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How to Enable Power BI in Dynamics 365

Posted by Alanna Friedberg on Apr 6, 2021 10:00:00 AM

How-to-Enable-Power-BI-in-Dynamics-365Embedding Power BI into a Dynamics 365 instance gives users the ability to pull in reports, tiles, and dashboards from Power BI. You’ll need administrator access to perform a one-time configuration between the two applications to ensure proper communication and authentication. That allows the Dynamics 365 server to contact Power BI for a user, gain access to specific visualizations, and then redraw it within the application.

Before you embed Power BI Dynamics 365, make sure that:

  • Your Power BI account has at least one report and one workspace created
  • You have administrator access for your Azure AD account
  • Your Azure AD and Power BI account use the same domain
  • Users accessing pinned tiles have valid Power BI licenses

Configuring Power BI with Dynamics 365

How Do I Register My Power BI Account?

  1. Sign into the Azure portal using your Azure tenant domain account.
  2. Navigate to Azure Active Directory, then App registrations, then New application registration.
  3. Enter the relevant information into the following fields:
    1. Name – Put in the name of your application.
    2. Application type – Indicate whether you are working with a web app or API.
    3. Sign-on URL – Type in the path for your base URL. You may need to add other information like an /OAuth as a URL suffix or HTTP versus HTTPS for your protocol.
  4. Select Create.
  5. Copy and save your Application ID information to use for connecting to Power BI.
  6. Navigate to Settings, then Required permissions, and click Add. Go to Select an API, then choose Power BI.
  7. Enable all relevant Access options, then click Select.
  8. Choose Done, then select Grant Permissions.
  9. Go to Settings, then Keys. Enter the correct information for the Key description and Expires fields, then click on Save.

Make sure you keep track of your Application Key and Application ID. You will need them to configure Power BI Dynamics 365 for operations.

How Do I Configure Power BI Settings for Operations and Finance?

  1. Once you’ve registered your Power BI account, open the Power BI configuration page from the client.
  2. Click on Edit, then change the Enabled option to Yes.
  3. Locate the Application ID you received when registering your Power BI account and enter it into the Application ID
  4. Find the Application Key you received after registering your Power BI account and enter it into the Application Key You can use a company filter if your Power BI content contains a table named Company and a column labeled as ID.
  5. Click Save to preserve your changes.

The following steps go over verifying your changes and enabling Power BI integrations.

How Do I Pin Tiles to a Workplace?

  1. Click on Get started. If this is your first time using Power BI from your Dynamics 365 application, you should see a prompt from the client to authorize a sign-on. You can do that by choosing Click here to provide authorization to Power BI.

Every user must go through the following steps the first time they try pinning content from Power BI.

  1. Users must consent to allow the Dynamics 365 application to Power BI. They should see a consent page asking for their agreement to allow that access. Selecting Accept grants Power BI the necessary permission to provide content to Dynamic 365.
  2. When you return to your original tab, you should see tiles from your Power BI account. Choose one and pin it to your current workspace.

Benefits of Using Power BI with Dynamics 365

How Does Enabling Power BI in Dynamics 365 Help with Analytics?

Adding Power BI to your Dynamics 365 workspace lets you incorporate rich visuals and infographics, including those from third parties. Users receive a more dynamic and interactive experience when working with data from different parts of the company.

You can interact with data in your analytical workspace by touching or clicking on different visuals. Watch how each action impacts other information. You can practice various what-if scenarios from within Dynamics 365 without having to navigate to a separate area.

The visual experience provided when you embed Power BI into Dynamics 365 makes working with data more exciting. It can also make it easier for users to spot trends relevant to the organization.

How Does Adding Power BI to Dynamics 365 Help with Reporting?

Using Power BI and Dynamic 365 together makes it possible for you to work with anything deemed a report. You can perform tasks that give company officers and managers a clearer line of sight into what’s going on operationally in employees' daily work lives.

Users can also build visualizations that make it easier for relevant parties to see the details most important to their business process. Sometimes you need reports to reflect details and provide business transaction information. Adding Power BI to Dynamics 365 lets users design business documents that communicate data regarding company transactions through devices, then reproduce them through devices like a printer.

Electronic reporting (ER) helps configure electronic documents to comply with different countries and regions' legal requirements. You can work with various types of electronic reporting like tax reporting and invoicing.

The combination of Power BI and Dynamics 365 streamlines the financial reporting process. You can create default main account categories and use the report designer to build or change financial statements like balance sheets. Users can immediately share results with other people within the organization.

Make the Most of Your Power BI and Dynamics 365 Platforms

Internet eBusiness Solutions (iES) specializes in helping organizations maximize the benefits of Dynamics 365 technology. Learn more about how we can help you work through the challenges of properly configuring Power BI with Dynamics 365 by setting up a consultation with one of our iES team members.

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Topics: Dynamics 365