Create Zenefits-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet

AppSheet provides a no-code development platform for application software, which allows users to create mobile, tablet, and web applications. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant access to Zenefits data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Zenefits in Connect Server and build a simple app from Zenefits data in AppSheet.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for Zenefits, allowing you to easily build reports from live Zenefits data in AppSheet — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, AppSheet 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 Zenefits, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Zenefits data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for Zenefits 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 "Zenefits" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Zenefits.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Zenefits Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Zenefits.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Zenefits (see below).

   Zenefits API Profile Settings

   In order to authenticate to Zenefits, you'll need to provide your API Key. To create an API Key, from your account head over to Company Overview > Custom Integrations, then besides Rest API Access select Add Token. Set the API Key in the ProfileSettings property to connect.

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 Zenefits data from AppSheet.

Connect to Zenefits in AppSheet

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Server from AppSheet to create a new Zenefits data source.

1. Log into AppSheet.
2. Click the letter icon in the top-right corner, then select Account Settings.
3. Click the Sources tab and click + New Data Source. Then, select Cloud Database.
4. Set the connection information to the following:
   • Type: SQLServer
   • Server: the endpoint for your instance, including port, for example, CONNECT_SERVER_URL,3306
   • Database: the virtual database, for example, API1
   • Username: a Connect Server user with permissions for the database
   • Password: the password for the above Connect Server user
   • SSL: Require SSL
5. Click Test. Then, click Authorize Access.

Create an App

Once you create the data source for Zenefits, you can start building apps on Zenefits data.

1. Start by clicking + Create -> App -> Start with existing data.
2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data. Then, click Choose your data.
3. Select the newly created data source (e.g., API1).
4. Select the table or view with the data you want.

At this point, you can configure the design of your app, selecting which columns from the selected table to display, use as labels, and more. Preview the app in the preview panel and then publish or share it when ready.

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