Connect to Xero Data in ACL Analytics

Stanley Liu
Associate Technical Product Marketer

Connect to Xero data via CData Connect AI in ACL Analytics to run your data analysis workflows with real-time access to Xero 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 Xero, enabling analytics directly from live Xero 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 Xero. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Xero data.

About Xero Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Xero has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

Connect to Xero Accounts and both US and Australian Payroll APIs.
Read, write, update, and delete Xero objects like Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts and more.
Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
Work with accounting, payroll, file, fixed asset, and project data.

Customers regularly integrate their Xero data with preferred tools, like Tableau, Qlik Sense, or Excel, and integrate Xero data into their database or data warehouse.

Getting Started

Configure Xero Connectivity for ACL Analytics

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

Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

Select "Xero" from the Add Connection panel

Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Xero. Xero uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Xero.
Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Xero Connection page and update the User-based 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.

Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Xero data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to Xero from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from ACL Analytics to create a new Xero 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.

With your Analytics File open, select 'Import' --> 'Database and application'
Create a new SQL Server connection
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 Xero connection, for example, Xero1
Click "Test Connection"
Click "OK"
You are now ready to work with your Xero data in ACL Analytics!