How to Query FreshBooks Data in MySQL Workbench

You can use the SQL Gateway from the ODBC Driver for FreshBooks to query FreshBooks data through a MySQL interface. Follow the procedure below to start the MySQL remoting service of the SQL Gateway and work with live FreshBooks data in MySQL Workbench.

Connect to FreshBooks Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the FreshBooks Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\FreshBooks.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for FreshBooks (see below).

FreshBooks API Profile Settings

Register an OAuth application in your FreshBooks Developer Dashboard to obtain a Client ID and Client Secret, and configure the redirect URI to match your application's callback URL.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to FreshBooks data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

👁 Creating a MySQL Remoting Service in SQL Gateway (Salesforce is shown)

Query FreshBooks from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual FreshBooks database created in the SQL Gateway from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live FreshBooks data.

Connect to FreshBooks through the SQL Gateway

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData SQL Gateway for FreshBooks).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

NOTE: When we refer to Username and Password, we mean the credentials for the user(s) created for the SQL Gateway.

Query FreshBooks Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData SQL Gateway for FreshBooks).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve FreshBooks data, like SELECT * FROM `CData API Sys`.Invoices;

With access to live FreshBooks data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily work with FreshBooks, just like you would a MySQL database. Get started now with a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for ODBC and the CData SQL Gateway.