Configuring Direct Connections and Integrations

Direct Connections allow ClearPoint to integrate with other applications. In this article, we cover using Direct Connections in ClearPoint to pull important data from six external applications: QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Monday, Asana, HubSpot, and Google Analytics.

With Direct Connections, there are four options that will pull Measures directly into ClearPoint – QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, and Google Analytics – and two options that will pull Initiatives directly into ClearPoint – Monday and Asana. QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics can be used to integrate financial data with ClearPoint, HubSpot and Google Analytics can be used to integrate marketing data with ClearPoint, and Monday and Asana can be used to integrate project information with ClearPoint.

Configuring the Connection

To set up a direct connection, start by clicking on System Settings and then Admin Options.

Under Enterprise Features, click the Integrations tile.

Click on the Direct Connections tab, then click the Plus icon. In the window that pops up give the direct connection a name and use the Connection Type dropdown to select one of the six direct connection options. Click Set Up Connection, and use the pop up window to confirm and authenticate the account you are trying to connect to. Once you have finished authenticating, a window will pop up giving notification that the connection was successful. Finally, click Save.

The next page will look different depending on which connection was made. For each of these different options, provide a name and use the dropdowns fields to choose which information you want to pull into ClearPoint.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks requires Report Type and Accounting Method.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics requires Tenant, Company, and Report Type.

Monday

Monday requires Workspace and Board.

Asana

Asana requires Workspace and Team.

HubSpot

HubSpot requires Report Type and Custom Analytics View.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics requires Account, Property, Profile, Metric, and Dimension.

Setting up the Scorecard

Once the connection is configured using the dropdowns, click into the Scorecard Setup tab.

Finance/Marketing Integration

When integrating with one of the Finance or Marketing options – QuickBooks, Microsot Dynamics, HubSpot, or Google Analytics – check the box for Create New to create a new Scorecard, and give the scorecard a name. Next, under the Measure Setup field, select the Reporting Frequency for the Measures being pulled in, as well as the First Reporting Period Start Date. The First Reporting Period Start Date should be the first day of the first period in your selected Reporting Frequency.  Finally, choose the Series Name that you want to use for the Measure data.

Project Integration

When integrating with one of the Project options – Monday or Asana – once again check the box for Create New Scorecard, and give the scorecard a name.

Use the Blank Date Option to select an option for Initiative/Milestone start and end dates if they are have not been specified in the other system. Skip Project/Task will not add any Initiatives that do not have a specified start/end date in Asana or Monday, Auto-Assign Dates will choose the first and last day of the current month as the start and end dates, and Set Default Dates will allow you to specify the start and end dates.

In the Users field, on the left you will see a User that is associated with the Asana or Monday account. On the right, use the dropdowns to specify which user this will correspond to in ClearPoint. In the Status field, within the left most column, you will see Statuses pulling in from Asana or Monday. Select which status this should correspond to in ClearPoint by using the dropdowns in columns two and three of that same row. In the Fields section, within the left most column of the table, you will see certain fields being pulled in from Asana or Monday. Use the dropdowns that exist in columns two and three of the same row to specify the corresponding field in ClearPoint.

Once you are finished click Preview, and finally Save.

These connections can also be scheduled by clicking into the Schedules tab. To learn more about adding a schedule, please see this article.

Finishing the Integration

Finally, we can click the Generate icon, and in the window that pops up select Start.

When we click into our newly added Scorecard, we can now see a Scorecard Report Reference displaying the information we pulled from the other system.  Once an initial scorecard has been created, the integration will continue to update the elements in the scorecard.