Databases
Finance & Ops Analytics

How to load data from Xero to Apache Iceberg

Learn how to use Airbyte to synchronize your Xero data into Apache Iceberg within minutes.

TL;DR

This can be done by building a data pipeline manually, usually a Python script (you can leverage a tool as Apache Airflow for this). This process can take more than a full week of development. Or it can be done in minutes on Airbyte in three easy steps:

  1. set up Xero as a source connector (using Auth, or usually an API key)
  2. set up Apache Iceberg as a destination connector
  3. define which data you want to transfer and how frequently

You can choose to self-host the pipeline using Airbyte Open Source or have it managed for you with Airbyte Cloud.

This tutorial’s purpose is to show you how.

What is Xero

Xero is the online accounting software for your business which connects you to your accountant, bank, bookkeeper, and other business apps. Xero is an well known accounting system that have designed for small and growing businesses with their trusted advisors. You don't need to have an accounting degree to use the Xero Accounting app for a small business owner. It is also a cloud-based small business accounting software having tools for managing bank reconciliation, inventory, invoicing, purchasing, expenses.

What is Apache Iceberg

For huge analytical tables, Apache Iceberg is a high-performance format. Using Apache Iceberg, engines such as Spark, Trino, Flink, Presto, Hive and Impala can safely work with the same tables, at the same time, providing the reliability and simplicity of SQL tables to big data. With Apache Iceberg, you can merge new data, update existing rows, and delete specific rows. Data files can be eagerly rewritten or deleted deltas can be used to make updates faster.

Integrate Xero with Apache Iceberg in minutes

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Prerequisites

  1. A Xero account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
  2. A Apache Iceberg account.
  3. An active Airbyte Cloud account, or you can also choose to use Airbyte Open Source locally. You can follow the instructions to set up Airbyte on your system using docker-compose.

Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform that consolidates and streamlines the process of extracting and loading data from multiple data sources to data warehouses. It offers pre-built connectors, including Xero and Apache Iceberg, for seamless data migration.

When using Airbyte to move data from Xero to Apache Iceberg, it extracts data from Xero using the source connector, converts it into a format Apache Iceberg can ingest using the provided schema, and then loads it into Apache Iceberg via the destination connector. This allows businesses to leverage their Xero data for advanced analytics and insights within Apache Iceberg, simplifying the ETL process and saving significant time and resources.

Step 1: Set up Xero as a source connector

1. First, navigate to the Xero source connector page on Airbyte.com.
2. Click on the "Add Source" button to begin the process of adding your Xero credentials.
3. Enter a name for your Xero source connector.
4. In the "OAuth2 Credentials" section, click on the "Connect to Xero" button.
5. You will be redirected to the Xero login page. Enter your Xero credentials and click "Login".
6. Once you have logged in, you will be asked to authorize Airbyte to access your Xero data. Click "Allow access".
7. You will be redirected back to the Airbyte Xero source connector page. Your OAuth2 credentials should now be filled in automatically.
8. In the "Connection Configuration" section, enter the name of your organization as it appears in Xero.
9. Click on the "Test" button to ensure that your credentials are working properly.
10. If the test is successful, click on the "Create" button to save your Xero source connector.  

Once you have successfully added your Xero source connector, you can use it to extract data from your Xero account and integrate it with other tools and platforms.

Step 2: Set up Apache Iceberg as a destination connector

1. Open the Airbyte platform and navigate to the "Destinations" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
2. Click on the "Apache Iceberg" destination connector and select "Create new connection."
3. Enter a name for your connection and provide the necessary credentials for your Apache Iceberg database, including the host, port, database name, username, and password.
4. Test the connection to ensure that it is successful. 5. Select the tables or data sources that you want to replicate to your Apache Iceberg database.
6. Configure any additional settings or options for your connection, such as the frequency of data replication or any transformations that you want to apply to your data.
7. Save your connection and start the replication process.
8. Monitor the progress of your data replication and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
9. Once the replication process is complete, verify that your data has been successfully replicated to your Apache Iceberg database.
10. Use your Apache Iceberg database to analyze and query your data as needed.

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your Xero data to Apache Iceberg

Once you've successfully connected Xero as a data source and Apache Iceberg as a destination in Airbyte, you can set up a data pipeline between them with the following steps:

  1. Create a new connection: On the Airbyte dashboard, navigate to the 'Connections' tab and click the '+ New Connection' button.
  2. Choose your source: Select Xero from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
  3. Select your destination: Choose Apache Iceberg from the dropdown list of your configured destinations.
  4. Configure your sync: Define the frequency of your data syncs based on your business needs. Airbyte allows both manual and automatic scheduling for your data refreshes.
  5. Select the data to sync: Choose the specific Xero objects you want to import data from towards Apache Iceberg. You can sync all data or select specific tables and fields.
  6. Select the sync mode for your streams: Choose between full refreshes or incremental syncs (with deduplication if you want), and this for all streams or at the stream level. Incremental is only available for streams that have a primary cursor.
  7. Test your connection: Click the 'Test Connection' button to make sure that your setup works. If the connection test is successful, save your configuration.
  8. Start the sync: If the test passes, click 'Set Up Connection'. Airbyte will start moving data from Xero to Apache Iceberg according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your Apache Iceberg data warehouse is always up-to-date with your Xero data.

Use Cases to transfer your Xero data to Apache Iceberg

Integrating data from Xero to Apache Iceberg provides several benefits. Here are a few use cases:

  1. Advanced Analytics: Apache Iceberg’s powerful data processing capabilities enable you to perform complex queries and data analysis on your Xero data, extracting insights that wouldn't be possible within Xero alone.
  2. Data Consolidation: If you're using multiple other sources along with Xero, syncing to Apache Iceberg allows you to centralize your data for a holistic view of your operations, and to set up a change data capture process so you never have any discrepancies in your data again.
  3. Historical Data Analysis: Xero has limits on historical data. Syncing data to Apache Iceberg allows for long-term data retention and analysis of historical trends over time.
  4. Data Security and Compliance: Apache Iceberg provides robust data security features. Syncing Xero data to Apache Iceberg ensures your data is secured and allows for advanced data governance and compliance management.
  5. Scalability: Apache Iceberg can handle large volumes of data without affecting performance, providing an ideal solution for growing businesses with expanding Xero data.
  6. Data Science and Machine Learning: By having Xero data in Apache Iceberg, you can apply machine learning models to your data for predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and more.
  7. Reporting and Visualization: While Xero provides reporting tools, data visualization tools like Tableau, PowerBI, Looker (Google Data Studio) can connect to Apache Iceberg, providing more advanced business intelligence options. If you have a Xero table that needs to be converted to a Apache Iceberg table, Airbyte can do that automatically.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

  1. Configure a Xero account as an Airbyte data source connector.
  2. Configure Apache Iceberg as a data destination connector.
  3. Create an Airbyte data pipeline that will automatically be moving data directly from Xero to Apache Iceberg after you set a schedule

With Airbyte, creating data pipelines take minutes, and the data integration possibilities are endless. Airbyte supports the largest catalog of API tools, databases, and files, among other sources. Airbyte's connectors are open-source, so you can add any custom objects to the connector, or even build a new connector from scratch without any local dev environment or any data engineer within 10 minutes with the no-code connector builder.

We look forward to seeing you make use of it! We invite you to join the conversation on our community Slack Channel, or sign up for our newsletter. You should also check out other Airbyte tutorials, and Airbyte’s content hub!

What should you do next?

Hope you enjoyed the reading. Here are the 3 ways we can help you in your data journey:

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Easily address your data movement needs with Airbyte Cloud
Take the first step towards extensible data movement infrastructure that will give a ton of time back to your data team. 
Get started with Airbyte for free
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Talk to a data infrastructure expert
Get a free consultation with an Airbyte expert to significantly improve your data movement infrastructure. 
Talk to sales
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Improve your data infrastructure knowledge
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and get the community’s new enlightening content along with Airbyte’s progress in their mission to solve data integration once and for all.
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Connectors Used

What should you do next?

Hope you enjoyed the reading. Here are the 3 ways we can help you in your data journey:

flag icon
Easily address your data movement needs with Airbyte Cloud
Take the first step towards extensible data movement infrastructure that will give a ton of time back to your data team. 
Get started with Airbyte for free
high five icon
Talk to a data infrastructure expert
Get a free consultation with an Airbyte expert to significantly improve your data movement infrastructure. 
Talk to sales
stars sparkling
Improve your data infrastructure knowledge
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and get the community’s new enlightening content along with Airbyte’s progress in their mission to solve data integration once and for all.
Subscribe to newsletter

Connectors Used

Frequently Asked Questions

What data can you extract from Xero?

Xero's API provides access to a wide range of data related to accounting and financial management. The following are the categories of data that can be accessed through Xero's API:  

1. Contacts: This includes information about customers, suppliers, and employees.  
2. Invoices: This includes details about invoices, such as invoice numbers, dates, amounts, and payment status.  
3. Bills: This includes information about bills, such as bill numbers, dates, amounts, and payment status.  
4. Bank transactions: This includes details about bank transactions, such as deposits, withdrawals, and transfers.  
5. Inventory: This includes information about inventory items, such as stock levels, prices, and descriptions.  
6. Payroll: This includes information about employee payroll, such as salaries, taxes, and benefits.  
7. Reports: This includes various financial reports, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements.  
8. Tracking categories: This includes information about tracking categories, which are used to categorize transactions and generate reports.  
9. Settings: This includes various settings related to the Xero account, such as company information, user permissions, and tax settings.

What data can you transfer to Apache Iceberg?

You can transfer a wide variety of data to Apache Iceberg. This usually includes structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data like transaction records, log files, JSON data, CSV files, and more, allowing robust, scalable data integration and analysis.

What are top ETL tools to transfer data from Xero to Apache Iceberg?

The most prominent ETL tools to transfer data from Xero to Apache Iceberg include:

  • Airbyte
  • Fivetran
  • Stitch
  • Matillion
  • Talend Data Integration

These tools help in extracting data from Xero and various sources (APIs, databases, and more), transforming it efficiently, and loading it into Apache Iceberg and other databases, data warehouses and data lakes, enhancing data management capabilities.