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Get the Report →Connect to QuickBooks Online Data as a SQL Server Linked Server
Use CData Connect Cloud to create a linked server for live QuickBooks Online data.
SQL Server Linked Servers enable the SQL Server Database Engine to read data from remote data sources and execute commands against the remote database servers outside of the instance of SQL Server. Typically, linked servers are configured to enable the execution of a T-SQL statement that includes tables in another instance of SQL Server, or another database product such as Oracle. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, linked servers provides instant access to QuickBooks Online data from your SQL Server database. This article demonstrates how to connect to QuickBooks Online using Connect Cloud and query QuickBooks Online data in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for QuickBooks Online, allowing you to query data from QuickBooks Online without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to QuickBooks Online, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested QuickBooks Online data quickly.
About QuickBooks Online Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from QuickBooks Online. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Realize high-performance data reads thanks to push-down query optimization for complex operations like filters and aggregations.
- Read, write, update, and delete QuickBooks Online data.
- Run reports, download attachments, and send or void invoices directly from code using SQL stored procedures.
- Connect securely using OAuth and modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, and ECC.
Many users access live QuickBooks Online data from preferred analytics tools like Power BI and Excel, directly from databases with federated access, and use CData solutions to easily integrate QuickBooks Online data with automated workflows for business-to-business communications.
For more information on how customers are solving problems with CData's QuickBooks Online solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/360-view-of-your-customers.
Getting Started
Configure QuickBooks Online Connectivity for SQL Server
Connectivity to QuickBooks Online from SQL Linked Servers is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with QuickBooks Online data from SQL Linked Servers, we start by creating and configuring a QuickBooks Online connection.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
- Select "QuickBooks Online" from the Add Connection panel
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QuickBooks Online uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with QuickBooks Online.
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add QuickBooks Online Connection page and update the User-based permissions.


Add a Personal Access Token
If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
- On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
- Give your PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to QuickBooks Online from SQL Server using Connect Cloud
To establish a connection from SQL Server Linked Server to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.
- Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
- In the Object Explorer pane, open Server Objects, right-click Linked Servers, and select New Linked Server.
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The New Linked Server dialogue opens. On the General page, enter the following information:
- Enter a name for the server in the Linked server field.
- Select the radio button Other data source and select SQL Server Native Client 11.0 as the provider.
- In the Data source field, enter tds.cdata.com,14333
- In the Catalog field, enter enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, QuickBooksOnline1).
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Select the Security page. At the bottom, select the radio button labeled Be made using this security
context and enter the following information:
- Remote login - enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
- With password - enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
- Click OK to create the server. Your linked server can now be used to access the data in the data source you specified. If you need to access data from more sources, create another linked server for each one.

Execute Queries
You can now execute queries to the QuickBooks Online linked server from any tool that can connect to SQL Server.
An example SQL query would be:
SELECT * FROM [CDATA CONNECT CLOUD].[QuickBooksOnline1].[QuickBooksOnline].[Customers]
We have successfully created a linked server that allows us to query QuickBooks Online data.
Get CData Connect Cloud
To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your SQL Server database, try CData Connect Cloud today!