Work with Business Central Data in Power BI
In this article, you learn some of the basics about working with reports and dashboards in Power BI that use Business Central as a data source. The article discusses some aspects that will help you get started as a Business Central user. For general guidelines and instructions about using Power BI, see Power BI documentation for consumers.
Get ready
Sign up for the Power BI service. If you haven't already signed up, go to https://powerbi.microsoft.com. When you sign up, use a work email address and password.
Get started
Once you have a Power BI account, you can sign in at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/.
The Power BI service hosts all the reports available to you. To see the report, select My Workspace > Reports. Then just select the report that you want to view.
With Business Central online, you'll automatically have a set of default reports on your workspace. If you want to create your own reports, you can use Power BI Desktop to create reports, and then publish them to your workspace. For more information, see Getting Started Building Reports in Power BI Desktop to Display Dynamics 365 Business Central Data.
Note
It was possible to get the data from various companies in a single report with OData web services. But since Business Central 2021 release wave 2, only ODataV4 is supported, which doesn't export data from multiple companies. The $expand function in Power BI that you might think to be an alternative way to create a multi-company report, can't be used either. It will create a column with the company name but won't populate it with the company data after a refresh.
If you're using Business Central on-premises, you'll have to start from scratch by using Power BI Desktop. Optionally, Power BI reports can be distributed as files, that you can upload.
Get the latest data
Each Power BI report is based on a dataset that gets data from the Business Central sources. You want to make sure that the data in your Power BI reports is up to date with the data in Business Central. This concept is referred to as refreshing. Depending on how your organisation has set up Power BI, refreshing might not happen automatically. There are two ways to refresh data: manually or by scheduling a refresh. Manual refreshing is done on-demand, as needed. Scheduled refreshing lets you refresh automatically at defined time intervals.
Refresh manually
In the navigation pane, under Datasets, select More options (...) next to the dataset, then select Refresh now.
Schedule a refresh
In the navigation pane, under Datasets, select More options (...) next to the dataset, then select Schedule refresh. Fill in the information under the Schedule refresh section, and select Apply.
For more information, see Configure scheduled refresh
Upload reports from files
Power BI Reports can be distributed among users as .pbix files. If you have a .pbix file, you can upload the file to a workspace. To upload a report, do the following steps:
In your new workspace, select Get Data.
In the Files box, select Get.
Select Local File, navigate to where you saved the file, and select Open.
For more information, see Upload the report to the service.
Note
Uploading a report requires that you have a Premium capacity work space. For more information, see Managing Premium capacities.
Tip
If you're using Business Central online, you can also upload a report from within Business Central. For more information, see Work with Power BI Reports in Business Central - Upload Reports.
Share reports with others
Once a report is in your workspace, you can share it with others in your organisation.
To share a report, in a list reports, or in an open report, select Share. In the Share report pane, enter the full email addresses for individuals or distribution groups you want to share with. Follow the instructions on screen to complete the sharing. For more information, see Share a dashboard or report.
Note
You must have Power BI Pro licence, and the people you share with do too. The content must be in a workspace in a Premium capacity. For more information, see Ways to share your work in Power BI.
See Also
Business Central and Power BI
Building Power BI Reports to Display Dynamics 365 Business Central Data
Power BI Integration Component and Architecture Overview for Business Central
Work with Power BI Reports in Business Central
Power BI for consumers
The 'new look' of the Power BI service
Quickstart: Connect to data in Power BI Desktop
Power BI documentation
Business Intelligence
Getting Ready for Doing Business
Importing Business Data from Other Finance Systems
Setting Up Business Central
Use Business Central as a Power BI Data Source
Use Business Central as a Power Apps Data Source
Use Business Central in Power Automate
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