I’m using the Tiller MCP through Hermes Agent rather than the Claude Connector directly. My workflow is less about generating a one-time dashboard and more about giving a persistent personal finance agent safe, structured access to my Tiller data.
I also use Sequence for money routing, which makes the combination especially useful. Sequence is the operating layer for my money, while Tiller is the reporting and analysis layer.
Income flows into a central Sequence account. Sequence rules route it into separate accounts for recurring expenses, housing, debt payments, discretionary spending, and reserves. This gives every dollar a job before it is spent.
Tiller pulls those Sequence accounts into the same spreadsheet as my credit cards and other financial accounts. Hermes accesses that information through the Tiller MCP.
The agent can then compare how money was supposed to move with what actually happened:
- Did each Sequence account receive the expected funding?
- Were recurring bills paid from the correct account?
- Did discretionary spending stay within the amount routed to it?
- Were debt payments made as planned?
- Are internal transfers excluded from actual spending?
- Looking ahead to make sure each account is funded before upcoming payments are due, such as confirming there’s enough money in the payroll account before payday.
- Was anything counted twice because both sides of a transfer appeared?
That last part is important with Sequence. Money may move through several internal accounts before it reaches its final destination. Those internal movements should be categorized as transfers. Only the final purchase or payment should affect spending reports.
For transaction reviews, the agent first reads my current Tiller category list. It then checks recent transactions for uncategorized items, invalid categories, unusual spending, changed recurring charges, and transfers that may have been mistaken for income or expenses.
When something needs attention, I get a short review list with the merchant, amount, date, and suggested category. The agent does not invent categories or make uncertain changes on its own. Once I approve the recommendations, it can update the category or note through MCP using the transaction ID.
One limitation I found involves split transactions. Tiller already has the Transaction Splitter in the Google Sheets Money Feeds tool, but the current MCP does not expose that function. As far as I can tell, MCP can currently update a transaction’s category or note, but it cannot create or manage splits.
A mortgage payment is a good example. For a complete accounting view, I may want one payment divided into principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance. The principal can be treated as a transfer that reduces the mortgage liability, while interest, taxes, and insurance are expenses.
Right now, the agent can identify the payment and recommend the allocation, but it cannot create the split through MCP. I would still need to open the spreadsheet and use the Transaction Splitter manually, or the agent uses GOG to do it in the google sheet itself. However, I don’t love giving full edit access to ai in the google sheet as it opens up more risk than I would like.
Bringing the existing Transaction Splitter into MCP would remove one of the last manual steps in this workflow. It would be even more useful if recurring split patterns could be saved and reused for transactions such as mortgage payments.
I prefer MCP over direct Google Sheets access for routine work because it limits what the agent can change. Direct spreadsheet access is still useful for inspecting formulas, custom tabs, or features MCP does not expose, but I try to keep that access read-only.
The additions that would make this setup even stronger are:
- Transaction splitting
- Account balances and monthly budget data
- Tags and reusable split patterns
- AutoCat rule management
- A clear data-refresh timestamp
- Separate permissions for reading, categorizing, adding notes, and splitting
The safety boundary is important to me. The agent can analyze transactions and help maintain the data, but it cannot move money. Sequence controls the routing rules, Tiller remains the financial record, and I stay in control of changes.
Together, Sequence and Tiller provide the structure I was looking for. Sequence routes the money, Tiller organizes the record, and Hermes watches for anything that does not match the plan.