Connecting to Xero data from Desktop application?

nope, not a proponent of either, more just disappointed that PBI is not a great solution for xero users who want to do a bit more than play around with a single exisiting data source. I guess the best thing to do is get a annual cost for each type of connector from:

karaoan and ElizabethTachji

given that the number of calls is minimal, either system would work so really the decision becomes one of cost and reliability.

Cheers,

Sam

ElizabethTachji Elizabeth,

Could I please ask you to refrain from making any statements about our product www.acterys.com that are completely incorrect on public forums? I don't have to comment too much on the quality of your "advice" in this thread as it clearly reflects your limited knowledge about businesss intelligence/analytics in general and about the technical details around our product and the Xero API in particular. So, just for the record:

1. Acterys does NOT "transfer data to excel, then link excel to Power BI desktop".

2. Acterys creates a relational data model optimized for analytics purposes (star schema, time dimension handling, etc. etc. etc.) in the cloud using the Xero API. The update process from Xero can be triggered by the user at any time with one click or you can setup a process that does this automatically. This means that the user is not limited by API call limits when querying the data which is an issue as soon as you have multiple users, the need to include historic data and larger organizations with a higher number of transactions. They also don't have to go through a lot of work (and have technical experience) to modify raw API tables into a useful data model. 

3. The Acterys data mart which can include as many Xero entities as you like (we have now customers with >70) can then be queried with any tool that supports SQL Server access. 

4. This includes access directly from Power BI Desktop (supported in the Acterys version (https://www.acterys.com) by custom visuals that include advanced write back and comments.

5, From Excel using the data model tables directly (nothing apart from report definitions is stored in Excel the data is queried live) alternatively Power Pivot can be used if you want to work offline and store the data in a local model. The Acterys Excel Add-in here again offers extensive planning, writeback and data modelling options.

6. I have already stated the reasons for our approach before so just briefly: a direct API approach is unlikely to support multiple entities. Xero states this here (https://www.xero.com/au/partnerships/microsoft-powerbi/):

"I’m an accountant/bookkeeper. Can I view data across multiple clients using Xero?

You can view data for each of your clients on their own dashboard within a single copy of Power BI. However, you can't combine multiple Xero clients on one dashboard." and it's the same with QuickBooks.

7. Please feel free to review the comments about the Quickbooks Power BI Connector that is using Elizabeth's suggested direct API approach here: https://apps.intuit.com/powerbi#

Martin

Hey Martin,

Again you are going on about Quickbooks app and Xero App connecting to Power BI service.  You are on the wrong page.  The topic is about connecting to POWER BI DESKTOP.  I have connected to many different databases at one time so please stop.

Moving forward, I will not be replying to your message because I feel your comments or advice are of no value to me.  Your criticism is of annoyance and if you choose to continue I will report you for inappropriate content.

Warm Regards

Elizabeth Tachjian