Use the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks, you gain database-like access to live QuickBooks data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding QuickBooks as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of QuickBooks data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live QuickBooks data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to QuickBooks, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to QuickBooks and utilizes the embedded SQL Engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze QuickBooks data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Getting Started

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Connect to QuickBooks as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to QuickBooks follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

When you are connecting to a local QuickBooks instance, you do not need to set any connection properties.

Requests are made to QuickBooks through the Remote Connector. The Remote Connector runs on the same machine as QuickBooks and accepts connections through a lightweight, embedded Web server. The server supports SSL/TLS, enabling users to connect securely from remote machines.

The first time you connect, authorize the Remote Connector with QuickBooks. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide.

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Windows

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. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData QuickBooks Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks
Description = My Description
URL = http://remotehost:8166
User = admin
Password = admin123

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Connect to and Visualize QuickBooks Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting QuickBooks in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to QuickBooks in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add QuickBooks data as a dataset and create visualizations and reports of QuickBooks data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and select Type a Query as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose DSN data sources.
4. Choose the DSN you previously configured (likely CData QuickBooks Sys) and select Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Set the User and Password properties for the DSN (or use placeholder values) and name the data source.
👁 Creating a new data source for QuickBooks.

6. Select the new database instance to view the tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
7. Create a SQL query for the QuickBooks data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   SELECT * FROM Customers
   

   👁 Querying QuickBooks for data.
   NOTE: Since we create a live connection, we can execute a SELECT * query and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
8. Click Finish and choose to connect live.
9. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display (data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery) and apply any filters to create a new visualization of QuickBooks data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to QuickBooks, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL Engine embedded in the driver. 👁 Visualize QuickBooks data.
   
10. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on QuickBooks data. Read our other articles on connecting to QuickBooks in MicroStrategy and connecting to QuickBooks in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.