How Business Central and Power BI Work Together to End Spreadsheet Chaos
- Alex Hughes
- 56 minutes ago
- 4 min read
For most growing businesses, spreadsheets start out as a saviour — flexible, familiar, and easy to tweak. But as soon as you add more people, more systems, and more data? They quickly become a nightmare.
Reports don’t match. Versions get lost. And by the time leadership gets the numbers, they’re already out of date.
That’s why more SMEs are connecting Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Power BI — to replace spreadsheet chaos with clarity, accuracy, and live insight.
The Problem with Spreadsheets — and Why It’s Time to Move On
Let’s be honest. Most finance and ops teams don’t have a data problem — they have a visibility problem.
You can have the best numbers in the world, but if they’re locked in spreadsheets across departments, you’re still making decisions in the dark.
Common frustrations we hear from businesses include:
“Every department has their own version of the numbers.”
“We’re exporting reports from Business Central, Excel, and CRM — and none of them match.”
“Forecasting feels like guesswork, not strategy.”
Sound familiar?
Power BI and Business Central were designed to fix exactly that.
Business Central: Your Unified Data Core
Business Central brings together finance, sales, purchasing, stock, and operations into one connected system.
That means every sale, invoice, and stock movement updates in real time — automatically.
No more rekeying. No more reconciling multiple spreadsheets.
This is the foundation that makes real-time analytics possible. And that’s where Power BI comes in.
Power BI: Turning Live Data into Live Decisions
Power BI connects directly to your Business Central environment — no exports, no manual uploads.
Once connected, you can:
Build dashboards that update automatically from live BC data
See KPIs across sales, margins, stock, and cash flow in one view
Drill down from summary to transaction level with a single click
Spot trends and exceptions before they become issues
It’s reporting that finally keeps up with the pace of your business.
And because both tools sit within the Microsoft ecosystem, your team can view insights in Teams, Excel, or even directly inside Business Central.
One Version of the Truth — Finally
When Business Central and Power BI are integrated properly, everyone’s working from the same live numbers.
No conflicting spreadsheets. No copy-paste chaos.
Finance sees the same margins Ops are tracking.
Sales see the same data leadership sees.
And dashboards replace inbox attachments — automatically.
That’s what we mean by “one version of the truth.”
Real-World Wins
Our clients often tell us this integration feels like a small change — but delivers huge relief:
💬 “We used to spend two days a month pulling reports into Excel. Now Power BI just updates automatically.”
💬 “Leadership finally trusts the numbers. No more debating which report is right.”
💬 “We can see stock levels, orders, and cash flow live — and make faster, better decisions.”
Once your data is connected, insights stop being a task — and start being a tool.
What This Means for Your Business
Fewer manual tasks: Reporting happens automatically in the background.
Faster decisions: Dashboards update in real time, not once a month.
More confidence: Everyone trusts the data they see.
Better collaboration: Teams use the same numbers, the same way, across departments.
In short — you move from reacting to leading.
Getting Started with Business Central + Power BI
You don’t need to be a data expert to make this work.With the right setup, you can connect Power BI to Business Central in minutes — and start seeing your data come alive.
At Dynamics Fanatics, we help growing businesses design dashboards that actually make sense — by connecting the systems they already use.
From finance and sales to purchasing and operations, we make sure your data flows clearly and confidently across every department.
Because once you’ve experienced live reporting — there’s no going back to spreadsheets.
🧠 People Also Ask
Can you use Power BI with Business Central?
Yes — Power BI integrates natively with Dynamics 365 Business Central, allowing you to visualise and analyse live business data without exporting to Excel.
Is Power BI better than Excel for reporting?
Power BI is designed for dynamic, real-time dashboards and analytics, while Excel is better suited for manual, static reports. Together, they complement each other — but Power BI eliminates spreadsheet chaos.
How do I connect Power BI to Business Central?
You can connect through the Business Central connector in Power BI. Once authenticated, you can select data tables, create reports, and publish dashboards that update automatically.
Can I view Power BI dashboards inside Business Central?
Yes — Power BI visuals can be embedded directly into your Business Central home page, giving you live KPIs without switching apps.
📚 Further Reading
Business Central 2025: The AI-Powered ERP for Growing Businesses – Discover how AI and Copilot are transforming Business Central into a smarter, faster ERP platform.
AI in Business Intelligence 2025: Trends and Examples – Explore how Power BI and AI work together to turn data into real-time decisions.
