Import Real-Time QuickBooks Online Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist

Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use QuickBooks Online data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks Online, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational QuickBooks Online data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with QuickBooks Online data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

About QuickBooks Online Data Integration

CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from QuickBooks Online. Customers use CData connectivity to:

Realize high-performance data reads thanks to push-down query optimization for complex operations like filters and aggregations.
Read, write, update, and delete QuickBooks Online data.
Run reports, download attachments, and send or void invoices directly from code using SQL stored procedures.
Connect securely using OAuth and modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, and ECC.

Many users access live QuickBooks Online data from preferred analytics tools like Power BI and Excel, directly from databases with federated access, and use CData solutions to easily integrate QuickBooks Online data with automated workflows for business-to-business communications.

For more information on how customers are solving problems with CData's QuickBooks Online solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/360-view-of-your-customers.

Getting Started

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks Online and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). This is the last step of the driver installation process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

QuickBooks Online uses the OAuth authentication standard. OAuth requires the authenticating user to log in through the browser. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Intuit. Additionally, if you want to connect to sandbox data, set UseSandbox to true.

See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import QuickBooks Online Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData QuickBooks Online Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataQuickBooks OnlineODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection

Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

The following code queries the data source:

 
 <cfquery name="QuickBooks OnlineQuery" dataSource="CDataQuickBooks OnlineODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Customers 
 </cfquery>

And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

 
 <cftable 
 query = "QuickBooks OnlineQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>DisplayName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="DisplayName"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Balance</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Balance"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>

Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

 
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | QuickBooks Online Customers Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("QuickBooks Online Customers Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="QuickBooks OnlineQuery" dataSource="CDataQuickBooks OnlineODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Customers 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "QuickBooks OnlineQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>DisplayName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="DisplayName"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Balance</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Balance"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>

Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with QuickBooks Online data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example:

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks Online and start building QuickBooks Online-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the QuickBooks Online ODBC Driver to get started:

Download Now

Learn more:

👁 QuickBooks Online Icon
QuickBooks Online ODBC Driver

The QuickBooks Online ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from QuickBooks Online, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access QuickBooks Online data like you would a database - read, write, and update Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/qbonline-odbc-coldfusion.rst