Advanced Financial Reporting
Power BI
Effortlessly generate powerful, accurate financial reports in Power BI—without rebuilding calculations every time. With the Advanced Financial Reporting app for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can create and maintain your financial statements within Business Central, then seamlessly expose them to Power BI. Eliminate manual rework, ensure consistent data, and let your accountants stay in control of the numbers while your Power BI experts focus on visuals.
Key Benefits
No Manual Recalculation
Stop duplicating effort in Power BI. All calculations, formulas, and report layouts are maintained in Business Central. Power BI simply pulls in those results—no extra setup or re-coding needed.Real-Time Data
With Power BI connected directly to Business Central through the Advanced Financial Reporting app, your reports always reflect the latest numbers. As soon as the underlying data updates, you’ll see it in Power BI.Powerful Date Filters
Use Business Central’s date formulas (e.g.,CM
for current month,-CM
for last month) directly within Power BI queries. Your reports automatically roll over as months and periods change—no manual updates required.Seamless Integration
Power BI can connect to a special API endpoint provided by the Advanced Financial Reporting app. Simply set your preferred report as the default, then define filter parameters (like date ranges) in Power BI’s Query Editor. The app takes care of the rest.User-Friendly Setup
The configuration is straightforward. In the Advanced Financial Reporting app, just mark the desired report as the default for the API. Then, when you connect from Power BI, the app provides the relevant data right away—no complicated steps required.
How It Works
Configure the Report in Business Central
- In Advanced Financial Reporting, define or select the financial report you want to share.
- Mark it as the default API report so Power BI can retrieve data without errors.
Set Up Power BI
- In Power BI Desktop, choose Get Data and connect to Business Central.
- Locate the Advanced APIs and select the Hogart SL Financial Reports (or your equivalent).
- Pick either the Date Lines or Date Filter Lines option—depending on whether you want to use Business Central’s date formulas (e.g.,
CM
,-CM
) or fixed date filters.
Apply Parameters and Filters
- In the Power Query Editor, set up parameters for date ranges (like “from date” and “to date”).
- Assign these parameters to the appropriate fields (e.g.,
startDateFormula
,endDateFormula
). - Refresh the query. Your Power BI dataset will now reflect the correct filtered data from Business Central.
Build Stunning Visuals
- Drag and drop fields (like “Row Number,” “Description,” or “Column Value”) into Power BI visuals.
- The app’s pre-calculated data makes it easy to design dashboards without advanced calculations.
- Your accountants control the numbers in Business Central, while your Power BI specialists tailor the visual presentation.