This article covers the following topics:
NOTE: BI Feeder is a paid-for add-on to Pipeliner. Please contact your Account Manager directly to discuss your needs for exporting Pipeliner data for use with your Business Intelligence (BI) Solution or email to customer-success@pipelinersales.com and we will ask your Account Manager to contact you.
The BI Feeder allows you to export your Pipeliner data so it can be queried from any BI (Business Intelligence) solution that can connect to a PostgreSQL database (for example Google DataStudio, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Click...). This will allow your business to report on aggregated data across the whole of your environment and to connect sales data to data from other company departments.
Key benefits
Pipeliner data can be queried and edited inside of the BI solution, without affecting the speed of the Pipeliner App.
Easily build custom dashboards within your BI solution.
Daily synchronization ensures that your data will be always ready for reporting.
Connect and visualize sales data with other departments like Marketing or Finance in your BI solution.
Display Sales dashboard with current data on your big screen in the office!
No maintenance costs for a client-side database from client-side.
Currently, we support exporting only to a PostgreSQL database.
Activating the BI Feeder
Once BI Feeder has been added to your subscription, you can request activation from the Automation Hub in the Admin Module of Pipeliner.
Click on the "BI Feeder" card and then “Add” ⤵
Tables that can be exported
You will then need to select which of the main database tables you want to export data from ⤵
Lead — Leads table
Opportunity — Opportunity table
Account — Account table
Contact — Contact table
Task — Task Activities table
Appointment — Meeting Activities table
Message — Messages added directly to Feeds (this table only becomes available once you have selected one of the main entities i.e. Lead /Opportunity /Account /Contact)
Email — Email records linked via Add-ins or Email integration options (this table only becomes available once you have selected one of the main entities i.e. Lead /Opportunity /Account /Contact)
Notes — Notes table (this table only becomes available once you have selected one of the main entities i.e. Lead /Opportunity /Account /Contact)
Product — Products (from Product Catalog)
As you select multiple tables, additional Relation Tables will be shown at the bottom of the table list in the left-hand panel. These Relation Tables define the relationships between entities — e.g. how Accounts and Opportunities are related to each other.
Click on one of the Relation Tables to see the column definitions that you’ll need when setting up your reporting on those tables ⤵
If you, for example, select the "Opportunity" and "Product" tables, then the export_product_oppty_relation table will contain the columns which define the relationship between the products linked to an opportunity ⤵
Fields to be Exported
As you click to include data from each main table, the right-hand panel will display the table name and an Edit option for columns. Click on “Edit” to see a list of all the available fields from the table that you have selected (and ONLY that individual table). Select each field you want to be exported OR click on the “Add All” link to export all fields.
Click on “Save” when you’ve finished your selections ⤵
The field name or identifier for each of the fields you have selected for export will then be detailed so you can define your schema/mappings within your BI solution ⤵
Click on “Save” to save your table and field selections.
NOTE: You can change these selections at any time using the “Configure” button.
One of our team members will then approve and activate BI Feeder for your space and it will then be ready to use.
Q&A
How do I know how to access the export database?
Once the BI Feeder has been approved by one of our team and is activated, you’ll be able to see your own unique "Server URL" and you should use this URL when connecting to the PostgreSQL database from your BI tool ⤵
NOTE: You can always click on the icon at the end of the URL field to copy to the Clipboard.
What credentials should I use to connect?
A username will be created automatically for you. Click on the “Generate Password” button to see (and copy) a one-time secure password. You can re-generate a password whenever you need to ⤵
NOTE: All Admin users with access to the Automation Hub (or access to change their user rights so they can access the Automation Hub) will be able to generate a new password at any time and it is only visible one-time so other users will not be able to see the same password.
NOTE: Every time you click on Generate Password, a new secure one-time use password is created. If another user subsequently creates another password, you’ll need to update all of your connections to reflect the new password.
NOTE: Configuration changes are tracked in the Audit Log in the Security tab but password changes are not.
How do I start it running?
When you’ve copied and made a note of the "Server URL", "Username" and secure "Password", click on "Run Now" to run the first export straight away. Subsequently, the export will refresh the entire database once every 24 hours (see below).
NOTE: This doesn’t mean your export database will be available immediately, of course! The time it will take to export all the data will vary considerably depending on how many tables you have selected as well as the amount of data in each (+ the Relation tables). Please don’t expect to be able to access it for a few hours - even better, leave it to run overnight and start working with it the next day!
NOTE: If you click on "Run Now" more than once, the database export will run as many times as you click, one run after another- making it even longer before you can access your data! Please just click it once!
Where is the database created?
The database will be created on the same AWS servers as your main Pipeliner space so North Virginia for US customers and Frankfurt for European customers. The same stringent, certified security protocols apply to this database. Click here for more information.
When will my data be exported?
Data from the tables that you have selected will be exported to your custom PostgreSQL database once every 24 hours at between midnight and 2.00 am local time for your server.
Is all data from my selected tables exported?
Yes, all data except deleted rows will be exported.
NOTE: Users with access to the exported database via your BI Tool will, of course, have access to ALL your exported Pipeliner data. It is your responsibility to manage those access rights.
How will the exported data be formatted?
As a general rule, all data will be exported in the same format as used in Pipeliner’s own reports.
All text-based fields — Single Line Text, Long Text, Email, URL, Phone, Autonumber, Radio, Multiselect checkbox and Dropdown — will be exported as string values.
NOTE: System fields of this type include Owner which will be exported as formatted Owner name (not ID, or email address) and Sales unit (exported as name not ID).
All number fields — Integer, Float, Base currency, Multiple currencies — will be exported as numbers.
NOTE: System fields of these types include: Ranking, Opportunity value (+ weighted, ranked, balanced, won), Target contribution, Days in sales step, Due in sales step, No. of related (…), Product count, Product difference (…), Product value, Sales step probability of closure, Days in queue.
All date and "datetime" fields will be exported as "datetime".
NOTE: System fields of these types include: Closing date, Actual closing date, Created, Modified, Last move date, Qualified date, Last contacted date, Due date, Start date, End date, Finish date, Last commented date, Reminder date.
All checkbox fields will be exported as Boolean (Yes/No).
NOTE: System fields of these types include: Favorite, Has recurrence, Has scheduled activity, Is archived, Ready to move, Was qualified, Confirmed, Is overdue, Is tracked, Message has attachment.