Connecting Bold BI to AppFolio data source

Bold BI dashboard designer supports connecting AppFolio web services through REST API.

Choose AppFolio data source

To configure the AppFolio data source, follow these steps:

Click the Data Sources button in the configuration panel to add a new data connection.
Click CREATE NEW to launch a new connection from the connection panel.
Select the AppFolio connection in the connection panel.

NOTE: You can also create a data source from the home page by clicking the Data Sources menu from the left menu panel and Create Data Source from the data sources page.

Choose data source

Create AppFolio data source

Once you click the data source, the NEW DATA SOURCE configuration panel opens. Follow these steps to create an AppFolio data source.

Enter a name and description (optional) for the data source.
Enter the HostName for the connected account.
Click the API Endpoints dropdown box and choose the required endpoint.
Click the Custom Url to enter the URL manually. Refer to the AppFolio API documentation for more details.
Select the GET method for the REST API in the Method combo box.
In Max Rows, enter the maximum number of rows to be fetched from the AppFolio data source. This value is used to fetch the data from the AppFolio data source using the pagination.
Choose a time interval for Refresh Settings using the combo box to trigger the Rest API request periodically to keep the data in sync with your dashboard.
Select the JSON data type in the Data Format combo box.
Choose Basic HTTP Authentication in the Authentication Type combo box.
Enter a valid AppFolio Client ID and Client Secret to access the endpoints.

Data source preview

How do I get Client ID and Client Secret for connecting AppFolio data source?

Login to your AppFolio account. Click your Account Icon -> General Settings.
In General Settings page, click the Manage API settings tab.
You can find your Client ID and Client Secret.
You can generate the new credentials after your Client ID and Client Secret got expired.

Reveal API Token

You can also edit the connection information set using the Edit Connection option.

Additional information

Max Rows	Most of the REST APIs return only fewer data on a single API request. To pull the amount of data you need, set a value in this field. Pagination is handled internally and will fetch the amount of data you need.
Refresh Settings	Period of time before the next refresh call is triggered. This will automatically trigger a call for the API configured in the data source to keep the data up to date.

Setting up the URL for Pagination.

Set endpoint for pagination.

Bill Detail

https://<your database>.appfolio.com/api/v1/reports/bill_detail.json?paginate_results=true&from_date=01/19/2020&to_date=09/01/2020

Set paginate_results=true in query and set the required range.

For more information on the API endpoints available for this data source, refer to their official API Documentation

Sample queries

Aged Payables Summary

https://<your database>.appfolio.com/api/v1/reports/aged_payables_summary.json

Bill Detail

https://<your database>.appfolio.com/api/v1/reports/bill_detail.json

Chart of Accounts

https://<your database>.appfolio.com/api/v1/reports/chart_of_accounts.json

Preview and data import

Click Preview & Connect to connect with the configurations set.
The Choose Schema(s) dialog opens. The schema represents the key fields of JSON data retrieved from the AppFolio Rest API request. This dialog displays a list of schemas in treeview and its corresponding values in the grid for preview. Select required schema(s) from the treeview to use in the designer and click Connect.
Now, the data design view page with the selected table schema opens. Drag from the tree view table in the left pane and drop the table in the Query designer page.
Click Save to save the data source with a relevant name.