Connect to Jira

Jira Overview

Connect Jira to Finout to streamline cost tracking for your projects. Jira, a popular tool for project management, issue tracking, and agile development, can be integrated with Finout to gain insights into your project costs and resource usage, enhancing financial visibility and control across your workflows.

Prerequisites:

• An active Jira Cloud account, along with administrative rights.

• Access to the third-party tool with necessary permissions to set up and manage integrations.

Note: The Jira integration applies only to Jira Cloud.

Connect ​​Jira to Finout

Step 1: Generate an API token in the Jira Cloud

1. Sign in to your Jira Cloud account.

2. Navigate to Account Settings and select Security.

3. Under API token, select Create and manage API tokens.

4. Select Create API token, provide the API with a name for easy identification, and securely save the generated token.

Step 2: Gathering necessary information for the Finout integration

Before setting up the integration in Finout, ensure you have these details:

• Jira email address: The email address linked to your Jira account (Further details on selecting the appropriate email are provided below).
• Jira cloud base URL: Your specific Jira Cloud instance URL (e.g. https://yourdomain.atlassian.net).

• API token: The token generated in Jira Cloud.

Step 3: Setting up the integration in Finout

1. In Finout, navigate to Settings.

2. Go to the Integrations.

3. Choose Create Jira Integration.

4. Enter the details from step 2: User Email, URL, and API Token.

5. Click Submit.

Note: Successful integration will prompt a success message and redirect you to the integration page.

Selecting the Appropriate Jira Email Address

• Identification: The Jira email address is an important identifier of your user account in Jira Cloud, essential for authenticating and authorizing the connection between your third-party tool and Jira.

• API Authentication: For API requests to Jira Cloud, such as creating a ticket, authentication is required to verify the legitimacy and authorization of the request. Typically, this involves using an email address in combination with an API token for basic authentication in Jira Cloud.

• Integration Context: The chosen email address determines the specific Jira account with which the third-party tool will interact. This is important as any actions (such as creating or updating issues) performed by the tool will be under the privileges and permissions of the associated Jira account.

• Audit and Traceability: Actions performed through the API are typically logged by Jira. The email address can be used to identify the account involved in these actions, helping in audit trails and troubleshooting purposes.

Ensure you select the Jira email address that has the appropriate permissions (see our recommendation below to use a dedicated service user for the integration) required for the API operations you intend to perform. For example, if your integration aims to create issues, the Jira account linked to the email should have the necessary permissions to create issues in the designated Jira project.

In a team or enterprise setting, it's recommended to use an email associated with a service account rather than an individual's account for more effective management of permissions and access control.

Using a Dedicated Service User for the Integration

For organizations with an unlimited user count in their Jira Cloud subscription, we highly advise creating a dedicated service user account for the integration with our tool. This method offers enhanced control and stability.

Create a dedicated service user in Jira Cloud

Step 1: Create a new user account

1. Navigate to the user management section in Jira.

2. Create a new user, designated for the integration. Provide a clear user name such as integration_service_user, for easy recognition.

Step 2: Assign necessary permissions

• Provide the new user with the necessary permissions for tasks such as issue creation and management.

  Note: Avoid giving administrative rights unless necessary.

Step 3: Generate an API token

Sign in to your Jira account as this service user and create an API token (refer to the main documentation). This token will be used for the integration, ensuring that the tool's actions are done under this service user’s profile.

Advantages of using a dedicated service user

• Permission Control: Simplifies permission management and auditing as they are isolated actual user accounts.

• Stability and Continuity: The integration is not linked to an individual employee’s account, ensuring continuity regardless of staff changes.

• Improved Security: Reduces the risk associated with using personal accounts for integrations and helps in maintaining a clear separation between user activities and automated processes.

• Clear Audit Trails: Any actions performed by the integration are attributed to the service user, simplifying tracking and auditing.

Key points to consider

• License Usage: For Jira Cloud accounts with limited user seats, adding a service user consumes one of these seats. However, for accounts without user count limitations, this is not a concern.

• Regular Maintenance: Like any account, ensure that the service user’s credentials are securely managed and that its permissions are reviewed regularly for any necessary updates.

By following these recommendations, organizations can achieve a more secure, controlled, and reliable integration with Jira Cloud.