Business Central Power BI: What Can It Do for Your Business?

Microsoft Power BI extends Dynamics 365 Business Central’s native reporting capabilities with interactive dashboards, more flexible data analysis, and the ability to combine ERP data with other business systems. However, Business Central’s built-in reporting may already meet many everyday needs, making it important to understand when Power BI adds value.

At Havi Technology, we’ve helped businesses connect ERP systems to Power BI for more flexible reporting. Our experience shows that effective reporting starts with understanding business processes, data sources, and the decisions teams need to make, not simply building more dashboards.

This guide explains what businesses can analyse with Business Central Power BI, the available reporting options, costs, setup requirements, and practical considerations before investing.

Why Use Power BI When Dynamics 365 Business Central Already Has Reporting?

Businesses use Power BI alongside Dynamics 365 Business Central when their reporting needs go beyond what the ERP’s built-in tools can efficiently deliver. This is particularly useful when management needs to analyse performance across departments, investigate longer-term trends, or combine information from multiple business systems.

For example, a finance team may use Business Central to review financial statements, outstanding invoices, and account balances. Power BI can help management analyse financial trends over time, compare performance across departments or companies, and bring financial and operational data into a consolidated view.

The question is whether existing reporting tools can answer these needs without excessive manual work.

Business Central Native Reporting vs Power BI: Which Fits Your Needs?

Power BI is not necessary for every Business Central user. If standard reports and analysis views already meet the business’s needs, additional licensing, setup and maintenance may not be justified.

However, when management needs to monitor KPIs across departments, investigate performance trends, or consolidate data from multiple systems, Power BI can provide reporting capabilities beyond Business Central’s native tools.

The next step is understanding which reports and dashboards are already available and which requirements may call for custom reporting.

What Can Businesses Track and Analyse with Business Central Power BI?

Business Central Power BI helps businesses analyse financial performance, sales, purchasing, inventory, manufacturing and other operational data. Microsoft provides ready-made Power BI apps for common reporting needs, while custom dashboards can support more specific KPIs and analysis across multiple systems.

Financial Performance and Cash Flow

Finance teams can use Business Central Power BI reports to monitor revenue, profitability, cash flow indicators, receivables, payables and financial trends over time.

For example, a finance manager can compare profit margins across periods, identify customers with outstanding balances and investigate changes in financial performance before they affect cash flow.

Business Central Power BI Financial Overview showing revenue, profitability, customer balances and financial trends. (Source: Microsoft Learn)

Sales and Customer Performance

Power BI helps sales managers analyse revenue by customer, product or salesperson, compare results against budgets and identify changes in sales performance using data from Business Central.

For example, a business may discover that its highest-revenue customers are not necessarily its most profitable. Comparing sales, costs and margins helps managers decide where to focus sales efforts or review pricing.

Business Central Power BI Sales Overview showing top customers, product profitability and salesperson performance. (Source: Microsoft Learn)

Inventory and Purchasing Performance

Inventory and purchasing teams can track stock quantities, inventory movements, purchasing trends, supplier spending and stock value across locations.

For example, comparing quantities purchased and sold can highlight potential overstocking, while inventory-by-location reports help managers decide whether to replenish or transfer stock.

Business Central Power BI Purchase and Sales Quantity report comparing purchasing, sales and inventory levels. (Source: Microsoft Learn)

Manufacturing and Operational Performance

Manufacturers can use Power BI to analyse work centre capacity, resource utilisation, production times and allocated hours to understand where production efficiency may be affected.

For example, a production manager can use Work Centre Load reports to identify potential bottlenecks and review whether work should be rescheduled or capacity adjusted.

Business Central Power BI Work Centre Load report showing production capacity, work centre utilisation and production orders. (Source: Microsoft Learn)

Projects, Subscriptions and Sustainability

Businesses can also use Power BI to analyse project profitability, subscription revenue and sustainability performance, depending on their operations.

For example, a project-based business can compare actual costs against budgets to identify projects at risk of exceeding their planned spending. Subscription-based businesses can monitor recurring revenue and customer churn, while organisations tracking sustainability goals can review emissions and resource consumption.

Business Central Power BI Project Performance to Budget report comparing project budgeted costs, actual usage costs and budget variances.

Cross-System and Executive Reporting

Power BI can combine Business Central data with information from other systems, such as CRM, e-commerce platforms or other business systems, to create a broader view of business performance.

For example, executives may want to compare sales revenue, marketing activity and operational costs in one dashboard rather than reviewing separate reports. Businesses with more complex requirements can develop custom data models and dashboards tailored to different departments or management roles.

Which Reports Support Which Business Decisions?

The value of Power BI lies in helping teams turn reporting data into practical business decisions. The examples below show how different reporting areas can support those decisions.

These are illustrative examples. Some KPIs are available through Microsoft’s ready-made Power BI apps, while others may require custom calculations, additional data sources or tailored reports.

Microsoft’s ready-made Power BI apps cover many common reporting needs, while more complex requirements may call for customisation. The right approach depends on what businesses need to analyse and how much they are prepared to invest in licensing, setup and ongoing support.

How Much Does Business Central Power BI Cost in Australia?

The cost of using Power BI with Business Central depends on the number of licensed users, reporting requirements and implementation complexity. Microsoft’s ready-made Power BI apps are free to install, but using them requires appropriate Power BI licences. Businesses may also need to budget for configuration, custom dashboards, integrations and ongoing support.

Power BI Licensing and Requirements

Power BI licensing is separate from Business Central licensing. Businesses need to consider who will create, share and view reports, as these activities have different licensing requirements.

Microsoft’s published Australian pricing is:

Prices exclude GST and are based on annual billing where applicable. Source: Microsoft Power BI Australian pricing. Check current pricing before purchasing.

For Microsoft’s ready-made Business Central Power BI apps, users who install, refresh or access reports generally require Power BI Pro licences, unless an eligible capacity-based licensing arrangement applies. Users accessing Business Central data also need an appropriate paid Business Central licence.

For example, 10 employees using Power BI Pro would cost approximately AUD $210 per month, excluding GST, before implementation or support costs.

Implementation and Customisation Costs

Licensing is only one part of the total investment. Setup costs depend on whether businesses use Microsoft’s standard reports or require additional development.

For example, a finance team using Microsoft’s standard Finance app may need relatively little custom development. A business wanting to combine financial data with sales information from an external CRM may require additional integration and reporting work.

What Affects the Total Cost?

Beyond licences and initial setup, several factors influence the overall cost:

• Data readiness: Inconsistent records, missing information or different reporting definitions may need to be addressed before reports are reliable.
• Reporting complexity: Custom KPIs, multi-company reporting and cross-system dashboards generally require more work.
• Ongoing maintenance: Reports may need updates as business processes, data structures or reporting requirements change.

Before investing, businesses should identify the decisions their reports need to support, review what Microsoft’s standard apps already provide, and estimate the effort required to close any gaps.

The most cost-effective approach is not necessarily the one with the lowest licence fee, but the one that meets your reporting needs without unnecessary development or maintenance. Once those requirements are clear, businesses can choose how best to connect Power BI to Business Central.

How Can Businesses Connect Power BI to Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Businesses can connect Power BI to Dynamics 365 Business Central through Microsoft’s ready-made Power BI apps or by using Business Central data connections to build custom reports in Power BI Desktop. The best approach depends on reporting requirements, data sources and whether the business uses Business Central Online or on-premises.

Option 1: Use Microsoft’s Ready-Made Power BI Apps

Microsoft provides Power BI apps for common Business Central reporting areas, including Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory and Manufacturing.

For Business Central Online, businesses can install these apps from Microsoft Marketplace, connect them to their Business Central environment and company, and configure the required access and data refresh settings.

The setup typically involves:

1. Installing the relevant Power BI app from Microsoft Marketplace.
2. Connecting it to the correct Business Central environment and company.
3. Configuring data refresh, user access and report permissions.
4. Checking that the reports meet business requirements.

This approach reduces development effort, although additional customisation may be needed for specific KPIs or management reporting.

Option 2: Connect Business Central Data to Power BI Desktop

For more tailored reporting, businesses can use the Business Central connector in Power BI Desktop to access available Business Central APIs and web services.

This approach allows teams to build custom data models, calculations and dashboards. It can also support reporting that combines Business Central data with CRM, e-commerce or other business systems.

At Havi Technology, we’ve helped businesses connect ERP systems to Power BI for tailored reporting. For example, we integrated an ERP system with Power BI to help a retail facilities business monitor maintenance activities, costs and equipment performance across its operations.

Can Power BI Connect to Business Central On-Premises?

Yes. Power BI supports Business Central on-premises through configured data connections, although additional authentication and connectivity setup is required.

Microsoft’s ready-made Business Central Power BI apps are available for online environments only. On-premises businesses can instead develop custom reports using supported web services.

For most businesses, starting with Microsoft’s standard apps can reduce setup effort, while more complex requirements may justify custom reporting. Whichever approach is chosen, reliable results depend on data quality, refresh schedules and user access, factors that can also create challenges after implementation.

What Should Businesses Watch Out for with Business Central Power BI?

The main challenges of using Power BI with Dynamics 365 Business Central are inaccurate data, poorly defined reporting requirements and ongoing maintenance. Addressing these early helps businesses avoid misleading reports, unnecessary costs and dashboards that teams rarely use.

Inaccurate or Inconsistent Reporting Data

Incomplete records, inconsistent KPI definitions or incorrect data relationships can produce misleading results. For example, a distributor may miscalculate product margins if freight costs or discounts are handled inconsistently. Power BI reports may also show outdated figures if data refreshes are delayed.

How to avoid it: Validate key figures against Business Central, agree on consistent KPI definitions and check data refresh schedules before relying on dashboards for business decisions.

Reporting That Looks Good but Doesn’t Support Decisions

Interactive dashboards are only useful when they answer relevant business questions. A sales dashboard showing total revenue may look impressive, yet offer limited value if managers cannot identify which products, customers or regions contribute to profitability.

How to avoid it: Start with the business questions each report must answer. Define KPIs consistently, identify who will use the information and ensure dashboards support specific decisions rather than simply displaying available data.

Unnecessary Customisation and Ongoing Maintenance

Custom dashboards can address specific needs, but excessive development increases costs and maintenance. Changes to Business Central, integrations or reporting requirements may also require updates to existing reports.

How to avoid it: Start with Microsoft’s standard apps, customise only where necessary and assign clear responsibility for report maintenance.

These considerations reinforce why businesses should assess their reporting needs before investing. In some cases, Business Central’s existing reporting tools may already be sufficient.

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Central and Power BI

Get More Value from Dynamics 365 Business Central and Power BI

Power BI can extend Business Central’s reporting capabilities, but the right solution depends on what your teams need to measure, which systems hold the data, and how the reports will support business decisions.

At Havi Technology, we help businesses assess their ERP reporting requirements, connect data sources and implement Power BI solutions tailored to their operations.

Not sure whether your business needs standard Power BI reports or a customised solution? Talk to Havi Technology to explore the right approach for your reporting needs.