Connect to QuickBooks Data in ACL Analytics

Stanley Liu
Stanley Liu
Associate Technical Product Marketer
Connect to QuickBooks data via CData Connect AI in ACL Analytics to run your data analysis workflows with real-time access to QuickBooks data.

ACL Analytics, part of Diligent HighBond, is a powerful data analysis software primarily used for audit, risk management, and compliance. It enables professionals to examine and analyze large volumes of data to identify anomalies, trends, and potential risks or fraudulent activities.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for QuickBooks, enabling analytics directly from live QuickBooks data within ACL Analytics, all without the need for data replication to a native database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to QuickBooks. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested QuickBooks data.

About QuickBooks Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live QuickBooks data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Access both local and remote company files.
  • Connect across editions and regions: QuickBooks Premier, Professional, Enterprise, and Simple Start edition 2002+, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and UK editions from 2003+.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to perform actions like voiding or clearing transactions, merging lists, searching entities, and more.

Customers regularly integrate their QuickBooks data with preferred tools, like Power BI, Tableau, or Excel, and integrate QuickBooks data into their database or data warehouse.


Getting Started


Configure QuickBooks Connectivity for ACL Analytics

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

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. Adding a Connection
  2. Select "QuickBooks" from the Add Connection panel
    3. Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks.

    QuickBooks runs on-premises, so Connect AI requires the Connect Gateway to reach it. Install and start the gateway on the same machine (or network) as QuickBooks, then set the URL connection property to the Remote Connector address (e.g., http://remotehost:8166) and enter your User and Password.

    Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add QuickBooks Connection page and update the User-based permissions. Updating 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. Creating a new PAT
  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 QuickBooks data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to QuickBooks from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from ACL Analytics to create a new QuickBooks data source. The CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server allows you to establish a connection to your data from integration tools that support connections to SQL servers. The Virtual SQL Server mimics the behavior of a traditional SQL server, and it supports a range of query options.

  1. With your Analytics File open, select 'Import' --> 'Database and application' Creating a new data source
  2. Create a new SQL Server connection
  3. Set the connection information
    • Server: tds.cdata.com
    • Port: 14333
    • Auth Scheme: Password
    • Username: a Connect AI user, for example, [email protected]
    • Password: the PAT for the above Connect AI user
    • Database: the name of your QuickBooks connection, for example, QuickBooks1
    Connecting to Connect AI
  4. Click "Test Connection"
  5. Click "OK"
  6. You are now ready to work with your QuickBooks data in ACL Analytics! See your data in ACL Analytics

Live connections to QuickBooks data from your applications

ACL Analytics can now connect to live QuickBooks data directly through Connect AI, allowing you to analyze QuickBooks data without duplicating it.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, try CData Connect AI today!

Ready to get started?

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

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