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Get the Report →How to connect to QuickBooks Online Data from Spring Boot
Connect to QuickBooks Online in a Spring Boot Application using CData JDBC QuickBooks Online Driver
Spring Boot is a framework that makes engineering Java web applications easier. It offers the ability to create standalone applications with minimal configuration. When paired with the CData JDBC driver for QuickBooks Online, Spring Boot can work with live QuickBooks Online data. This article shows how to configure data sources and retrieve data in your Java Spring Boot Application, using the CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks Online.
With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live QuickBooks Online data. When you issue complex SQL queries to QuickBooks Online, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to QuickBooks Online and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze QuickBooks Online data using native data types.
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
Creating the Spring Boot Project in Java
In an IDE (in this tutorial, we use IntelliJ), choose a Maven project:
In the generated project, go to the pom.xml file, and add the required dependencies for Spring Boot:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<parent>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
<version>2.7.2</version>
<relativePath/>
</parent>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>demo</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<name>demo</name>
<description>Demo project for Spring Boot</description>
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
</properties>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-install-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.5.1</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>id.install-file</id>
<phase>clean</phase>
<goals>
<goal>install-file</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<file>C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] ####\lib\cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.jar</file>
<groupId>org.cdata.connectors</groupId>
<artifactId>cdata-quickbooksonline-connector</artifactId>
<version>23</version>
<packaging>jar</packaging>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-jdbc</artifactId>
<version>2.7.0</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.cdata.connectors</groupId>
<artifactId>cdata-quickbooksonline-connector</artifactId>
<version>23</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<distributionManagement>
<repository>
<uniqueVersion>false</uniqueVersion>
<id>test</id>
<name>My Repository</name>
<url>scp://repo/maven2</url>
<layout>default</layout>
</repository>
</distributionManagement>
</project>
Note: The year (####) and the version number (as seen in the provided XML script) should be adjusted according to the current version of the CData JDBC driver being utilized.
Project Structure
In the java directory, create a new package. Usually the name of the package is the name of the groupId
(com.example) followed by the artifactId (.MDS).
Mark the "java" directory as the "Sources Root" (denoted by a blue color). To do this, right-click the java directory and choose Mark Directory as -> Sources Root (As shown below). Additionally, mark the "resources" directory as the "Resources Root."
Store Database Connection Properties
Create an "application.properties" file to store the database connection properties. To do this, right-click on the "resources" folder, opt for New -> File, input the file name as "application.properties," and press Enter.
In the application.properties file, we set the configuration properties for the QuickBooks Online JDBC Driver, using the Class name and JDBC URL:
spring.datasource.driver=cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.QuickBooksOnlineDriver
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:quickbooksonline:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the QuickBooks Online JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.jar
QuickBooks Online uses the OAuth authentication standard. OAuth requires the authenticating user to log in through the browser. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Intuit. Additionally, if you want to connect to sandbox data, set UseSandbox to true.
See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

After setting the properties in the application.properties file, we now configure them.
Data Source Configuration
First, we mark the QuickBooks Online data source as our primary data source. Then, we create a Data Source Bean.
Create a DriverManagerDataSource.java file and create a Bean within it, as shown below. If @Bean gives an error, Spring Boot may not have loaded properly. To fix this, go to File -> Invalidate Caches and restart. Additionally, make sure that Maven has added the Spring Boot dependencies.
To create a data source bean, we use the DriverManagerDataSource Class. This class allows us to set
the properties of the data source. To create this Java class, right-click on "com.example.MDS" package, and choose New -> Java Class.
The following code shows the bean definition of our data source. Each driver should have a bean.
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.boot.jdbc.DataSourceBuilder;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Primary;
import org.springframework.core.env.Environment;
import javax.sql.DataSource;
public class DriverManagerDataSource{
@Autowired
private static Environment env;
@Bean(name ="QuickBooksOnline")
@Primary
public static DataSource QuickBooksOnlineDataSource()
{
DataSourceBuilder<?> dataSourceBuilder = DataSourceBuilder.create();
dataSourceBuilder.driverClassName("cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.QuickBooksOnlineDriver");
dataSourceBuilder.url("jdbc:quickbooksonline:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH");
return dataSourceBuilder.build();
}
//@Override
public void setEnvironment( final Environment environment) {
env=environment;
}
}
Next, move the QuickBooks Online jar file to the Documents folder (see path in command below) - The idea is to have a path without any spaces for the jar file. Then, click the
Maven icon (top right corner of IntelliJ) and click "Execute Maven Goal." Now, run the following command:
mvn install:install-file "-Dfile=C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] ####\lib\cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.jar" -DgroupId=org.cdata.connectors -DartifactId=cdata-quickbooksonline-connector -Dversion=23 -Dpackaging=jar
Follow either of the given steps to run this command:
- The "-Dfile location" can be kept as the default installation path of the CData JDBC Driver. Make sure to keep the path in quotations in this case. Also, change the year and "Dversion" based on the current version of the driver being used.
- As mentioned earlier in the article, in case you relocate the
jar file to the Documents folder, make sure to modify the path in the provided command. In such instances, avoid enclosing the Dfile location in quotations and edit "Dversion" based on the current version of the driver being used.
After pressing enter, we see the following output:
Testing the Connection
The last step is testing the connection. Create a new Java class following the format
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.jdbc.DataSourceAutoConfiguration;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import static com.example.demo.DriverManagerDataSources.QuickBooksOnlineDataSource;
@SpringBootApplication(exclude = {DataSourceAutoConfiguration.class})
public class MDSApplication {
//remove the comment on the line below
public static void main (){
SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
Connection conn = QuickBooksOnlineDataSource().getConnection();
System.out.println("Catalog: "+ conn.getCatalog());
}
}
The output generated should look like this:
Free Trial & More Information
Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks Online and start working with your live QuickBooks Online in Spring Boot.