Create Reports from Xero Data in Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) allows you to create branded reports with data visualizations to share with your clients. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Xero data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Xero and build reports from Xero data in Looker Studio.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Xero, allowing you to easily build reports from live Xero data in Looker Studio — without replicating the data. As you build visualizations, Looker Studio generates queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported query operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Xero, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Xero data.

Connect to Xero in Connect Cloud

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

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Xero" from the Add Connection panel
3. Xero uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Xero.
4. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Xero Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Xero data from Looker Studio.

Visualize Live Xero Data in Looker Studio

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Looker Studio to create a new Xero data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Looker Studio, click data sources, create a new data source, and choose CData Connect Cloud Connector.
2. Click Authorize and allow access to your Google account.
3. Click Authorize to authenticate with your CData Connect Cloud instance
4. In the CData Connect Cloud Connector in Looker Studio select a Connection (e.g. Xero1) and click Next
5. Select a Table (e.g. Items) or use a Custom Query and click Connect to continue
6. If needed, modify columns, click Create Report, and add the data source to the report.
7. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
8. Select Dimensions and Measures to customize your visualization.

Live Access to Xero Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Xero data from your Looker Studio workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Xero data.

Try CData Connect Cloud and get real-time data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications.