Integrate Xero Data in Pentaho Data Integration



Build ETL pipelines based on Xero data in the Pentaho Data Integration tool.

The CData JDBC Driver for Xero enables access to live data from data pipelines. Pentaho Data Integration is an Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) engine that data, cleanses the data, and stores data using a uniform format that is accessible.This article shows how to connect to Xero data as a JDBC data source and build jobs and transformations based on Xero data in Pentaho Data Integration.

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 to Xero Connectivity

To connect, set the Schema connection property in addition to any authentication values. Xero offers authentication for private applications, public applications, and partner applications. Set the XeroAppAuthentication property to PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or PARTNER, depending on the type of application configured. To connect from a private application, you will additionally need to set the OAuthAccessToken, OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, CertificateStoreType, CertificateStore, and CertificateStorePassword.

To connect from a public or partner application, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL, or you can register an app to obtain your own OAuth values.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to authenticating to Xero.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Xero JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.xero.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Below is a typical JDBC URL:

jdbc:xero:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Save your connection string for use in Pentaho Data Integration.

Connect to Xero from Pentaho DI

Open Pentaho Data Integration and select "Database Connection" to configure a connection to the CData JDBC Driver for Xero

  1. Click "General"
  2. Set Connection name (e.g. Xero Connection)
  3. Set Connection type to "Generic database"
  4. Set Access to "Native (JDBC)"
  5. Set Custom connection URL to your Xero connection string (e.g.
    jdbc:xero:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
  6. Set Custom driver class name to "cdata.jdbc.xero.XeroDriver"
  7. Test the connection and click "OK" to save.

Create a Data Pipeline for Xero

Once the connection to Xero is configured using the CData JDBC Driver, you are ready to create a new transformation or job.

  1. Click "File" >> "New" >> "Transformation/job"
  2. Drag a "Table input" object into the workflow panel and select your Xero connection.
  3. Click "Get SQL select statement" and use the Database Explorer to view the available tables and views.
  4. Select a table and optionally preview the data for verification.

At this point, you can continue your transformation or jb by selecting a suitable destination and adding any transformations to modify, filter, or otherwise alter the data during replication.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Xero and start working with your live Xero data in Pentaho Data Integration today.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Xero Driver to get started:

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Xero Icon Xero JDBC Driver

Complete read-write access to Xero accounting enables developers to search (Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts, etc.), update items, edit customers, and more, from any Java/J2EE application.