FileMaker Brighton User Group QuickBooks Online Presentation

Last March I presented at the FileMaker Brighton User Group meetup on our latest FileMaker integration solution: fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition). It was a very lively meeting with lots of great questions and feedback – I demonstrated the how you can connect FileMaker with QuickBooks Online to eliminate double data entry and save your company time and money.

The recording is now available and you can watch it below or directly on YouTube:

You can get more information about fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) on our website here and download a free 14 day trial version. If you would like us to speak at your next Claris FileMaker meetup please contact us here.

FileMaker 2023 Platform Compatibility Update

Last week Claris released the FileMaker 2023 Platform and we’re pleased to report that all Databuzz products are compatible with the FileMaker 2023 Platform (also referred to as FileMaker Pro v20, FileMaker Server v20 and FileMaker Go v20). Using the current shipping versions of our integration solution we tested the core functionality using FileMaker Pro v20 and haven’t encountered any issues. Here’s a summary of what we tested

fmSMS – we have sent messages from multiple SMS Gateways, checked Account balances, downloaded incoming messages and checked the status of sent Messages successfully.

fmMMS – we have sent messages from multiple MMS Gateways, checked Account balances, downloaded incoming messages and checked the status of sent Messages successfully.

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) – we have been able to authenticate, download from QuickBooks Online to FileMaker and upload from FileMaker to QuickBooks Online successfully.

fmAccounting Link (Xero Edition) – we have been able to authenticate, download from Xero to FileMaker and upload from FileMaker to Xero successfully.

fmEcommerce Link (WooCommerce Edition) – we have been able to authenticate, download from WooCommerce to FileMaker and upload from FileMaker to WooCommerce successfully

fmEcommerce Link (Shopify Edition) – we have been able to authenticate, download from Shopify to FileMaker and upload from FileMaker to Shopify successfully

fmESignature Link (DocuSign Edition) – we have been able to send a signing request, check the status, download the completed PDF and form data successfully.

fmAccounting Link (MYOB AccountRight Edition) – we have been able to authenticate, download from AccountRight to FileMaker and upload from FileMaker to AccountRight successfully.

If you encounter any issues with any of our products and FileMaker 2023 Platform please let us know. We’ll be writing more articles about some of the new features in the FileMaker 2023 Platform over the coming weeks – you can subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when they are released or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Accessing Base Tables in Claris FileMaker 2023

With the release of the Claris FileMaker 2023 platform this month it is now even easier to retrieve a list of Base Tables in your FileMaker solution. Claris FileMaker Pro 2023 – also referred to as FileMaker Pro v20.1 – includes a number of new functions that can be used to replace previous methods that used the ExecuteSQL function to query the system tables.

FileMaker Pro 20 introduced the following new functions:

  • GetBaseTableName returns the base table name of a provided field. You can find this function in the Miscellaneous group of functions.
  • BaseTableNames and BaseTableIDs return information about the base tables instead of all table occurrences. You can find these functions in the Design group of functions.

With the BaseTableNames function you can quickly generate a list of all base table names in specified file. For example:

BaseTableNames ( "" )

returns a list of base tables in the current file. An example of the result when using our fmSMS solution is a simple list of all the base tables for the file:

Accounts
BulkSessions
Contacts
CountryCodes
DeliveryReceipts
GatewayCodes
Gateways
Interface
MergeFields
Messages
Navigation
Replies
Senders
ServerSideErrors
Templates
Webhooks

The important point to note is that the BaseTableNames function returns the same list regardless of the table occurrences on the relationship graph. If you delete every table occurrence on the graph:

you will still get a list of all the tables that appear on the Tables tab of the Manage Database dialog box:

This is a big improvement over previous methods that used the ExecuteSQL function to query the system tables which relied on the table occurrences on the relationship graph for the results. Furthermore if you used the new query syntax introduced with FileMaker Pro 19.4.1:

ExecuteSQL ( "SELECT DISTINCT BaseTableName FROM FileMaker_BaseTableFields" ; "" ; "" )

any tables that had no defined fields would not be included in the results. The BaseTableNames function returns all the base table names regardless of the relationship graph or number of fields defined for each table, a big improvement over the the ExecuteSQL query method.

Claris have also made some changes to the ExecuteSQL query options in FileMaker Pro v20.1 as well – using the ExecuteSQL function you can now access a FileMaker_BaseTables system table. The new schema contains the following fields:

  • BaseTableName – the table name
  • BaseTableId – the table ID
  • Source – the source (<internal>, MYSQL, etc.)
  • ModCount – the number of times the table has been modified

For example the following query:

ExecuteSQL ( "SELECT * FROM FileMaker_BaseTables" ; "" ; "" )

returns the following:

Accounts,143,<Internal>,51
BulkSessions,132,<Internal>,24
Contacts,130,<Internal>,32
CountryCodes,133,<Internal>,3
DeliveryReceipts,134,<Internal>,22
GatewayCodes,144,<Internal>,8
Gateways,135,<Internal>,71
Interface,136,<Internal>,16
MergeFields,137,<Internal>,3
Messages,141,<Internal>,52
Navigation,145,<Internal>,10
Replies,139,<Internal>,28
Senders,140,<Internal>,8
ServerSideErrors,146,<Internal>,6
Templates,142,<Internal>,8
Webhooks,147,<Internal>,11

If you’re just after the Base Table Name you can use the following query:

ExecuteSQL ( "SELECT  BaseTableName FROM FileMaker_BaseTables" ; "" ; "" )

which returns the same results as the BaseTableNames function.

You can get more information on querying the FileMaker System Tables in earlier versions of FileMaker Pro in our earlier posts on this topic:

fmMMS Now Supports Tall Bob MMS Gateway

fmMMS, our FileMaker solution that lets you send and receive MMS messages from the Claris FileMaker Platform, has just been updated to include support for the Tall Bob MMS Gateway based in Australia. With fmMMS and Tall Bob you can send and receive MMS messages to Australian mobile numbers. Tall Bob provide a complete mobile messaging platform, delivered with clever functionality, rich interactivity and unprecedented insights.

You can download a trial version of fmMMS to test with the Tall Bob MMS Gateway from here. More information on using the Tall Bob Gateway with fmMMS is available on our support site.

fmSMS, our FileMaker solution for sending and receiving SMS messages from the Claris FileMaker Platform, has also been updated to support the Tall Bob SMS Gateway.

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) Update

It’s been just over a month since we released fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition), our Claris FileMaker solution that integrates with the QuickBooks Online accounting platform. We’ve spoken to lots of FileMaker users in that time who are looking to connect their FileMaker solution with QuickBooks Online to eliminate double data entry and human errors. Automating the exchange of data between FileMaker and QuickBooks Online saves your company significant time, money and hassle.

We’ve got customers in Canada, USA, UK and Australia who are already seeing the benefits of the fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) solution. We’ve been very busy over the past few weeks talking to them and getting feedback about new features they would like to see in future versions of fmAccounting Link.

We’ve already released 8 updates in the past month with new features such as Bill Payments, Journal Entries, Purchases (Expenses) and our first report (Transaction List). Based on the feature requests we have received you can expect to see more updates over the next few months.

If you have any suggestions for features you would like to see in future versions of fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) please get in touch. You can download a free trial version from our support site if you would like to test drive fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition).

fmSMS Now Supports Tall Bob SMS Gateway

fmSMS, our FileMaker solution for sending and receiving SMS messages from the Claris FileMaker Platform, has been updated to support the Tall Bob SMS Gateway based in Australia.

Tall Bob provide a complete mobile messaging platform, delivered with clever functionality, rich interactivity and unprecedented insights. Tall Bob also support sending MMS messages and we’ll be releasing an update to fmMMS with support for the Tall Bob Gateway shortly.

You can download a trial version of fmSMS to test with the Tall Bob SMS Gateway from the Databuzz website. More information on using the Tall Bob Gateway with fmSMS is available on our support site.

fmMMS Now Supports BulkSMS.com SMS Gateway

fmMMS, our FileMaker solution that lets you send and receive MMS messages from the FileMaker Platform, has just been updated to include support for the BulkSMS.com SMS Gateway based in South Africa. The BulkSMS.com SMS Gateway works differently to other MMS Gateways that fmMMS supports. It doesn’t send MMS messages but rather allows you to upload files to be added as links to a standard SMS Message.

You can download a trial version of fmMMS to test with the BulkSMS.com SMS Gateway from here. You can also sign up for a trial account with BulkSMS.com. More information on using the BulkSMS.com Gateway with fmMMS is available on our support site.

Let’s Reconnect at Reconnect.Sydney 2023

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than three years since the Claris FileMaker Community in the APAC region had their last developer gathering back in 2019. From speaking with many developers in the region over the past few months it’s clear that the community is keen to gather in-person once again like we last did at the International Convention Centre in Sydney in October 2019.

Over the past few weeks a small group of Claris Partners have been working on plans for our next gathering – checking out venues, finalising dates, building a website and working out how to handle ticket sales etc. I’m pleased to report that we now have a date, a venue and a new name for our next in-person gathering: Reconnect.Sydney 2023.

Reconnect.Sydney 2023 will be held at the Wesley Conference Centre in Sydney from Thursday July 20th to Friday July 21st. Like the last APAC DevCon we plan on having 2 full days of sessions – details of the sessions and speakers are still be finalised. We also plan on having a social event on the Thursday evening and a Claris Partners meeting on the Wednesday. If you are interested in submitting a speaker proposal please use the contact form on the event website.

The website is now live and you can purchase your ticket – if you plan on attending I’d recommend that you purchase your ticket ASAP as sales are limited to the first 200 people. There is an early bird discount for purchases before 30 June ($219) which reverts to $249 after that date. Your ticket also includes lunch, morning and afternoon teas over both days.

I look forward to meeting up with members of the Claris FileMaker Developer Community once again in July. We’re still working on sponsorship plans and hopefully Databuzz will once again have an exhibitors booth where we can demonstrate our Claris FileMaker integrations solutions for Xero, WooCommerce, Shopify, QuickBooks Online, DocuSign and more.

Databuzz releases fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) – Integrate the Claris FileMaker Platform and QuickBooks Online Cloud Accounting

Sydney, Australia – 14 March 2023 – Databuzz today announced fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition), a Claris FileMaker solution that integrates with the QuickBooks Online accounting platform.

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) allows you to upload and download data between FileMaker and QuickBooks Online, the cloud based financial management software for small businesses. fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) removes double data entry and human errors saving your company significant time, money and hassle by automating the exchange of data between FileMaker and QuickBooks Online.

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) is completely unlocked allowing you to integrate it into your FileMaker solution. You can copy and paste examples showing you how to authenticate with the QuickBooks Online API and upload Customers, Vendors, Invoices, Bills, Payments, Purchase Orders, Bills and more at the click of a button.

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) features include:

  • works with a single QuickBooks Online company
  • works with FileMaker Pro 16 or later
  • uses all native FileMaker scripts and functions (no plug-ins required)
  • completely unlocked for you to integrate into your own FileMaker solution
  • can be hosted by FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server
  • works with macOS and Windows

“Since releasing our fmAccounting Link solutions for Xero and MYOB we’ve had many requests for a QuickBooks Online version,” said Andrew Duncan, CEO of Databuzz. “We’re pleased to finally have a solution for QuickBooks Online customers to help them eliminate double data entry and streamline their business workflow.”

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) includes examples for the following QuickBooks Online API endpoints:

  • Company Info: authenticate with a single QuickBooks Online company and download company information
  • Customers: download and upload Customers
  • Vendors: download and upload Vendors (Suppliers)
  • Invoices: download and upload Invoices
  • Estimates: download and upload Estimates (Quotes)
  • Bills: download and upload Bills
  • Purchase Orders: download and upload Purchase Orders
  • Items: download and upload Items (Products)
  • Payments: download and upload Payments against an Invoice
  • Attachments: download and upload attachments for Invoices, Estimates, Bills, PurchaseOrders, Customers and Vendors
  • Notes: download and upload notes for Invoices, Estimates, Bills, Purchase Orders, Customers and Vendors
  • Download Account Codes, Tax Rates, Tax Codes, Classes, Departments, Customers Types, Payment Methods, Terms and Preferences

Availability, Pricing, and Compatibility

fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) is available in a number of licenses: Company, Product (Vertical Solution) and Developer. It is available now from the Databuzz website at https://www.databuzz.com.au/fmaccounting-link-quickbooks-online-edition/. Company Licenses start at AUD $695.00. fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) requires FileMaker Pro v16 or later.

Media/Customer Contact:

Andrew Duncan

Phone: +61 418 468 103

sales@databuzz.com.au

About Databuzz: Databuzz is a long-standing Claris Partner. We have been developing and deploying FileMaker solutions for clients in Australia and internationally since 1999. Our clients are individuals, small-medium businesses, government agencies and multi-national corporations. Databuzz was founded by Andrew Duncan, a Claris FileMaker Certified Developer. For more information please visit our website at https://www.databuzz.com.au.

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fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) Preview Video

Last month we announced the upcoming release of our latest Claris FileMaker Integration solution: fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition). We’re hoping to release this in the next week and wanted to share a quick preview video of fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) in action.

In this video we demonstrate:

  • downloading Customers from QuickBooks Online into FileMaker
  • downloading Products from QuickBooks Online into FileMaker
  • uploading an Invoice from FileMaker to QuickBooks Online
  • uploading a Payment for an Invoice from FileMaker to QuickBooks Online

You can watch this below or via this link on YouTube:

If you would like to be notified when fmAccounting Link (QuickBooks Online Edition) is released please subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.