Zip MCP connects the AI app you already use, Claude or ChatGPT, to Zip OS, ElevatorZip’s CRM for elevator contractors. Sign in once with your ElevatorZip account, and you can ask about your buildings, elevators, contracts, jobs, and profit in plain English, then make changes right from the chat. Every change shows up as a card first. Nothing saves until you press the button.
What is Zip MCP?
MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is the open standard AI apps use to connect to other software. Zip MCP is ElevatorZip’s MCP connector. It gives Claude and ChatGPT the same tools as Ask Zip, the assistant built into Zip OS, so they can look up and update your records.
Two rules make it safe for an elevator company:
- It works as you. The AI sees only what you can see in ElevatorZip and changes only what you’re allowed to change.
- You approve every change. The AI proposes. You press the button.
Why connect your elevator CRM to Claude or ChatGPT?
Ask Zip already answers questions inside ElevatorZip. Zip MCP brings those answers to the place where a lot of office work already happens: the AI chat where you write emails, read documents, and plan the week.
That matters because the questions owners and service managers ask rarely stay inside one system:
- “Read this email from the property manager and tell me what we’ve done at that building this year.”
- “Compare our open repair proposals with the budget sheet I just attached.”
- “Draft a reply to the building manager with the last three tickets on Car 2.”
With Zip MCP, the AI pulls the facts from Zip OS and works with them next to your files and anything else you’ve connected. Nobody copies and pastes between windows.
What can you ask?
Anything you could look up in Zip OS. A few examples by role:
| Who | What they ask |
|---|---|
| Owner | ”Which maintenance contracts lost money last quarter?” |
| Service manager | ”Who’s on call tonight, and what’s still open on the dispatch board?” |
| Sales and estimating | ”Show our open pipeline by stage, biggest deals first.” |
| Office and billing | ”Run contract billing for November and show me the bills before they go to QuickBooks.” |
| Project manager | ”How much labor have we put into the Harbor Tower modernization compared to the estimate?” |
Answers come from your live records, and every record in an answer links straight to it in ElevatorZip.
Example: a report in one question
Ask for a report in plain English. Claude pulls the numbers from Zip OS, draws the chart, and lists the records behind it, each one linked.
Every example on this page uses a demo company with made-up data.
What can you change?
Zip MCP uses the same actions as Ask Zip, about 100 of them, across the whole system:
- Sales: create deals, update estimates, write scope, build and design proposals
- Operations: schedule and move jobs, dispatch calls, set who’s on call, log time
- Contracts: set up maintenance contracts, add cars, and change rates and billing
- Purchasing: create purchase orders and request quotes from suppliers
- Billing: make bills, run contract billing, and send them to QuickBooks
- Everyday work: create tasks, add notes, and update any record’s fields
How do you approve a change?
When you ask for a change, the AI doesn’t make it. It shows you an ElevatorZip card in the chat.
- The card shows exactly what will change. Each field shows the old value and the new one, with a link to the record.
- You make any picks. When there’s a choice, like which car or which mechanic, you tap it right on the card.
- You press the button. Only then does Zip save it. Press Cancel and nothing happens.
A card saves once. If you reopen the chat, or have it open on your phone and your computer at the same time, pressing the same card again can’t email a supplier or dispatch a mechanic twice.
Example: set up a maintenance contract
Tell Claude, “Set up a Gold maintenance contract for Harbor Tower: $1,950 a month, billed quarterly, 5 year term.” Claude finds the building’s owner and shows a Create contract card. Press Create, and the contract is saved in Zip OS with a link to open it.
Setting up a contract from a signed PDF happens in Ask Zip inside ElevatorZip, where you can drop in the file.
Example: book a repair for tomorrow
Ask who can take the job. Claude checks the schedule, finds a mechanic with free time nearby, and shows an Update schedule card with each change, old value to new. Press Update, and the job is on the mechanic’s schedule and the mechanic is told.
Example: an entrapment
Tell Claude, “Entrapment at Harbor Tower, Car 2. The building manager called it in.” The card shows the building and three picks: which car, with the mechanic your company’s dispatch rule sends; whether the car is running, shut down, or has an entrapment; and who called it in. Create and dispatch stays off until all three are picked, so a call never goes out half filled in.
Is Zip MCP secure?
| The question | How Zip MCP handles it |
|---|---|
| Can the AI see everything? | No. It sees only what you can see in ElevatorZip. |
| Can it change things without me? | No. Every change is a card you press. |
| Can it delete records? | No. There’s no delete. Archiving is a change you approve, and archived records can be restored. |
| Will I know which changes came from AI? | Yes. Changes are logged in the record’s history, and most say which app made the change and who approved it. |
| Can any app connect? | No. ElevatorZip only approves Claude, ChatGPT, and tools running on your own computer. |
| Can I turn it off? | Yes. Settings › Connected apps lists every app you connected. Disconnect stops it right away. |
| Who can use it? | Office staff, like Ask Zip. Mechanics keep using the Zip OS mobile app. |
A few things still open in ElevatorZip instead of the chat, because they need a screen of their own: adding a new building (it uses the map address search), logging a visit, and uploading a file like a contract. The AI gives you a link straight to the right page.
How do you connect Zip MCP?
It takes about a minute.
In Claude:
- Open Settings, then Connectors.
- Choose Add custom connector.
- Name it ElevatorZip and paste this address:
https://crm.elevatorzip.com/api/mcp - Sign in to ElevatorZip and press Approve.
In ChatGPT: add the same address as a custom connector, then sign in and approve.
That’s it. Ask a question to try it, like “What’s on my task list today?”
Zip MCP vs. Ask Zip
| Ask Zip | Zip MCP | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you use it | Inside ElevatorZip | In Claude or ChatGPT |
| Same records and permissions | Yes | Yes |
| How changes are saved | A card you approve | A card you approve |
| Drop in a file, like a contract | Yes | Not yet, use Ask Zip |
| Best for | Quick questions while you work in Zip OS | Work that mixes Zip OS with email, documents, and spreadsheets |
Frequently asked questions
What is Zip MCP?
Zip MCP is ElevatorZip’s connector for Claude and ChatGPT. It lets those AI apps read and update your Zip OS records, signed in as you, with the same tools as Ask Zip, the assistant built into Zip OS. Every change shows as a card in the chat, and nothing saves until you press its button.
What is MCP?
MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is the open standard AI apps like Claude and ChatGPT use to connect to other software. An MCP connector gives the AI a set of tools it can use, such as looking up a record or creating a task.
Which AI apps work with Zip MCP?
Claude on the web, desktop, and phone, and ChatGPT. Both show ElevatorZip’s approval card right in the chat. Developer tools that run on your own computer, like Claude Code, can also connect; they ask before each change instead of showing a card.
Can Claude or ChatGPT change my records without asking?
No. When you ask for a change, the AI shows an ElevatorZip card with exactly what will change. Nothing is saved until you press the card’s button. If you cancel, nothing happens.
Can Zip MCP see records I can’t see in ElevatorZip?
No. Zip MCP works as you, with your permissions. Claude or ChatGPT can see and change only what you can see and change in ElevatorZip.
Can Zip MCP delete records?
No. There is no delete. Archiving a record is a change you approve on a card like any other, and archived records can be restored.
Can I see which changes came from Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. Changes are logged in the record’s history, and most say which app made the change and who approved it, for example “Claude · approved by” followed by your name.
How do I disconnect Claude or ChatGPT from ElevatorZip?
Open Settings, then Connected apps, in ElevatorZip. It lists every AI app you connected, with a Disconnect button for each. Disconnecting stops the app right away.
Is Zip MCP part of Zip OS?
Yes. Zip MCP is part of Zip OS, ElevatorZip’s full system for elevator contractors: CRM, surveys, estimates, proposals, contracts, scheduling, dispatch, time tickets, job costing, invoicing, and Ask Zip.
How do I see Zip MCP for my company?
Book a 30-minute demo and we’ll walk through it with your team.
See Zip MCP on your own buildings, contracts, and jobs. Book a 30-minute Zip OS demo.