Create QuickBooks Time Dashboards in Bold BI



Use CData Connect Server to create a virtual SQL Server Database for QuickBooks Time data to build custom dashboards in Bold BI.

Bold BI allows you to create, share, and collaborate on interactive BI dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant access to QuickBooks Time data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for QuickBooks Time and build reports from QuickBooks Time data in Bold BI.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for QuickBooks Time, allowing you to easily build reports from live QuickBooks Time data in Bold BI — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, Bold BI generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to QuickBooks Time, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested QuickBooks Time data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for QuickBooks Time Data

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

  1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
  2. Select "QuickBooks Time" from Available Data Sources.
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks Time.

    TSheets uses the OAuth2 standard for authentication and authorization. To construct your own OAuth app and connect to data, refer to OAuth section in the Help.

  4. Click Save Changes
  5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to QuickBooks Time data from Bold BI.

Visualize Live QuickBooks Time Data in Bold BI

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Server from Bold BI to create a new QuickBooks Time data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

  1. Log into your Bold BI instance, click the data sources tab, create a new data source, and choose the SQL Server connector.
  2. Choose the basic configuration and set the connection properties:
    • Name: Name your connection
    • Server name: Your Connect Server instance (CONNECT_SERVER_URL)
    • Port: 1433
    • Username: Your Connect Server username
    • Password: Your Connect Server password
    • Mode: Choose Live to query QuickBooks Time on-demand or choose Extract to load the data into Bold BI
    • Database: Choose the database you created from the drop-down menu (tsheetsdb)
  3. Click Connect
  4. Select the table to visualize and drag it onto the workspace.
  5. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
  6. Click the gear icon for the visualization to configure the visualization properties and assign columns to the visualization.

SQL Access to QuickBooks Time Data from Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live QuickBooks Time data from your Bold BI workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating QuickBooks Time data.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, see the CData Connect page.

Ready to get started?

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CData Connect Server