Connect to and Visualize Live TaxJar Data in Tableau Prep

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for TaxJar, you can easily get access to live TaxJar data within Tableau Prep. This article shows how to connect to TaxJar in Tableau Prep and build a simple chart.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live TaxJar data in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with TaxJar and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing TaxJar data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to TaxJar data.

NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors support Tableau Prep Builder 2020.4.1 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau Prep Builder, you will need to use the CData JDBC Driver.

Install the CData Tableau Connector

When you install the CData Tableau Connector for TaxJar, the installer should copy the TACO and JAR files to the appropriate directories. If your data source does not appear in the connection steps below, you will need to copy two files:

1. Copy the TACO file (cdata.taxjar.taco) found in the lib folder of the connector's installation location (C:\Program Files\CData\CData Tableau Connector for TaxJar 20XX\lib on Windows) to the Tableau Prep Builder repository:
   • Windows: C:\Users\[Windows User]\Documents\My Tableau Prep Repository\Connectors
   • MacOS: /Users//Documents/My Tableau Prep Repository/Connectors
2. Copy the JAR file (cdata.tableau.taxjar.jar) found in the same lib folder to the Tableau drivers directory, typically [Tableau installation location]\Drivers.

Connect to TaxJar in Tableau Prep Builder

Open Tableau Prep Builder and click "Connect to Data" and search for "TaxJar by CData." Configure the connection and click "Sign In."

To authenticate to the TaxJar API, first obtain the API Key from the TaxJar UI.

NOTE: the API is available only for Professional and Premium TaxJar plans.

If you already have a Professional or Premium plan you can find the API Key by logging in the TaxJar UI and navigating to Account -> TaxJar API. After obtaining the API Key, you can set it in the APIKey connection property.

Additional Notes

• By default, the CData connector will retrieve data of the last 3 months in cases where the entity support date range filtering. You can set StartDate to specify the minimum creation date of the data retrieved.
• If the API Key has been created for a sandbox API account please set UseSandbox to true, but not all endpoints will work as expected. For more information, refer to the TaxJar developer documentation.

Discover and Prep Data

Drag the tables and views you wish to work with onto the canvas. You can include multiple tables.

Data Cleansing & Filtering

To further prepare the data, you can implement filters, remove duplicates, modify columns and more.

1. Start by clicking on the plus next to your table and selecting the Clean Step option. 👁 Adding a Clean Step
   
2. Select the field values to filter by. As you select values, you can see how your selections impact other fields. 👁 Selecting test entries (Sage Intacct is shown).
   
3. Opt to "Keep Only" or "Exclude" entries with your select values and the data changes in response. 👁 Excluding selected entries (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Data Joins and Unions

Data joining involves combining data from two or more related tables based on a common field or key.

1. To join multiple tables, drag a related table next to an existing table in the canvas and place it in the Join box. 👁 Joining two tables (Sage Intacct is shown).
   
2. Select the foreign keys that exist in both tables. 👁 Setting the joining fields/columns (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Exporting Prepped Data

After you perform any cleansing, filtering, transformations, and joins, you can export the data for visualization in Tableau.

1. Add any other needed transformations then insert an Output node at the end of the flow.
2. Configure the node to save to a file in the format of your choice. 👁 Saving the results (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Once the output data is saved, you can work with it in Tableau, just like you would any other file source.

Using the CData Tableau Connector for TaxJar with Tableau Prep Builder, you can easily join, cleanse, filter, and aggregate TaxJar data for visualizations and reports in Tableau. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.