Create Paymo-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet

Google AppSheet is a no-code development platform for application software, enabling users to design mobile, tablet, and web applications. When combined with CData Connect AI, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to Paymo data for business applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to Paymo using Connect AI and constructing a basic app from Paymo data within AppSheet.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Paymo, enabling the creation of reports directly from live Paymo data within AppSheet, all without the need for data replication to a native database. When you design applications that interact with data, AppSheet formulates SQL queries to retrieve the required information. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Paymo. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Paymo data.

Configure Paymo Connectivity for AppSheet

Connectivity to Paymo from AppSheet is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Paymo data from AppSheet, we start by creating and configuring a Paymo connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Paymo" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Paymo.

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

   Paymo API Profile Settings

   Log into your Paymo account, navigate to My Settings > Integrations > API Keys, and select Generate New Key to create your API key.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Paymo Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Paymo data from AppSheet.

Connect to Paymo from AppSheet

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

1. Log into AppSheet
2. Click "My account" in the menu
3. Click the Sources tab and add a new data source
4. Select Cloud Database and set the connection information
   • Type: Sql Server
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Database: the Paymo connection, for example, API1
   • Username: a Connect AI user, for example, [email protected]
   • Password: the PAT for the above Connect AI user
   • SSL: Require SSL
   
5. Click "Test Connection"
6. Click "Authorize Access"

Create an App

Once you create the data source for Paymo, you can start building apps on Paymo data. Start by clicking "My apps" in the menu.

1. Click to create a new app and select "Start with your own data"
2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data
3. Select the newly created data source
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 live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect AI today!