Query QuickBooks Time Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query QuickBooks Time data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for QuickBooks Time in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for QuickBooks Time, allowing you to easily query live QuickBooks Time data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to QuickBooks Time, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return QuickBooks Time data.

Configure QuickBooks Time Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to QuickBooks Time from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with QuickBooks Time data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a QuickBooks Time connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "QuickBooks Time" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks Time.

   TSheets uses the OAuth2 standard for authentication and authorization. To construct your own OAuth app and connect to data, refer to OAuth section in the Help.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add QuickBooks Time Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to QuickBooks Time data from Node.js.

Query QuickBooks Time from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to QuickBooks Time with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for QuickBooks Time (TSheets1)

Connect to QuickBooks Time data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'TSheets1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
 if(err){
 throw err ;
 }
 new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Timesheets', (err, result) => {
 console.dir(result)
 })
 
});

sql.on('error', err => {
 console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})