How to update Reckon from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for Reckon enables you to edit and save Reckon data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to Reckon. This technique is useful if you want to work on Reckon data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into Reckon. In this example, you will use the Customers table; however, the same process will work for any table that can be retrieved by the CData Excel Add-In.

Establish a Connection

If you have not already done so, create a new Reckon connection by clicking From Reckon on the ribbon.

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

Requests to Reckon are made through the Remote Connector. The Remote Connector runs on the same machine as Reckon 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 to your company file, you will need to authorize the Remote Connector with Reckon. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide.

Retrieve Data from Reckon

To insert data into Reckon, you will first need to retrieve data from the Reckon table you want to add to. This links the Excel spreadsheet to the Reckon table selected: After you retrieve data, any changes you make to the data are highlighted in red.

1. Click the From Reckon button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the Customers table.
3. In the Maximum Rows menu, select the number of rows you want to retrieve. If you want to insert rows, you need to retrieve only one row. The Query box will then display the SQL query that corresponds to your request.
4. In the Sheet Name box, enter the name for the sheet that will be populated. By default the add-in will create a new sheet with the name of the table.

Insert Rows to Reckon

After retrieving data, you can add data from an existing spreadsheet in Excel.

1. In a cell after the last row, enter a formula referencing the corresponding cell from the other spreadsheet; for example, =MyCustomersSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to Reckon, select the cells that you are inserting data into and drag the formula down as far as needed. The referenced values you want to add will be displayed on the Customers sheet.
3. Highlight the rows you want to insert and click the Update Rows button.

As each row is inserted, the Id value will appear in the Id column and the row's text will change to black, indicating that the record has been inserted.