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Initial Setup

After deploying Autotask Mirror, follow these steps to get data flowing.

First Launch

When the application starts for the first time, it automatically:

  1. Creates and applies all database migrations
  2. Seeds default sync schedules for all Autotask entity types
  3. Starts the background job engine

During startup, the application returns 503 Service Unavailable with a Retry-After header until initialization is complete. This is normal — the dashboard will load once startup finishes.

Step 1: Configure Autotask API Credentials

Navigate to API Settings in the left sidebar (or go to /settings/autotask).

  1. Enter your API Username (the email address of your Autotask API user)
  2. Click Detect Zone — the application will automatically determine your Autotask API zone
  3. Enter your Integration Code
  4. Enter your API Password
  5. Click Save

API credentials are hot-reloaded — changes take effect within 60 seconds without restarting the application.

For more details, see Autotask API Configuration.

Step 2: Verify Sync is Running

Return to the Dashboard (home page). You should see entities beginning to sync:

  • The Running Now card shows how many entities are currently syncing
  • Individual entity rows show status, record counts, and duration
  • The status column updates automatically every few seconds

Note

The first full sync of all entities may take several hours depending on the size of your Autotask instance and the number of enabled entities.

By default, Autotask Mirror runs without authentication. A warning banner at the top of the page will remind you to configure it.

Navigate to Authentication for setup instructions for your identity provider.

Step 4: Connect Power BI

Once data is flowing, connect Power BI Desktop to your SQL Server database:

  1. Open Power BI Desktop
  2. Select Get Data > SQL Server
  3. Enter your SQL Server hostname and database name
  4. Choose your authentication method (Windows, SQL, or Azure AD)
  5. Select the tables you need — foreign key relationships are automatically detected by Power BI

Tip

Start with the core tables: Companies, Contacts, Tickets, TimeEntries, and Projects. These cover the most common reporting scenarios.