Tableau Cloud is an analytics platform fully hosted in the cloud. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Xero data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Xero and build visualizations from Xero data in Tableau Cloud.
CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Xero, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live Xero data in Tableau Cloud without installing connectors or publishing worksheets and data sources from Tableau Desktop. As you build visualizations, Tableau Cloud generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Xero, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Xero data.
About Xero Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from Xero has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Connect to Xero Accounts and both US and Australian Payroll APIs.
- Read, write, update, and delete Xero objects like Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts and more.
- Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
- Work with accounting, payroll, file, fixed asset, and project data.
Customers regularly integrate their Xero data with preferred tools, like Tableau, Qlik Sense, or Excel, and integrate Xero data into their database or data warehouse.
Getting Started
Configure Xero Connectivity for Tableau Cloud
To work with Xero data from Tableau Cloud, we need to connect to Xero from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Xero data.
Connect to Xero from Connect AI
CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
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Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection
- Select "Xero" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source
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Xero uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Xero.
👁 Authenticating with OAuth (Salesforce is shown).
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Xero 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.
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Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
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On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
👁 Creating a new PAT
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The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Configure Xero Endpoints for Tableau Cloud
After connecting to Xero, create a workspace for your desired table(s).
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Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
👁 The Workspaces page.
👁 Adding a new Workspace.
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Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
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Select the Xero connection (e.g. Xero1) and click Next.
👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
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Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
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Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Xero data from Tableau Cloud.
Visualize Live Xero Data in Tableau Cloud
The steps below outline creating a new data source in Tableau Cloud based on the virtual Xero database in Connect AI and building a simple visualization from the data.
- Log into Tableau Cloud, select a account, and create a new workbook.
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In the new workbook, choose the OData Connector from the data wizard and fill in the values for your Connect AI instance.
👁 Selecting OData connector in Tableau Cloud
- Set Server to the OData URL for your Workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
- Set Authentication to Username and Password
- Set Username to your Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
- Set Password to a PAT for the above user
👁 Connect to Connect AI from Tableau Cloud
- Select your newly created database and the table(s) you wish to visualize (defining relationships for JOINad tables as needed).
👁 Choosing a Database and Tables
- Select Dimensions and Measures and configure your visualization.
👁 Visualizing Xero data in Tableau Cloud
Real-Time Access to Xero Data from Cloud Applications
At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Xero data from your Tableau Cloud workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more, with no need to publish data sources and workbooks from Tableau Desktop. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Tableau Cloud, refer to our Connect AI page.
