Visualize QuickBooks Data in Sisense

Sisense lets you join, analyze, and picture data to make more intelligent business decisions and craft effective strategies. The CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks makes it easy to integrate with QuickBooks data in Sisense. This article shows how to create an ElastiCube that connects to QuickBooks data and use the ElastiCube to visualize QuickBooks data in Sisense.

Configure the Connection to QuickBooks

Before creating the ElastiCube, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks 20XX\lib) or copy the jar file (cdata.jdbc.quickbooks.QuickBooks.jar) to a new folder in the Sisense JDBC driver directory (typically C:\ProgramData\Sisense\DataConnectors\jdbcdrivers).

1. In the Data page of the Sisense application, create a new ElastiCube (or open an existing one).
2. In the Model Editor, click "+ Data" to open the Add Data dialog box.
3. Click Generic JDBC to open the JDBC settings.
4. Set the connection string property to the JDBC URL for QuickBooks, adding required properties.

   When you are connecting to a local QuickBooks instance, you do not need to set any connection properties.

   Requests are made to QuickBooks through the Remote Connector. The Remote Connector runs on the same machine as QuickBooks and accepts connections through a lightweight, embedded Web server. The server supports SSL/TLS, enabling users to connect securely from remote machines.

   The first time you connect, you will need to authorize the Remote Connector with QuickBooks. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the QuickBooks JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.quickbooks.jar

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   A typical example follows:

   jdbc:quickbooks:URL=http://remotehost:8166;User=admin;Password=admin123;
5. Set the JDBC JARs folder property to the location of the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (see above).
6. Set the driver's class name to the class name for the JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.quickbooks.QuickBooksDriver
7. Leave the username and password properties blank.
8. Click Next.

Add QuickBooks Data to an ElastiCube

Once you are connected to QuickBooks, you can add tables and views to your ElastiCubes.

1. From the Tables list, select the tables and/or views you wish to work with.
2. (Optional) Click "+" to customize the data you want to import with SQL.
3. Click Done.
4. Click Build to build the ElastiCube for analytics.

Visualize QuickBooks Data

With QuickBooks tables added to your ElastiCube, you can perform analytics on your QuickBooks data.

1. Navigate to the Analytics page of the Sisense application
2. Select a Dashboard (or create a new one)
3. Select your Data Source and click Create
4. Click "+ Select Data" and choose fields to add to your visualization.

With the CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks, you can access QuickBooks data right in Sisense for powerful visualization and analytics. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with QuickBooks data in Sisense today!