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Use CData Connect Cloud to Access QuickBooks Time Data in Microsoft Power Pivot
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live QuickBooks Time data in the Power Pivot business intelligence tool.
This article will explain how to use CData Connect Cloud to present QuickBooks Time data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's Power Pivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve QuickBooks Time data in Power Pivot.
Connect to QuickBooks Time from Power Pivot
To work with QuickBooks Time data from Power Pivot, we need to connect to QuickBooks Time from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the QuickBooks Time data.
Connect to QuickBooks Time from Connect Cloud
CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "QuickBooks Time" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks Time.
TSheets uses the OAuth2 standard for authentication and authorization. To construct your own OAuth app and connect to data, refer to OAuth section in the Help.
- Click Create & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add QuickBooks Time Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect Cloud 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 Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Configure QuickBooks Time Endpoints for Power Pivot
After connecting to QuickBooks Time, create a workspace for your desired table(s).
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Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
- Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
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Select the QuickBooks Time connection (e.g. TSheets1) and click Next.
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Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
- Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to QuickBooks Time data from Power Pivot.
Import QuickBooks Time Tables in Power Pivot
Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:
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In Excel, click Data -> Get Data -> From Other Sources -> From OData Feed
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Fill out the OData feed URL (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name})
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On the next screen, select Basic and configure the username and password. Password will be your PAT.
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Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel
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After selecting your table(s) and clicking Load, you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet
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Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model.
This can now work with your QuickBooks Time data in Power Pivot.
Free Trial & More Information
If you are interested in connecting to your QuickBooks Time data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Pivot, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Cloud today! For more information on Connect Cloud and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect Cloud page.
