Zoho CRM Connector for SSAS : Read data (query mode - max 200 rows only) via SQL

Learn how to read data (query mode - max 200 rows only) using the Zoho CRM Connector for SSAS. This connector enables you to read and write Zoho CRM data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate accounts, leads, contacts, and deals — almost no coding required. We'll walk you through the exact setup.

Let's dive in!

Zoho CRM ODBC Driver Powering this integration

High performance
Bidirectional
Low-code / No-code
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the Zoho CRM ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to Zoho CRM data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Create data source using Zoho CRM ODBC Driver

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for odbc and open the ODBC Data Sources (64-bit):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on the ZappySys API Driver driver:

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use a User DSN if the client application runs under a User Account. This is the ideal option at design time (e.g., when developing in Visual Studio). Use it for both types of applications (64-bit and 32-bit).
- Create and use a System DSN if the client application runs under a System Account (e.g., as a Windows Service). This is usually the required option in a production environment. If your Windows Service is a 32-bit application, you must use the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure this
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Zoho CRM" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Zoho CRM" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

ZohoCrmDSN

Zoho CRM

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

OAuth

Zoho CRM authentication

OAuth Connection for Zoho CRM API [API reference]

To register custom App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

Go to Zoho API Console
Click Add Client link
Select Server-based Applications option
Enter desired client name (Display purpose only)
Enter some URL for Company homepage
For Authorized Redirect URI enter https://zappysys.com/oauth (Or enter your own but we recommend using ZappySys one if possible). This URL must match on Zoho Connector UI.
Click CREATE.
Copy Client ID and Secret and paste on Zoho Connector UI.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

ZohoCrmDSN

Zoho CRM

OAuth [OAuth]

https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/[$Version$]

Optional Parameters
ClientId
ClientSecret
Permissions	ZohoCRM.settings.all ZohoCRM.modules.all ZohoCRM.coql.READ
AccountUrl	https://accounts.zoho.com
RedirectUrl	https://zappysys.com/oauth
API Version	v2
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Then go to Preview tab to start building a SQL query.
Once you do that, proceed by opening Query Builder:

ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

Read and write Zoho CRM data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate accounts, leads, contacts, and deals — almost no coding required.

ZohoCrmDSN
Then simply select the Read Data (Query Mode - Max 200 Rows Only) endpoint (action).
Continue by configuring the Required parameters. You can also set optional parameters too.
Move on by hitting Preview Data button to preview the results.

If you see the results you need, simply copy the generated query:

Read Data (Query Mode - Max 200 Rows Only)

Optional Parameters
sql_query	select Last_Name, First_Name, Full_Name from Contacts where Last_Name not like 'Boyle' limit 200

SELECT * from get_module_data_coql WITH(sql_query= 'select Last_Name, First_Name, Company from Leads where Company like ''Test'' limit 200')

Click OK to use built SQL query and close the Query Builder.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in SSAS:
ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

Read and write Zoho CRM data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate accounts, leads, contacts, and deals — almost no coding required.

ZohoCrmDSN
```
SELECT * from get_module_data_coql WITH(sql_query= 'select Last_Name, First_Name, Company from Leads where Company like ''Test'' limit 200')
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Zoho CRM API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Zoho CRM servers).

Let's not stop here and explore SQL query examples, including how to use them in Stored Procedures and Views (virtual tables) in the next steps.

Zoho CRM SQL query examples

Use these SQL queries in your SSAS data source:

Read data using COQL (Native SQL)

Executes a COQL (CRM Object Query Language) query to retrieve data. This example demonstrates using the get_module_data_coql endpoint to run a server-side query, which can be more efficient than client-side filtering. Note that COQL queries have a limit of 200 rows.

SELECT * from get_module_data_coql WITH(sql_query= 'select Last_Name, First_Name, Company from Leads where Company like ''Test'' limit 200')

Create SQL view in ODBC data source

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.
Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
```
SELECT
  "ShipCountry",
  "OrderID",
  "CustomerID",
  "EmployeeID",
  "OrderDate",
  "RequiredDate",
  "ShippedDate",
  "ShipVia",
  "Freight",
  "ShipName",
  "ShipAddress",
  "ShipCity",
  "ShipRegion",
  "ShipPostalCode"
FROM "Orders"
Where "ShipCountry"='USA'
```
That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
```
SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"
```

Read data in SSAS via SQL view

Start by right-clicking on Data Source Views and then choosing New Data Source View...:
Select the previously created data source and click Next:
Ignore the Name Matching window and click Next.
Add the tables you will use in your SSAS cube:
For cube dimensions, consider creating a Virtual Table in the Data Gateway's data source. Use the DISTINCT keyword in the SELECT statement to get unique values from the facts table, like this:
```
SELECT DISTINCT Country FROM Customers
```
For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in Zoho CRM.
Review your data source view and click Finish:
Add the missing table relationships and you're done!

Advanced topics

Creating SQL stored procedures

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver. Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
```
CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
    @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
 AS
    SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
```
That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
```
Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';
```

Conclusion

And there you have it — a complete guide on how to read data (query mode - max 200 rows only) in SSAS without writing complex code. All of this was powered by Zoho CRM ODBC Driver, which handled the REST API pagination and authentication for us automatically.

Download the trial now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

Download Chat

More actions supported by Zoho CRM Connector

Got another use case in mind? We've documented the exact setups for a variety of essential Zoho CRM operations directly in SSAS, so you can skip the trial and error. Find your next step-by-step guide below: