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How do I create FreshBooks Classic metrics?

Updated

Visualize, discover, and act on your accounting data by creating FreshBooks Classic data feed metrics.

Connecting PowerMetrics to your FreshBooks Classic data

When connecting Klipfolio to your FreshBooks Classic data, you'll be asked to enter your FreshBooks Classic subdomain and authentication token.

Finding your FreshBooks Classic authentication token

  1. Go to My Account.
  2. Click the FreshBooks API tab.
  3. Copy your authentication token.

Creating FreshBooks Classic data feed metrics

When you create FreshBooks Classic data feed metrics, you:

Connecting to your FreshBooks Classic account and adding a data feed

Every metric needs a data feed. As you create metrics, you’ll either create a new data feed or select one from your list of existing data feeds. Learn more about data feeds.

To create a new data feed for your metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar click the + button beside Metrics and select See all services.
  2. On the Where is your data? page, under Data Feed Services, select FreshBooks Classic.
  3. Click +New data feed > Select FreshBooks Classic data.
  4. Select a pre-built data source from the left section of the Choose a pre-built or custom connection page or click +Create a custom FreshBooks Classic data source.
  5. If you chose a pre-built data source for your data feed:
    • Enter your FreshBooks Classic Subdomain and Authentication token.
    • If you want to modify the pre-built data request, click Switch to Custom settings. Otherwise, click Continue.
      Note: If you switch back to the Basic settings page after making changes in the Custom settings page, your changes will not be saved.
    • If you clicked Switch to custom settings: Modify the Query URL to get the data you want. You can use the existing information in the Query URL text box as a base. It was auto-filled based on the pre-built data source you selected earlier. Refer to the FreshBooks Classic API documentation for assistance.
  6. If you chose a custom-built data source for your data feed:
    • Edit the Query URL to return the data you're looking for. Replace <yourSubdomain> with your FreshBooks Classic subdomain. Refer to the FreshBooks Classic API documentation for assistance.
    • Expand Authentication (OAuth, 2-Step, X-WSSE, or Basic).
    • At Type, select Basic HTTP Authentication.
    • At Username, enter your FreshBooks Classic authentication token.
    • At Password, leave the field blank.
  7. Click Get data.
  8. Ensure this is the data you’re looking for. Then, click Continue. Next step - refine the data in the data feed editor.

To use an existing data feed for your metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Data Feeds.
  2. In your list of Data Feeds, select the one you want to use for your metric.
  3. Click the Metrics tab in the right-side pane.
  4. Click +Add metric and proceed to Configuring your metric.

Refining data in the data feed editor

You’ve arrived in the data feed editor where you can choose to either accept the automatic settings or make changes.

If you’re happy with the automatic settings:

If you want to make changes:

  • FreshBooks Classic returns data in a XML format. The method for refining and editing XML source data is slightly different than when dealing with source data that’s already in a tabular format. Learn how to refine and edit XML source data feeds.
  • Some common adjustments include changing the data format or names for columns, updating the data feed name, and combining columns using formulas - there are many customization options available.
  • If you want to adjust the original query, click the tile under Data service.
  • When you’re finished editing the data feed, click Save data feed and proceed to Configuring your metric.

Note: After you’re finished creating a metric with this data feed, you can return to it and use it to make more data feed metrics. In the left navigation sidebar, click Data Feeds. Select the desired data feed from the list and click +Add metric.

Configuring your metric

When you configure a data feed metric, you select the measure and dimensions from the data feed to include in the metric and choose settings that determine how the data will be visualized. Go here for detailed instructions on configuring your metric.

Next steps – Interacting with your data

Now that you're connected and have some metrics, it's time to start learning from your data and tracking your progress.

Here are a few suggestions for interacting with your data:

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