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Power BI –Business Central as data source

Make Dynamics 365 Business Central your data source when creating reports in Power BI.

Power BI reports that provide insight

By using Dynamics 365 Business Central data as data source in Power BI, you can build useful reports that gives you overview and insight into your business. All you need is a valid account for Business Central and Power BI. In addition, you have to download and use the Power BI desktop client.

How to add Business Central as data source in Power BI.

  1. Once you have opened the desktop version of Power BI, you select the navigation pane to the left called 'Download data'
     
  2. In the 'Download Data' pane, you choose 'Online Services', then you select 'Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central' and finally you click the 'Connect' button.
     
  3. Then, in Power BI, a guide will appear to help you through the connection process. You will also be prompted to log into the service. To do this, select 'Login', then select the account you want to log in as. This account must be the same account as the one you use to log in to Business Central.
     
  4. To continue, select the 'Connect' button. The Power BI wizard displays a list of accounts and data sources in Business Central. The data sources constitute the web services previously published from each account in Business Central.
     
  5. It is also possible to create a new URL for the web service in Business Central. To do this, go to 'Create Data Set' in the 'Web Services' pane through the 'Assisted Setup' wizard for 'Set up Reporting Data' or you can do it via the action 'Edit' in Excel on one of the lists.
     
  6. Here you specify the data you want to add to your data model. Then select the 'Load' button.
     
  7. If you want to add additional data from Business Central or data from another source to your Power BI data model, simply repeat the procedure.

In the right navigation on the page, the loaded data is displayed. You are now connected to your Business Central data and can build your Power BI report.

However, be aware that before you create the report, it is recommended that you import the Business Central theme file. The template automatically creates a color palette that allows you to create reports with the same color shades as the Business Central content packages without having to define custom colors for each visual element.

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