Import Avalara AvaTax Data into Microsoft Power Query

The Connect Server enables you to use Web services to connect to and query Avalara AvaTax data. This article details how to import an OData feed of Avalara AvaTax data into Microsoft Power Query.

Connect to Avalara AvaTax from Power Query

To work with live Avalara AvaTax data in Microsoft Power Query, we need to connect to Avalara AvaTax from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Avalara AvaTax data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Avalara AvaTax from Microsoft Power Query through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to Avalara AvaTax from Connect Server

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
2. Select "Avalara AvaTax" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Avalara AvaTax.

   The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

   • User: Set this to your username.
   • Password: Set this to your password.

   Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

   • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

   Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

   Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

   • AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
   • LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add Avalara AvaTax OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to Avalara AvaTax, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the Avalara AvaTax database
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application such as Ajax, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

• Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
• Allow all domains without '*': ON
• Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
• Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Connect to Avalara AvaTax Data from Power Query

Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:

1. Configure the Connect Server to use a version of the OData protocol that is recognized by Power Query. In the Connect Server administration console, click Settings -> Server and change the value of the Default Version property to 3.0.

2. From the ribbon in Excel, click Power Query -> From Other Data Sources -> From OData Feed, and enter the OData URL:

   https://your-server:8032/api.rsc

3. Next, define authentication credentials and set privacy levels. Select Basic authentication and enter the credentials for a user authorized to make requests. Specify the Username field and enter the user's authtoken in the Password field.

   To change the authentication scheme that Power Query will use, click Power Query -> Data Source Settings. Select the OData feed from the list and then click "Edit Permissions..." Select the privacy level from the menu.

4. You can now access Avalara AvaTax data in Power Query. In the Navigator expand the node for the OData feed, right-click a table, and click Edit to open the Query Editor. This will display the table data.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your Avalara AvaTax data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Query, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.