match recognition; the difference sits in deferred revenue.

Contract invoices are issued in advance at the start of each billing period. Issuing one debits accounts receivable and credits deferred revenue, and each schedule line moves its amount from deferred revenue into revenue when it posts.

A control checks continuously that the deferred revenue balance in the ledger equals billings less recognized revenue, so a stray manual entry to the account shows up straight away.

### When does recognized revenue post to the ledger?

As soon as its date arrives: a background job posts every due schedule line, so revenue is in the books before month-end instead of being booked at the close.

A line dated in a period that is already closed posts in the current period instead, so closed books never reopen. The close checklist’s “Revenue recognition posted” task ticks itself once every line dated in the period has posted.

### What happens when a contract ends early?

Terminating a contract in RareMargin keeps the revenue earned through the termination date, cancels the rest of the schedule and voids invoices scheduled after it.

Anything already billed but not yet earned stays in deferred revenue until you refund it or credit it to the customer.

### Which reports come from the revenue schedules?

The deferred revenue report, revenue by customer, and the SaaS metrics report with MRR, ARR, NRR and GRR all read the same contracts and posted entries.

Sources:
- [IFRS Foundation: IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers](https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ifrs-15-revenue-from-contracts-with-customers/)

## How continuous close works

https://raremargin.com/docs/how-continuous-close-works · Updated 2026-11-03

Continuous close means month-end work happens as the month goes. RareMargin posts revenue, amortization, accrual reversals and scheduled invoices the day they fall due, checks 11 controls continuously, and leaves a review for month-end.

|  | Month-end close | Continuous close in RareMargin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue and amortization | Booked from spreadsheets after the month ends | Posted from schedules the day each line falls due |
| Accruals | Found by reading through last month’s bills | Suggested when a regular vendor hasn’t billed, and reversed the next month |
| Bank matching | Done in a batch at the end | Suggested for each bank line, with a score and the reasons for it |
| Controls | Checked once, during the close | Eleven checks that run continuously |
| Month-end | Catching up | Review and sign-off |

### What is continuous close?

Continuous close keeps the books closed through the month: entries post as their dates arrive and controls run all the time, so month-end is a review, not a catch-up.

The smaller the gap between when something happens and when it reaches the ledger, the less is left to do when the month ends, and the sooner the numbers can be trusted.

### What does RareMargin post automatically?

Scheduled contract invoices, recognized revenue, prepaid amortization and the reversals of last month’s accruals, each as soon as its date arrives.

A background job finds each company’s due lines and posts them, claiming each line in the same transaction that posts it, so running the job twice never posts anything twice. A line dated in a closed period posts in the current period instead of reopening the books.

### Which controls does RareMargin check?

Eleven, from the trial balance and subledger tie-outs to the hash chain and stale approvals; each reports pass, warn or fail with the evidence behind it.

| Control | What it checks |
| --- | --- |
| Trial balance balances | Debits equal credits across the ledger |
| Report balances match posted lines | The balances reports read from equal the sum of the posted lines |
| Ledger hash chain intact | No posted entry was changed after it posted |
| AR subledger ties to the general ledger | Open invoices less unapplied cash equal the receivables balance |
| AP subledger ties to the general ledger | Open bills equal the payables balance |
| Deferred revenue ties to billings less recognition | The deferred revenue balance equals billed less recognized revenue |
| Bank accounts reconciled | Each bank account’s imported balance matches the ledger, with unmatched lines listed |
| No postings into closed periods | Nothing has posted into a period after it closed |
| Suspense account is clear | Nothing is left parked in suspense |
| Intercompany balances net to zero | Balances between subsidiaries cancel out |
| Approvals decided within 3 days | No approval request has waited longer than 3 days |

### What is on RareMargin’s close checklist?

Eleven tasks, from matching bank lines to the management reporting package; eight of them tick themselves when the books show they are done.

| Task | Ticks itself |
| --- | --- |
| Match all bank transactions | Yes |
| Record customer payments and review AR aging | No |
| Issue all invoices for the period | Yes |
| Revenue recognition posted | Yes |
| Enter and approve all vendor bills | Yes |
| Prepaid amortization posted | Yes |
| Book accruals for unbilled spend | Yes |
| Approve pending journal entries | Yes |
| Review flux analysis | No |
| All controls passing | Yes |
| Management reporting package | No |

### How does RareMargin suggest accruals?

When a vendor that billed in at least 2 of the last 3 months has no bill dated this month and no accrual booked, RareMargin suggests accruing its average monthly spend.

Each suggestion lists the bills it is based on. You or the assistant can turn it into an accrual entry, which goes through approval like any other entry and reverses itself on the first day of the next month.

### What does RareMargin’s flux analysis flag?

Accounts that moved against the prior period or prior year by at least a quarter of your materiality, or by 20% and at least 5% of materiality.

Materiality is a company setting. Each flagged account names up to three vendors, customers or entries that drove the change, in a sentence that explains it.

### Can a closed period change?

Nothing can post into a closed period: RareMargin posts late items in the current period instead, and a control checks that nothing slipped through.

A period can be reopened, and reopening is recorded as an event, so it stays visible to reviewers and to webhook subscribers.

## AI journal entries and approvals in RareMargin

https://raremargin.com/docs/ai-journal-entries-and-approvals · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin’s AI assistant, and any AI agent connected through its MCP server, can read the books and propose journal entries and accruals, but can’t post them. Every proposal waits in the approval queue until a person with the right role approves it.

|  | People | API keys | AI assistant and MCP clients |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Read the books | By role | By the key’s role | Yes |
| Propose entries | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Post without approval | When no approval rule applies | When no approval rule applies | Never |
| Approve or reject | With the required role, and not their own by default | Never | Never |

### Can RareMargin’s AI post entries to the ledger?

No. The assistant and MCP clients can only propose; their entries always wait for a person, whatever approval rules the company has set.

This is enforced where entries are created, not in the chat window: an entry from the assistant or an MCP client is held for approval even where no rule would hold a person’s entry. Approving is refused to agents and API keys outright, with the message “Only a person can approve or reject.”

### What can RareMargin’s assistant do?

It has 17 tools: 15 read the books, from statements to anomaly checks, and 2 write, proposing a journal entry or an accrual for approval.

| Tool | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| get_company_overview | Cash, burn, runway, MRR, AR and AP, close status and what needs attention |
| list_accounts | The chart of accounts |
| get_financial_report | Any report, from the trial balance to SaaS metrics |
| search_journal_entries | Find entries by memo, account, dates, status or source |
| list_customers | Customers and what they owe |
| list_open_invoices | Invoices not yet paid |
| list_vendors | Vendors and what is owed to them |
| list_open_bills | Bills not yet paid |
| list_unmatched_bank_transactions | Unmatched bank lines, with ranked match suggestions and reasons |
| run_controls | The 11 continuous controls and their evidence |
| detect_anomalies | Duplicates, outliers and risky manual entries |
| flux_analysis | Changes by account against the prior period, with what drove them |
| close_status | The close checklist and what is left |
| accrual_suggestions | Recurring vendors that haven’t billed this month |
| verify_ledger | Checks the SHA-256 hash chain over posted entries |
| propose_journal_entry | Drafts a journal entry for a person to approve |
| propose_accrual | Drafts an accrual, reversing next month, for approval |

### How do approval rules work?

An admin sets rules for journal entries and bills by minimum amount, accounts, vendors and source; when several match, the one needing the most senior role applies.

The roles, from most to least senior, are owner, admin, accountant and viewer. A rule can, for example, send every entry over $10,000 to an admin, or every bill from one vendor to the owner. The source is where an entry came from: the app, the API, the assistant, an MCP client or an import.

### How does RareMargin enforce segregation of duties?

Nobody can approve a request they submitted. A company can allow self-approval in its settings, for a team of one, but it is off by default.

### What is recorded when an entry is approved?

Who submitted it and from where, who approved or rejected it and when, and any comment; approving posts the entry in the same transaction.

Each step is also an event (approval.requested, approval.approved, approval.rejected) that webhooks can deliver to your own systems. Once posted, the entry joins the SHA-256 hash chain, so any later change to it can be detected.

### Which AI model does RareMargin use, and what does it see?

An OpenAI model, through OpenAI’s API. It receives your question and the parts of the books it reads to answer; OpenAI doesn’t train on it and keeps it up to 30 days.

OpenAI is listed as a subprocessor in RareMargin’s privacy policy, with what it receives.

### How many assistant messages are included?

300 a month on a subscription, and 50 during the free trial. Each question is one message, however many tools the assistant uses to answer it.

## The RareMargin API, MCP server and webhooks

https://raremargin.com/docs/api-mcp-server-and-webhooks · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin has a versioned REST API at /v1, an MCP server at /mcp for AI agents, and webhooks signed with HMAC-SHA256. All three run on the same services and approval rules as the app, so a script gets exactly the rules a person does.

|  | Address | For |
| --- | --- | --- |
| REST API | https://raremargin.com/v1 | Scripts, integrations and data exports |
| MCP server | https://raremargin.com/mcp | Claude and other AI agents |
| Webhooks | Your HTTPS endpoint | Reacting to changes in the books |

### How do I authenticate with the RareMargin API?

Create an API key in Settings and send it as a Bearer token. Each key carries a role, and its writes go through the same approval rules as a person’s.

```
curl https://raremargin.com/v1/accounts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RAREMARGIN_API_KEY"
```

### What can the RareMargin REST API do?

It reads and writes the ledger and every subledger: accounts, journal entries, periods, customers, products, contracts, invoices, payments, vendors, bills and bank lines.

| Area | Endpoints under /v1 |
| --- | --- |
| Ledger | GET /subsidiaries; GET, POST /accounts; GET, POST /journal-entries; GET /journal-entries/:id; POST /journal-entries/:id/reverse |
| Periods and controls | GET /book-periods; POST /book-periods/:period/close; GET /ledger/verify; GET /controls |
| Revenue | GET, POST /customers; GET /customers/:id; GET, POST /products; GET, POST /contracts; GET /contracts/:id; POST /contracts/:id/activate |
| Billing | GET, POST /invoices; GET /invoices/:id; POST /invoices/:id/issue; POST /invoices/:id/void; GET, POST /payments |
| Spend | GET, POST /vendors; GET /vendors/:id; GET, POST /bills; GET /bills/:id; POST /bills/:id/payments |
| Cash | GET /bank-accounts; GET, POST /bank-accounts/:id/transactions |
| Reports and events | GET /reports/:name; GET /events; GET, POST /webhooks; DELETE /webhooks/:id |

Reports include the trial balance, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, general ledger, AR and AP aging, SaaS metrics, deferred revenue, revenue by customer, spend, cash position, burn and runway, and the cash forecast.

### How does the API handle amounts, retries and errors?

Amounts are decimal strings, writes accept an Idempotency-Key, lists page with cursors, errors follow RFC 9457, and a write held for approval returns 202 Accepted.

JSON keys are snake_case. Each API key has its own rate limit, reported in X-RateLimit headers.

### How do I connect Claude or another AI agent to RareMargin?

Add https://raremargin.com/mcp to the client as a Streamable HTTP MCP server, with your API key as a Bearer token; the agent gets the assistant’s 17 tools.

The settings file differs between clients; for most it looks like this:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "raremargin": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://raremargin.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Its two write tools, propose_journal_entry and propose_accrual, create approval requests, never postings, so an agent can prepare the work and a person decides what reaches the books.

Exact setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex is in the guide to using RareMargin in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.

### Which webhook events does RareMargin send?

34 event types, covering accounts, journal entries, periods, approvals, customers, contracts, invoices, payments, vendors, bills and bank lines.

- account.created, account.updated, subsidiary.created
- journal_entry.created, journal_entry.posted, journal_entry.rejected, journal_entry.reversed
- book_period.closed, book_period.reopened
- approval.requested, approval.approved, approval.rejected
- customer.created, customer.updated, product.created
- contract.created, contract.activated, contract.terminated, contract.completed
- invoice.created, invoice.issued, invoice.paid, invoice.voided, payment.created
- vendor.created, bill.created, bill.approved, bill.rejected, bill.paid, bill.voided
- bank_account.created, bank_transactions.imported, bank_transaction.matched, bank_transaction.unmatched

### How are RareMargin webhooks signed and retried?

Each delivery carries X-RareMargin-Signature: v1= and a base64 HMAC-SHA256 of the event id, timestamp and body, keyed with your endpoint’s secret.

Deliveries also carry X-RareMargin-Id, X-RareMargin-Event and X-RareMargin-Timestamp (Unix seconds). Reject a delivery whose timestamp is more than 5 minutes off, and compare signatures in constant time:

```
import { createHmac, timingSafeEqual } from 'node:crypto';

// headers: the request's headers, lower-cased; body: the raw request body as a string.
function verify(secret, headers, body) {
  const id = headers['x-raremargin-id'];
  const ts = Number(headers['x-raremargin-timestamp']);
  if (!(Math.abs(Date.now() / 1000 - ts) <= 300)) return false;
  const expected = 'v1=' + createHmac('sha256', secret).update(`${id}.${ts}.${body}`).digest('base64');
  const got = headers['x-raremargin-signature'] ?? '';
  return got.length === expected.length && timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(got), Buffer.from(expected));
}
```

A failed delivery is retried up to 8 times, 30 seconds after the first attempt and then twice as long each time, up to 6 hours. Events go out from a transactional outbox, and every delivery is logged in Settings.

Sources:
- [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)
- [RFC 9457: Problem Details for HTTP APIs](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9457)

## Use RareMargin in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor

https://raremargin.com/docs/use-raremargin-in-claude-chatgpt-and-cursor · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin runs an MCP server at https://raremargin.com/mcp, so an AI assistant can read your books and draft entries for a person to approve. Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and OpenAI’s Codex connect to it today with a RareMargin API key. claude.ai and the ChatGPT app don’t yet, because they connect custom servers through OAuth sign-in.

| Assistant | Works today | How it connects |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Claude Code | Yes | One claude mcp add command, with the API key in a header |
| Claude Desktop | Yes | The mcp-remote bridge (needs Node.js), with the key in a headers file |
| Cursor | Yes | mcp.json, with the key in a header |
| OpenAI Codex | Yes | config.toml, with the key in an environment variable |
| claude.ai, web and mobile | Not yet | Custom connectors there sign in with OAuth |
| ChatGPT | Not yet | Its apps sign in with OAuth |

### Can I use RareMargin from Claude?

Yes, from Claude Code and Claude Desktop, with a RareMargin API key. On claude.ai and the Claude mobile apps, custom connectors sign in with OAuth, which RareMargin’s MCP server doesn’t offer yet.

### Can I use RareMargin from ChatGPT?

Not inside the ChatGPT app yet: its apps sign in with OAuth, and RareMargin’s MCP server takes an API key. OpenAI’s Codex connects to RareMargin today, reading the key from an environment variable.

### What can an AI assistant do in RareMargin?

It gets the same 17 tools as RareMargin’s built-in assistant: 15 read the books, and 2 draft a journal entry or an accrual that waits for a person to approve it.

So it can answer questions like these from your own books:

- What is our runway, and what changed in burn since last month?
- Which customers owe us money, and which invoices are overdue?
- Which bank lines are still unmatched, and what do they probably match?
- Did any control fail, and what is the evidence?
- Which recurring vendors haven’t billed this month? Draft accruals for them.

| Tool | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| get_company_overview | Cash, burn, runway, MRR, AR and AP, close status and what needs attention |
| list_accounts | The chart of accounts |
| get_financial_report | Any report, from the trial balance to SaaS metrics |
| search_journal_entries | Find entries by memo, account, dates, status or source |
| list_customers | Customers and what they owe |
| list_open_invoices | Invoices not yet paid |
| list_vendors | Vendors and what is owed to them |
| list_open_bills | Bills not yet paid |
| list_unmatched_bank_transactions | Unmatched bank lines, with ranked match suggestions and reasons |
| run_controls | The 11 continuous controls and their evidence |
| detect_anomalies | Duplicates, outliers and risky manual entries |
| flux_analysis | Changes by account against the prior period, with what drove them |
| close_status | The close checklist and what is left |
| accrual_suggestions | Recurring vendors that haven’t billed this month |
| verify_ledger | Checks the SHA-256 hash chain over posted entries |
| propose_journal_entry | Drafts a journal entry for a person to approve |
| propose_accrual | Drafts an accrual, reversing next month, for approval |

### How do I get a RareMargin API key for an AI assistant?

An admin creates one in RareMargin under Settings, API & MCP, and picks its role: a Viewer key only reads, and an Accountant key can also draft entries and accruals for approval.

The full key, which starts with ck_, is shown once, so store it in a password or secret manager. Name the key after the assistant, such as “Claude Code”. An Admin key has full access, which an assistant doesn’t need.

### How do I connect Claude Code to RareMargin?

Run one command with your API key, and Claude Code lists RareMargin under /mcp. Add --scope user to use it in every project.

```
claude mcp add --transport http raremargin https://raremargin.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RAREMARGIN_API_KEY"
```

### How do I connect Claude Desktop to RareMargin?

Claude Desktop reaches RareMargin through mcp-remote, a small bridge that runs on Node.js. Add it to claude_desktop_config.json, and keep the API key in a separate headers file.

The file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on a Mac and %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows. Add:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "raremargin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://raremargin.com/mcp",
        "--header-file",
        "/path/to/raremargin-headers.txt"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Put this one line in the headers file, then restart Claude Desktop:

```
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
```

### How do I connect Cursor to RareMargin?

Add RareMargin to Cursor’s mcp.json, in ~/.cursor for every project or in a project’s .cursor folder, with the API key in a header.

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "raremargin": {
      "url": "https://raremargin.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:RAREMARGIN_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Cursor fills in ${env:RAREMARGIN_API_KEY} from your environment, so the key stays out of the file.

### How do I connect OpenAI’s Codex to RareMargin?

Add RareMargin to ~/.codex/config.toml, and Codex sends the API key from an environment variable as a Bearer token.

```
[mcp_servers.raremargin]
url = "https://raremargin.com/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "RAREMARGIN_API_KEY"
```

### Is it safe to let an AI assistant into my books?

An assistant can do only what its key’s role allows, and RareMargin’s two write tools create approval requests, never postings, so a person decides what reaches the ledger.

API keys can’t approve anything. Every proposal made over MCP waits for a person, whatever approval rules the company has set, and records that it came over MCP. Revoking the key in Settings cuts the assistant off at once.

Sources:
- [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)
- [Claude Code: connect to MCP servers](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp)
- [Claude: authentication for connectors](https://claude.com/docs/connectors/building/authentication)
- [Cursor: Model Context Protocol](https://cursor.com/docs/context/mcp)
- [Codex: MCP](https://developers.openai.com/codex/mcp)
- [mcp-remote](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-remote)

## About RareMargin

https://raremargin.com/about · Updated 2026-11-03

RareMargin is an AI-native general ledger with continuous close for finance teams at SaaS companies. It is made and sold by Sudip Kumar, Kalikapur, Haltu.

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Product | General ledger with continuous close: revenue and AR, spend and AP, cash, controls and reports |
| For | Finance teams at SaaS companies |
| Price | $99 a month per company, every feature included |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card needed |
| Made by | Sudip Kumar, Kalikapur, Haltu |
| Contact | support@raremargin.com |
| Payments | Dodo Payments, merchant of record |
| Runs on | Cloudflare, with the database on Neon in AWS US East |

### What is RareMargin?

RareMargin is an AI-native general ledger with continuous close for finance teams at SaaS companies.

Revenue schedules, prepaid amortization, accruals and bank matching post to one double-entry ledger as they happen. An AI assistant drafts the entries you would otherwise write by hand, and nothing it drafts reaches the books until a person approves it.

### Who makes RareMargin?

RareMargin is made and sold by Sudip Kumar, Kalikapur, Haltu. You can reach the team at support@raremargin.com.

Subscriptions are sold through Dodo Payments, the merchant of record, which takes the payment, issues the invoice and handles sales tax or VAT.

### Where does RareMargin run, and who processes data?

RareMargin runs on Cloudflare, keeps the books in a Neon database on AWS in the US East region, and uses OpenAI only for the assistant.

| Provider | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Cloudflare | Hosting, protection from attacks, and email |
| Neon (Databricks) | The database and its backups, on AWS US East |
| OpenAI | The model behind the assistant and AI-built dashboards; not used for training |
| Google (Gmail) | The inbox for support and billing email |
| Dodo Payments | Checkout, payment, invoices, tax and refunds |

The privacy policy and the data processing terms list what each one receives.

### How does RareMargin keep the books trustworthy?

Every entry must balance, every posted entry is sealed in a SHA-256 hash chain, 11 controls run continuously, and nobody can approve their own entry.

People sign in with a password and, optionally, an authenticator app, and each has one of four roles. API keys carry a role too, and AI agents can only propose.

### What doesn’t RareMargin do yet?

RareMargin has no SOC 2 report, no single sign-on, no direct bank connections and no native integrations with billing or CRM tools yet.

- Bank transactions come in by CSV upload or through the API.
- Other systems connect through the REST API, webhooks and the MCP server.
- It is a finance system, not a full ERP: there is no inventory, order management or payroll.

If one of these matters to you, write to support@raremargin.com; it helps decide what comes next.

### How much does RareMargin cost?

$99 a month per company, with every feature included, after a 14-day free trial that needs no card. You can cancel any time, and you can get a full refund within 14 days of your first payment.

## Legal

- Terms of service: https://raremargin.com/terms
- Privacy policy: https://raremargin.com/privacy
- Refund and cancellation policy: https://raremargin.com/refunds
- Data processing terms: https://raremargin.com/dpa