How to update Avalara AvaTax from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for Avalara AvaTax enables you to edit and save Avalara AvaTax data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to Avalara AvaTax. This technique is useful if you want to work on Avalara AvaTax data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into Avalara AvaTax. In this example, you will use the Transactions table; however, the same process will work for any table that can be retrieved by the CData Excel Add-In.

Establish a Connection

If you have not already done so, create a new Avalara AvaTax connection by clicking From Avalara AvaTax on the ribbon.

The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

• User: Set this to your username.
• Password: Set this to your password.

Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

• UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

• AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
• LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.

Retrieve Data from Avalara AvaTax

To insert data into Avalara AvaTax, you will first need to retrieve data from the Avalara AvaTax table you want to add to. This links the Excel spreadsheet to the Avalara AvaTax table selected: After you retrieve data, any changes you make to the data are highlighted in red.

1. Click the From Avalara AvaTax button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the Transactions table.
3. In the Maximum Rows menu, select the number of rows you want to retrieve. If you want to insert rows, you need to retrieve only one row. The Query box will then display the SQL query that corresponds to your request.
4. In the Sheet Name box, enter the name for the sheet that will be populated. By default the add-in will create a new sheet with the name of the table.

Insert Rows to Avalara AvaTax

After retrieving data, you can add data from an existing spreadsheet in Excel.

1. In a cell after the last row, enter a formula referencing the corresponding cell from the other spreadsheet; for example, =MyTransactionsSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to Avalara AvaTax, select the cells that you are inserting data into and drag the formula down as far as needed. The referenced values you want to add will be displayed on the Transactions sheet.
3. Highlight the rows you want to insert and click the Update Rows button.

As each row is inserted, the Id value will appear in the Id column and the row's text will change to black, indicating that the record has been inserted.