Connect to QuickBooks Data in Ruby

The CData ODBC Driver for QuickBooks makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live QuickBooks data in Ruby. This article shows how to create a simple Ruby app that connects to QuickBooks data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Getting Started

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Create an ODBC Connection to QuickBooks Data

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.

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.

Installing Ruby and Necessary Gems

If you do not have Ruby installed, refer to the Ruby installation page. With Ruby installed, you will need to install the ruby-dbi, dbd-odbc, and ruby-odbc gems:

gem install dbi
gem install dbd-odbc
gem install ruby-odbc

Create a Ruby App with Connectivity to QuickBooks Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: QuickBooksSelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

#connect to the DSN
require 'dbi'
cnxn = DBI.connect('DBI:ODBC:CData QuickBooks Source','','')

#execute a SELECT query and store the result set
resultSet = cnxn.execute("SELECT Name, CustomerBalance FROM Customers")

#display the names of the columns
resultSet.column_names.each do |name|
 print name, "\t"
end
puts

#display the results
while row = resultSet.fetch do
 (0..resultSet.column_names.size - 1).each do |n|
 print row[n], "\t"
 end
 puts
end
resultSet.finish

#close the connection
cnxn.disconnect if cnxn

With the file completed, you are ready to display your QuickBooks data with Ruby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

ruby QuickBooksSelect.rb

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