Connect to QuickBooks Data as a Linked Server



Use CData Connect to set up a linked server for QuickBooks data.

You can use CData Connect to set up a linked server for QuickBooks data. After you configure CData Connect, you can use the UI in SQL Server Management Studio or call stored procedures to create the linked server. You can then work with QuickBooks data just as you would a linked SQL Server instance.

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


Create a Virtual SQL Database for QuickBooks Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

  1. Log into Connect Server and click Connections.
  2. Select "QuickBooks" from Available Data Sources.
  3. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

Create a Linked Server for QuickBooks Data

After you have configured and started the daemon, create the linked server and connect. You can use the UI in SQL Server Management Studio or call stored procedures.

Create a Linked Server from the UI

Follow the steps below to create a linked server from the Object Explorer.

  1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to an instance of SQL Server.
  2. In the Object Explorer, expand the node for the SQL Server database. In the Server Objects node, right-click Linked Servers and click New Linked Server. The New Linked Server dialog is displayed.
  3. In the General section, click the Other Data Source option and enter the following information after naming the linked server:
    • Provider: Select the SQL Server Native Client Provider that corresponds to your version of SQL Server. For example, SQL Server Native Client 11.0.
    • Data Source: Enter the host and port, separated by a comma, where the TDS remoting service is running.

      Note that a value of "localhost" in this input refers to the machine where SQL Server is running, so be careful if you create a linked server in Management Studio on a different machine.

    • Catalog: Enter the CData system DSN, CData QuickBooks Sys.
  4. In the Security section, select the option to have the connection "made using this security context" and enter the username and password of a user you created in the Users tab of the SQL Gateway.

Create a Linked Server Programmatically

In addition to using the SQL Server Management Studio UI to create a linked server, you can use stored procedures. The following inputs are required:

  • server: The linked server name.
  • provider: Enter "SQLNCLI" for the SQL Server Native Client Provider.
  • datasrc: The host and port, separated by a comma, where the service is running.

    Note that a value of "localhost" in the datasrc input refers to the machine where SQL Server is running, so be careful if you create a linked server in Management Studio on a different machine.

  • catalog: Leave this empty.
  • srvproduct: Enter the product name of the data source; this can be an arbitrary value like "CData Connect" or an empty string.

Follow the steps below to create the linked server and configure authentication to the SQL Gateway:

  1. Call sp_addlinkedserver to create the linked server:

    EXEC sp_addlinkedserver @server='CDataConnect', @provider='SQLNCLI', @datasrc='< MachineIPAddress >,1434', @catalog='', @srvproduct=''; GO
  2. Call the sp_addlinkedsrvlogin stored procedure to allow SQL Server users to connect with the credentials of an authorized user of the service. Note that the credentials you use to connect to the service must specify a user you configured on the Users tab of the SQL Gateway.

    EXEC sp_addlinkedsrvlogin @rmtsrvname='CDataConnect', @rmtuser='< CData Connect user >', @rmtpassword='< CData Connect password >', @useself='FALSE', @locallogin=NULL; GO

Connect from SQL Server Management Studio

Since CData Connect provides a virtual SQL Server interface, there is no further configuration needed to work with your QuickBooks data directly from SQL Server. Simply execute queries against CData Connect just like you would any other Linked Server.

Execute Queries

You can now execute queries to the QuickBooks linked server from any tool that can connect to SQL Server. Set the table name accordingly:

SELECT * FROM [linked server name].[CData QuickBooks Sys].[QuickBooks].[Customers]

SQL Access to QuickBooks Data

At this point, you have a direct connection to live QuickBooks data from your SQL Server instance. You can work with live QuickBooks data just like you would any other SQL Server database, with no need to replicate the data. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources, refer to our CData Connect page.

Ready to get started?

Learn more or sign up for a free trial:

CData Connect Server