Connect to Avalara AvaTax Data in CloverDX (formerly CloverETL)

The CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax enables you to use the data transformation components in CloverDX (formerly CloverETL) to work with Avalara AvaTax as sources and destinations. In this article, you will use the JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax to set up a simple transfer into a flat file. The CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax enables you to use the data transformation components in CloverDX (formerly CloverETL) to work with Avalara AvaTax as sources and destinations. In this article, you will use the JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax to set up a simple transfer into a flat file.

Connect to Avalara AvaTax as a JDBC Data Source

1. Create the connection to Avalara AvaTax data. In a new CloverDX graph, right-click the Connections node in the Outline pane and click Connections -> Create Connection. The Database Connection wizard is displayed.
2. Click the plus icon to load a driver from a JAR. Browse to the lib subfolder of the installation directory and select the cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar file.
3. Enter the JDBC URL.

   The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

   • User: Set this to your username.
   • Password: Set this to your password.

   Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

   • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

   Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

   Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

   • AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
   • LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar
   

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

   👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
   

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;

Query Avalara AvaTax Data with the DBInputTable Component

1. Drag a DBInputTable from the Readers selection of the Palette onto the job flow and double-click it to open the configuration editor.
2. In the DB connection property, select the Avalara AvaTax JDBC data source from the drop-down menu.
3. Enter the SQL query. For example:

   SELECT Id, TotalTax FROM Transactions WHERE Code = '051349'

Write the Output of the Query to a UniversalDataWriter

1. Drag a UniversalDataWriter from the Writers selection onto the jobflow.
2. Double-click the UniversalDataWriter to open the configuration editor and add a file URL.
3. Right-click the DBInputTable and then click Extract Metadata.
4. Connect the output port of the DBInputTable to the UniversalDataWriter.
5. In the resulting Select Metadata menu for the UniversalDataWriter, choose the Transactions table. (You can also open this menu by right-clicking the input port for the UniversalDataWriter.)
6. Click Run to write to the file.