Integrate Live Sage US Data into Custom Business Apps Built in 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 Server, you get instant access to Sage US data from the apps you build using Power Apps. This article shows how to connect to Connect Server from Power Apps and build an app based on live Sage US data.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL interface for Sage US, allowing you to easily integrate with live Sage US data in Power Apps — without replicating the data. CData Connect Server 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 Sage US, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Sage US data.

Create a Virtual SQL Database for Sage US Data

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

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "Sage US" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Sage US.

   The Application Id and Company Name connection string options are required to connect to Sage as a data source. You can obtain an Application Id by contacting Sage directly to request access to the Sage 50 SDK.

   Sage must be installed on the machine. The Sage.Peachtree.API.dll and Sage.Peachtree.API.Resolver.dll assemblies are required. These assemblies are installed with Sage in C:/Program Files/Sage/Peachtree/API/. Additionally, the Sage SDK requires .NET Framework 4.0 and is only compatible with 32-bit applications. To use the Sage SDK in Visual Studio, set the Platform Target property to "x86" in Project -> Properties -> Build.

   You must authorize the application to access company data: To authorize your application to access Sage, restart the Sage application, open the company you want to access, and connect with your application. You will then be prompted to set access permissions for the application in the resulting dialog.

   While the compiled executable will require authorization only once, during development you may need to follow this process to reauthorize a new build. To avoid restarting the Sage application when developing with Visual Studio, click Build -> Configuration Manager and uncheck "Build" for your project.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

Connecting to CData Connect Server

To use Connect Server to integrate Sage US data into your Power Apps, you need a new SQL Server connection:

1. Log in to Power Apps
2. Click Data -> Connections -> New connection
3. Select SQL Server
4. In the connection wizard:
   
   
   • Choose to connect directly
   • Set SQL server name to the address of your Connect Server instance (CONNECT_SERVER_URL)
   • Set SQL database name to the name of the virtual Sage US database you created earlier (like sagedb)
   • Set the Username and Password and click Create

Building a Data-Centric App for Sage US Data

With the connection to Connect Server configured, you are ready to integrate live Sage US data into the apps you build in Power Apps.

1. Log in to Power Apps
2. Click Create, hover over "Start from data" and click Make this app
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 Sage US data that you can save and publish for use within your organization.

SQL Access to Sage US Data from Applications

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

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, see the CData Connect Server.