FreshBooks connector

Set up the FreshBooks connector in Kaivo: authentication, configuration, the 10 BigQuery tables it syncs, and answers to common questions.

Written By Lauri Raivio

Last updated 1 day ago

Kaivo is a fully managed data platform that syncs your FreshBooks data into a Google BigQuery warehouse and keeps it up to date automatically. There is no pipeline to build and no infrastructure to run, so you can spend your time analysing your payment and finance data instead of moving it.

What is the FreshBooks connector

Sync your FreshBooks invoices, clients, and expenses into BigQuery with Kaivo to report on billing and profitability alongside the rest of your business.

CategoryFinance & Payments
AuthenticationAPI key
SetupOn request, contact us to enable it

Getting started with the FreshBooks connector

  1. Sign up for Kaivo and create a workspace.
  2. Connect your FreshBooks account.
  3. Choose which tables to sync.
  4. Wait for the initial sync to finish.
  5. Query your data in BigQuery or your favourite AI or BI tool.

Authenticating FreshBooks

Authenticate with your FreshBooks credentials. You provide:

FieldDescription
Client Secret

The Client Secret of your FreshBooks developer application.

Refresh Token

The refresh token obtained from the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow.

Prerequisites

FreshBooks uses OAuth, so you need your own FreshBooks developer application:

  1. Go to the FreshBooks Developer Portal, create an app, then note its Client ID and Client Secret and set a Redirect URI.
  2. Complete the OAuth authorization flow once to obtain a Refresh Token.
  3. Find your Account ID in the FreshBooks URL (after /accounting/account/) when logged in, and your Business UUID from the /auth/api/v1/users/me API response (under your business membership).

Then enter those values below.

Need help? Reach our team via the chat in the bottom-right corner.

Configuring the FreshBooks connector

When you set up the connector, you provide:

FieldDescription
Client ID

The Client ID of your FreshBooks developer application.

Redirect URI

The Redirect URI configured on your FreshBooks developer application.

Account ID

Your FreshBooks Account ID, shown in the app URL after /accounting/account/ when logged in.

Business UUID

Your FreshBooks Business UUID, available from the /auth/api/v1/users/me API response under your business membership.

Tables and columns synced from FreshBooks

Kaivo syncs 10 tables from FreshBooks into a dedicated dataset in your BigQuery warehouse. Click any table to see its columns and types.

How the FreshBooks sync works

After the first load, Kaivo keeps your BigQuery warehouse up to date for you. Where FreshBooks supports it, each sync pulls only new and changed records so it stays fast; otherwise it refreshes the whole table. Every record keeps its original ID, so you won't get duplicate rows.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the initial sync take for FreshBooks?

It depends on how much history is in your FreshBooks account. Most initial syncs finish within minutes, while large accounts can take a few hours. After that, syncs only fetch new and changed records, so they're much faster.

Can I sync only some tables or columns?

Yes. You pick which tables to sync when you set up the connection and can change the selection later. Tables you don't select are never copied to your warehouse.

What happens when FreshBooks's schema changes?

New fields are never added automatically. You choose which fields to sync, so data you haven't selected (sensitive personal data, for example) never lands in your warehouse. When a new field appears, it becomes available for you to add. What happens to removed or renamed fields depends on a table's sync mode: full-refresh tables always match what's currently in FreshBooks, so dropped fields disappear, while incremental tables keep their existing columns and history, so an old field stays and newly added fields fill in over time.

How do I handle GDPR or data deletion requests?

Your data lives in your own Kaivo-managed BigQuery warehouse, so the most direct option is to delete or anonymise specific records right in BigQuery. If you delete data in FreshBooks instead, full-refresh tables drop it on the next sync, while incremental tables keep it, so you would remove the row in BigQuery or ask us to run a full refresh. To remove everything, delete the FreshBooks connector in Kaivo and all of its synced data is deleted with it.

Common use cases for FreshBooks data

Invoicing and revenue

Use invoices and invoice_details to track billed revenue, payment status, and overdue amounts.

Expense tracking

Use expenses, expense_categories, and expense_summaries to see where money goes by category.

Client profitability

Join clients to invoices and expenses to compare what each client bills against what they cost.

Tax reporting

Use accounts and taxes to prepare period tax figures from the same data your books use.

Use FreshBooks data in your AI and BI tools

Once FreshBooks data lands in your Kaivo-managed BigQuery warehouse, you can explore it with AI tools or any BI tool that connects to BigQuery. Here's how the most common destinations work with FreshBooks data.

Claude

Use Kaivo's MCP server to give Claude secure, workspace-scoped access to your data. Setup guide →

Power BI

Microsoft's BI tool with a native BigQuery connector. Supports direct query and scheduled refresh. Setup guide →

Data Studio

Free Google BI tool with native BigQuery support. One-click connection to your Kaivo warehouse; great for SMB teams on Google Workspace. Setup guide →

Tableau

The premium analytics standard, with native BigQuery integration. Setup guide →

Google Sheets

Use Connected Sheets to query BigQuery directly from a spreadsheet, with no SQL. Setup guide →

Excel

Connect via Power Query's BigQuery connector. Setup guide →

Metabase

Open-source BI tool with strong BigQuery support. Setup guide →

See our pricing page for FreshBooks connector pricing and plan details.