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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/xero-odbc-access-linked-tables.rst

⇱ How to Use a Microsoft Access Database to Update Xero Data in Real Time

How to Use a Microsoft Access Database to Update Xero Data in Real Time

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Update Xero data by creating a linked table in Microsoft Access with the CData Xero ODBC Driver.

CData ODBC drivers connect your data to any database management tool that supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). This includes many of the most popular productivity tools, adding new capabilities for document sharing and collaboration. Using the CData ODBC driver for Xero, you can update live Xero data in Microsoft Access; for example, you can make updates that can be immediately seen by other users.

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


Connect to Xero as an ODBC Data Source

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.

To connect, set the Schema connection property in addition to any authentication values. Xero offers authentication for private applications, public applications, and partner applications. Set the XeroAppAuthentication property to PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or PARTNER, depending on the type of application configured. To connect from a private application, you will additionally need to set the OAuthAccessToken, OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, CertificateStoreType, CertificateStore, and CertificateStorePassword.

To connect from a public or partner application, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL, or you can register an app to obtain your own OAuth values.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to authenticating to Xero.

Create a Linked Table to Items Data

Follow the steps below to create a linked table, which enables you to access live Items data.

  1. On the External Data tab in Access, click ODBC Database. 👁 Use the Get External Data wizard to work with ODBC data sources in Access.
  2. Select the option to link to the data source. A linked table will enable you to read from and write data to the Items table. 👁 Linked Tables enable you use the live connection to Xero that is provided by the driver.

  3. Select the CData Xero data source from the Machine Data Source tab.

    👁 DSNs listed in the Get External Data wizard.
  4. Select the Items table. For more information on this table, see the "Data Model" chapter in the help documentation. 👁 Available tables. (Google is shown.)

  5. Double-click the linked table to make edits. The linked table will always have up-to-date data and any changes will be reflected back to the underlying table.

    👁 A linked table to the live data. (Google is shown.)

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Xero ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

👁 Xero Icon
Xero ODBC Driver

The Xero ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Xero accounting software , directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Xero data like you would a database - read, write, and update Xero Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.