Integrate Live QuickBooks Online Data into Custom Business Apps Built in Power Apps



Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to QuickBooks Online data and integrate live QuickBooks Online data into apps built in Microsoft Power Apps.

Power Apps is a service for building and using custom business apps that connect to your data and work across the web and mobile — without the time and expense of custom software development. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to QuickBooks Online data from the apps you build using Power Apps. This article shows how to connect to Connect Cloud from Power Apps and build an app based on live QuickBooks Online data.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for QuickBooks Online, allowing you to easily integrate with live QuickBooks Online data in Power Apps — without replicating the data. CData Connect Cloud looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Power Apps and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to QuickBooks Online, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return QuickBooks Online data.

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 Power Apps

Connectivity to QuickBooks Online from Power Apps is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with QuickBooks Online data from Power Apps, we start by creating and configuring a QuickBooks Online connection.

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
  2. Select "QuickBooks Online" from the Add Connection panel
  3. QuickBooks Online uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with QuickBooks Online.
  4. 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.

  1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
  2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give your 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, you are ready to connect to QuickBooks Online data from Power Apps.

Connecting to CData Connect Cloud

To use Connect Cloud to integrate QuickBooks Online data into your Power Apps, you need a new SQL Server connection:

  1. Log in to Power Apps
  2. Click Dataverse -> Connections -> New connection
  3. Select SQL Server
  4. In the connection wizard:

    • Choose to connect directly
    • Set SQL server name to tds.cdata.com,14333
    • Set SQL database name to the name of the QuickBooks Online connection (e.g. QuickBooksOnline1)
    • Set Username to a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
    • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
    • Click Create

Building a Data-Centric App for QuickBooks Online Data

With the connection to Connect Cloud configured, you are ready to integrate live QuickBooks Online data into the apps you build in Power Apps.

  1. Log in to Power Apps
  2. Click Create and select "SQL"
  3. Select the SQL Server connection you created
  4. Search for or choose a table to work with
  5. Click Connect
  6. Customize the newly created app just like you would any other, including changing the layout and setting the fields exposed in BrowseScreen, DetailScreen, and EditScreen

At this point, you have an app with read and write access to live QuickBooks Online data that you can save and publish for use within your organization.

SQL Access to QuickBooks Online Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live QuickBooks Online data from Microsoft Power Apps. You can create more connections and apps to drive business — all without replicating QuickBooks Online data.

To get real-time data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Cloud.

Ready to get started?

Learn more about CData Connect Cloud or sign up for free trial access:

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