Load Avalara AvaTax Data to a Database Using Embulk

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara, Embulk easily loads data from Avalara AvaTax to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara in Embulk to load Avalara AvaTax data to a MySQL dtabase.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Avalara AvaTax data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Avalara AvaTax, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Avalara AvaTax and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Configure a JDBC Connection to Avalara AvaTax Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Avalara\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to Avalara AvaTax and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with Avalara AvaTax.

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.)

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Avalara AvaTax:

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

Load Avalara AvaTax Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

1. Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc

embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc

2. In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql

   embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql
   

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load Avalara AvaTax data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load Avalara AvaTax Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like avalaraavatax-mysql.yml.

1. For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
2. For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (avalaraavatax-mysql.yml)

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver
	url: jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;
	table: "Transactions"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Transactions"
	mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.

embulk run avalaraavatax-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered Avalara AvaTax Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver
	url: jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;
	query: "SELECT Id, TotalTax FROM Transactions WHERE [RecordId] = 1"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Transactions"
	mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for Avalara as a connector, Embulk can integrate Avalara AvaTax data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.