Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence and data visualisation tool, part of the Power Platform suite. It connects to data sources across an organisation, including Business Central, Excel, SharePoint and SQL databases, and turns that data into interactive dashboards and reports that update automatically as the underlying data changes.
How Power BI works
Power BI Desktop is used to connect to data sources, model relationships between tables and build report visuals such as charts, tables and maps. Finished reports are published to the Power BI service, where they can be shared with colleagues, embedded in Microsoft Teams or Business Central, and refreshed on a schedule so dashboards always reflect current data. Row-level security controls mean each user sees only the data relevant to their role.
How UK businesses use Power BI
- A finance director builds a Power BI dashboard connected to Business Central showing real-time cash flow, debtor days and gross margin by product line.
- A sales manager uses a Power BI report embedded in Dynamics 365 Sales to track pipeline value and conversion rates by team without leaving the CRM.
- An operations team builds a Power BI dashboard tracking stock levels and reorder points across multiple warehouse locations.
- A board reviews a monthly Power BI report consolidating financial and operational KPIs from several systems into a single view ahead of board meetings.
How Advantage implements Power BI
Advantage designs and builds Power BI dashboards that connect to Business Central, Dynamics 365 and other business systems, turning raw data into the reporting your teams actually need. We also provide training so finance and operations teams can extend and maintain reports themselves over time.
Frequently asked questions
Is Power BI included with Microsoft 365?
A free version of Power BI Desktop is available to anyone, but sharing dashboards across a team and publishing reports to the Power BI service typically requires Power BI Pro or Premium licensing, which is separate from standard Microsoft 365 plans.
Can Power BI connect directly to Business Central?
Yes. Business Central has a native Power BI connector, and Business Central pages can also embed Power BI reports directly, giving users live dashboards inside the ERP system itself without switching applications.
What is the difference between Power BI and Excel for reporting?
Excel is suited to ad hoc analysis and smaller datasets manipulated by a single user. Power BI is designed for larger datasets, interactive dashboards, scheduled data refreshes and sharing live reports across a whole organisation, with row-level security to control who sees what data.
