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How to Connect Power BI to Business Central

  • Writer: Alex Hughes
    Alex Hughes
  • 11 minutes ago
  • 3 min read

A quick guide for UK businesses looking to unlock better data insights 📊


If you’re a UK-based business using Dynamics 365 Business Central, connecting it with Power BI can be a game changer. From financial reporting to sales dashboards, Power BI turns your Business Central data into easy-to-understand visuals that help you make smarter decisions, faster.


In this guide, we’ll show you how to connect Power BI to Business Central (cloud or on-premises), what you need to get started, and a few best practices to make the most of it.



💡 Why Connect Power BI and Business Central?

Let’s start with why this integration matters.

  • ✅ Real-time reporting on financials, inventory, and sales

  • ✅ Customisable dashboards tailored to your role

  • ✅ Better decision-making across your organisation

  • ✅ Works seamlessly with other Microsoft tools like Excel, Teams, and SharePoint


For UK businesses, this means more clarity around things like VAT reporting, cash flow trends, and departmental performance—all in one place.



✅ What You Need Before You Start

To connect Power BI to Business Central, you’ll need:

  1. A Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central licence (Essentials or Premium)

  2. A Power BI account (Power BI Free works for basic use, but Power BI Pro is recommended for sharing reports)

  3. Your Business Central environment (cloud or on-premises) properly configured



🔌 How to Connect Power BI to Business Central (Cloud Version)

For Business Central Online, setup is straightforward:

  1. Open Power BI Desktop: If you haven’t already, download it free from Microsoft.

  2. Get Data → Online Services → Dynamics 365 Business Central

  3. Sign in with your Microsoft account linked to Business Central

  4. Select your environment and company from the list

  5. Choose the tables or data you want (like Customers, Sales, Finance)

  6. Load the data and start creating your reports!


Once your report is ready, you can publish it to the Power BI Service to share with your team.



🖥️ What About Business Central On-Premises?

The process is a bit more technical, and usually requires your IT partner to:

  • Enable OData web services

  • Configure access via Microsoft Entra ID or Web Service Key

  • Register Power BI as a trusted app


If you're running BC on-premises, we recommend working with your Dynamics partner to ensure security and performance are correctly set up.



📦 Use Microsoft’s Pre-Built Power BI Apps

Short on time? Microsoft provides ready-to-use Power BI apps for Business Central.


You can:

  • Install them from the Power BI App marketplace

  • Connect to your BC environment with just a few clicks

  • Get instant dashboards for Finance, Sales, and more


Perfect for quick wins! 🚀



📊 Embedding Power BI in Business Central

Want to see Power BI reports inside your Business Central dashboard?


You can:

  1. Go to your Role Centre

  2. Select Power BI Reports

  3. Click Manage → Select Report

  4. Choose the report you’ve created or published


Now you can view and interact with Power BI visuals directly within BC—no extra tabs needed.



⚙️ Best Practices (Especially for UK Users)

  • 🏢 Use UK fiscal settings for accurate financial reporting

  • 🔄 Set up scheduled refreshes so your reports stay up to date

  • 📁 Use APIs instead of OData where possible (they’re faster and more reliable)



🏁 Final Thoughts

Connecting Power BI and Business Central is one of the easiest ways to get more value out of your ERP system. Whether you're tracking sales performance, monitoring cash flow, or building board-level reports, the integration gives UK businesses a powerful edge.


Ready to get started? If you need help connecting Power BI to Business Central—or designing dashboards tailored to your operations—we’d love to chat.



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