Use the CData ODBC Driver for TaxJar from SharePoint Excel Services

The CData ODBC Driver for TaxJar can be accessed using the built-in data access tools in Excel. This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for TaxJar to connect to TaxJar data from Excel spreadsheets in on-premises editions of SharePoint.

Connect to TaxJar as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

To authenticate to the TaxJar API, you will need to first obtain the API Key from the TaxJar UI.

NOTE: the API is available only for Professional and Premium TaxJar plans.

If you already have a Professional or Premium plan you can find the API Key by logging in the TaxJar UI and navigating to Account -> TaxJar API. After obtaining the API Key, you can set it in the APIKey connection property.

Additional Notes

• By default, the CData connector will retrieve data of the last 3 months in cases where the entity support date range filtering. You can set StartDate to specify the minimum creation date of the data retrieved.
• If the API Key has been created for a sandbox API account please set UseSandbox to true, but not all endpoints will work as expected. For more information, refer to the TaxJar developer documentation.

Configure Excel Services

Once the ODBC DSN is configured, you can configure Excel Services to use the DSN to connect. To do this, you will need to set up the OLE DB provider as a trusted data source. You will also want to decide if you want to use a Secure Store Service to enable single sign-on functionality with the ODBC driver. If you prefer, you can use the Excel Services Unattended account and skip to step 3 below.

1. First, set up a secure store application to use single sign-on. In SharePoint Central Administration, go to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications. Select your secure store service application or create a new one. Click Manage on the Edit menu to begin editing the application.
2. Create a new target application. You will be able to set the list of users who have access to this application. After the application is created, you will need to set the credentials on the application so that you can use this later for single sign-on.
3. Navigate to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications in SharePoint Central Administration. Select the Excel Services application used by your organization or create one if it does not already exist. Click Manage. If you create a new app, check the option to add the service application's proxy to the farm's default proxy list.
4. Click on Trusted Data Providers and add a new trusted provider. Set 'MSDASQL.1' for the Provider ID and leave the type as 'OLE DB'. Click OK to add this new provider to the list of trusted providers.

Connect to and Import TaxJar Data in Excel

After you have enabled and secured access to the DSN, you can access the data source from the ribbon in Excel.

1. In an Excel spreadsheet, open the Data tab and click From Other Sources -> From Data Connection Wizard.
2. Select 'Other/Advanced' for the type and on the next screen, select the 'Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers'. On the Connection tab, select CData TaxJar Sys, the system DSN. The driver installation automatically creates matching user and system DSNs: The system DSN is needed to connect from SharePoint.
3. Select the table you would like to connect to.
4. On the last step of the wizard, click the 'Authentication Settings' button. Select the 'Use a stored account' and enter the name of the secure store target application you created earlier. Or, if you want to use the Unattended Service Account, select None.
5. After you finish the wizard, the data is imported into the spreadsheet. You can now update and save TaxJar data directly in SharePoint.