Power BI integration – 3 apps for Business Central

When you use Dynamics 365 Business Central, at some point you will want to analyze data and present your data in a nice way. Power BI is really good at that.

And you would think that it would be simple to connect Power BI and Business Central, but it is not that simple, and it requires a technical solution that can replicate ERP data from Business Central into either Power BI or a data warehouse that Power BI can use.

Of course, there are apps on Microsoft AppSource that solve this. (And look for more apps on the app page)

First, let’s talk about what is important when you choose an app to connect Business Central and Power BI.

A solution requires 3 basic components:

• There must be an app in Business Central that displays the data that you want to use in Power BI.
• There must be an engine that replicates data from Business Central into the database that Power BI will use. The question is whether the supplier has already done the work of building a data model, or whether you yourself will have to be a BI consultant.
• There should be reports and dashboards in Power BI that present data. Maybe you want to build them yourself, but that requires a lot of skills in Power BI, or maybe it would be nice if there were usable analyses and dashboards in Power BI out-of-the-box.

And then there are a number of good questions that can determine which solution you should choose:

• Data refresh and frequency: Determine how often you need your data updated. Some solutions provide near real-time, continuous updates, while others perform scheduled batch updates.
• Ease of implementation: Evaluate the technical complexity. Some apps are essentially plug-and-play with minimal setup, while others might require configuring Azure services, installing on-premises components, or writing SQL queries.
• Data storage and architecture: Understand where the replicated data will reside. Consider whether you just need raw data copied for Power BI or a fully modeled data warehouse with business logic.
• Out-of-the-box content: Check if the app comes with pre-built Power BI dashboards, data models, or templates for Business Central. Having ready-made content can jump-start your BI project.
• Maintenance and support: Consider who will maintain the data pipeline. If your reporting becomes business critical, you need a managed service to make sure that the integration doesn’t break at every update from Microsoft.

Let’s look at the three options we have found.

These are the best apps for synchronizing data from Business Central to Power BI right now in 2025:

1. Data Access for Business Central
2. Jet Analytics
3. BI4Dynamics