Power BI Integration with Business Central: A Complete Guide

In an era where data is the new currency, organizations are constantly seeking smarter ways to turn numbers into knowledge. Power BI integration with Business Central offers a seamless bridge between operational data and powerful analytics, enabling businesses to visualize, analyze, and act on their data like never before.

By leveraging the combined capabilities of Power BI and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, users can move beyond static reports and embrace interactive dashboards that deliver real-time insights across every department from finance and sales to inventory and customer service.

Whether you're just beginning your Business Central implementation or looking to enhance existing reporting capabilities, this guide will walk you through the essentials of integrating Power BI with Business Central, highlighting benefits, limitations, and best practices to get the most value from your data.

What is Power BI and Business Central integration?

Power BI integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central enables users to seamlessly visualize and analyze their business data through interactive dashboards and reports. This integration connects Business Central data such as financials, sales, inventory, and customer records directly to Power BI, providing near real-time analytics without the need for manual data exports.

Users can embed Power BI reports within the Business Central interface or access them through the Power BI service. This integration enhances decision-making through customizable visuals, data drill-down, and trend analysis to empower teams to monitor performance and make strategic decisions quickly.

Why integrate Power BI with Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Integrating Power BI with Business Central offers significant advantages by enhancing data visibility, decision-making, and operational efficiency. It allows businesses to transform raw data from Business Central such as financials, sales, and inventory into interactive, real-time dashboards and reports. This integration eliminates the need for manual data exports, ensuring that insights are always up to date.

Here’s how this powerful Business Central integration adds value:

1. Real-Time Data Visualization

Power BI connects directly to Business Central, allowing users to view up-to-date data through interactive dashboards and reports without manual data exports.

2. Enhanced Decision-Making

With visual insights into financials, sales, inventory, and operations, decision-makers can quickly identify trends, spot anomalies, and make informed strategic choices.

3. Customizable Dashboards

Users can create role-specific dashboards tailored to departments like finance, sales, or operations, ensuring relevant KPIs are always visible.

4. Seamless User Experience

Power BI reports can be embedded directly within the Business Central interface, allowing users to access analytics without switching platforms.

5. Improved Collaboration

Reports and dashboards can be shared across teams, promoting transparency and collaborative decision-making based on consistent data.

6. Data Drill-Down and Exploration

Users can interact with visuals to drill down into specific data points, such as viewing individual transactions behind a revenue figure.

7. Automated Reporting

Scheduled refreshes and automated report generation reduce manual effort and ensure stakeholders always have the latest insights.

8. Cross-Platform Accessibility

Power BI dashboards can be accessed via web, mobile, or embedded in other Microsoft tools like Teams and Excel, enhancing accessibility.

9. Advanced Analytics Capabilities

Power BI supports AI-driven insights, forecasting, and natural language queries, enabling deeper analysis beyond standard reporting.

10. Scalability and Integration

As businesses grow, Power BI can scale with additional data sources and integrate with other Microsoft and third-party services for a unified analytics ecosystem.

What are some use cases for Power BI and Business Central Integration?

This Business Central integration opens up powerful analytics across a variety of use cases:

1. Financial Performance Monitoring

Track key financial metrics like revenue, expenses, profit margins, and cash flow in real time, with drill-down capabilities into specific accounts or transactions.

2. Sales and Customer Insights

Analyze sales trends, customer behavior, and product performance to identify top-selling items, customer segments, and opportunities for upselling or cross-selling.

3. Inventory and Supply Chain Management

Monitor stock levels, turnover rates, and supplier performance to optimize inventory and reduce carrying costs or stockouts.

4. Project and Job Costing

Visualize project budgets, actual costs, and profitability to ensure projects stay on track and within budget.

5. Operational Dashboards

Create role-specific dashboards for departments like finance, sales, purchasing, and operations, enabling each team to monitor KPIs relevant to their functions.

6. Forecasting and Planning

Use historical data from Business Central to build predictive models in Power BI for sales forecasting, demand planning, and financial projections.

Ready to visualize your Business Central data like never before?

Partner with Dynamics Square US to seamlessly integrate Power BI and unlock real-time, data-driven insights. Get in touch today and transform your reporting game!

How to integrate Power BI with Business Central?

Integrating Power BI with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central enables you to visualize your business data with interactive dashboards and reports. There are two main methods:

Integrating Power BI with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is straightforward and scalable.

There are two main methods:

Option 1: Use the Power BI App for Business Central

This is the simplest way to get started with prebuilt dashboards.

Steps:

• Open Power BI (web or desktop).
• Go to Apps > Get apps.
• Search for "Business Central".
• Select the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central app.
• Click Get it now and log in with your credentials.
• Choose your environment, company, and dataset (e.g., Sales, Finance).
• The app will auto-generate visual reports.

Option 2: Custom Reports via OData Feed

This is ideal for custom reporting and advanced use cases.

Steps:

In Business Central:

• Navigate to the target page (e.g., Sales Orders).
• Click the Share icon > Edit in Excel.
• Copy the OData URL.

In Power BI Desktop:

• Go to Get Data > OData Feed.
• Paste the URL and authenticate using OAuth2.
• Load and shape your data as needed.

Authentication Tips:

• Use Organizational Account and OAuth2.
• If working with older versions of Business Central, Web Services Access Keys may still apply (not recommended for cloud).

Maximize ROI on Your Business Central Implementation

Seamlessly integrating Power BI with Business Central is more than just a technical enhancement rather it’s a strategic step in your digital transformation journey.

Whether you're just starting your Business Central implementation or scaling existing operations, integrating these two platforms equips your business with the tools needed for data-driven success.

Partner with Dynamics Square US

At Dynamics Square US, we help businesses unlock the full potential of their Microsoft Dynamics 365 ecosystem. Our team specializes in Power BI integration with Business Central, helping you design, deploy, and optimize dashboards that deliver actionable insights.

Ready to turn your Business Central data into actionable insights?

Contact our experts today for a free consultation or a custom Power BI demo designed around your unique business needs.

If you need any help, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can give us a call at +1 281 899 0865 or send us an email at arish.siddiqui@dynamicssquare.com.