Configure Power BI template reports in Dynamics 365 Business Central

Businesses may obtain real-time insights from their financial and operational data by integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Power BI. Visualizing important business KPIs, seeing patterns, and making wise business choices are all made simple with Power BI template reports. Do you want to manage inventory, analyse sales, or make financial decisions? Using Power BI template reports on data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can accomplish all of this and much more in a more efficient way. 

This step-by-step guide will walk you through installing, configuring, and sharing Power BI template reports in Business Central. 

Pre-Requisites:

• Users must have permission to install template apps from AppSource. 

• Users must have access to shared Power BI workspaces. 

• A separate Power BI template app must be installed for each company in the tenant. 

• A Power BI Pro license is required for: 

• • The user who installs the template app. 

• • The user who refreshes the dataset. 

• • All users who view and consume the reports. 

Step 1: Downloading and Installing Power BI template apps 

To install a Power BI template app for your desired module, use the corresponding link below: 

• Finance: Install Now 

• Sales: Install Now 

• Purchasing: Install Now 

• Inventory: Install Now 

• Inventory Valuation: Install Now 

• Manufacturing: Install Now 

• Projects: Install Now 

Installation Process: 

• Click on the install link for your module. 

• Sign in to Power BI and refresh your Apps page in Power BI after installing the module.

Step 2: Set up the Power BI template application 

Now after you download the template App, open it and you will see this yellow notification suggesting “Connect your Data”. Click on it. 

Here we are using Sales Template App  

A page will appear which will ask for Environment and Company name. Enter those and click next.  

Note: Make sure to enter the name of the company and not the display name. Check for the name of company. 

The Data will refresh from fetch the actual data by syncing Business Central Data with Power BI report. It may take a while considering the size of the dataset. 

If you want to rename your workspace for a particular Power BI Report Template. It can be done by following given steps: 

Step 3: Share the Power BI app to the required users 

Now to share the Power BI app, navigate to the installed App workspace, and click on “Manage Access” 

Click Add People or Groups and enter users or security groups who need access. 

• Admin – The admin has full control over the workspace. This role can add or remove users, assign roles, modify reports and datasets, manage permissions, configure refresh settings, and publish or update the app. Admins are typically IT administrators or BI leads responsible for overall governance. 
• Member – A Member can create, edit, and delete reports, dashboards, and datasets within the workspace. They can publish content and update the app but cannot manage workspace access unless explicitly granted additional permissions. This role is commonly assigned to report developers or analysts. 

• Contributor – A Contributor can create and modify reports and dashboards in the workspace but cannot publish or update the app itself. They also cannot manage workspace access. This role is suitable for users who work on report development but should not control distribution. 

• Viewer – A Viewer has read-only access to the workspace content. They can view and interact with reports (such as applying filters and drilldowns) but cannot edit, publish, or manage any content. This role is assigned to end users who only need to consume reports. 

Step 4: Set up Power BI integration within Business Central 

Go to your Business Central environment and the specific company you are configuring. Search for Power BI and select Power BI Reports Setup.

After configuring the data table from the template report options select the particular App Report that is being configured and apply the filters. 

Next, select the three-dot icon next to the selected report and select the appropriate Power BI App Workspace. 

Once configured, Power BI reports will be accessible under “All Reports” in Business Central. 

Now select Report which is to be displayed in overview and enable it from your work space. 

Your Power BI template reports are now ready to use in Business Central.