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Integration · Business Central

Business Central in Power BI. Via your own data warehouse.

For Business Central Power BI dashboards, you load the data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central into your own data warehouse, model it into understandable tables and then use it in ENABLE. That way dashboards, SQL with AI and apps all work with the same Business Central data.

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Via your data warehouseERP and accounting

Business Central Power BI reporting goes beyond the standard reports in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Microsoft itself also provides Power BI reports for Business Central, but as soon as you want to combine Business Central data with other sources, keep history or ask questions in plain language, your own data warehouse works better.

In ENABLE you use Business Central data via that data warehouse. The data is loaded outside the portal via the Business Central API, for example with Airbyte, and modelled in the warehouse. Power BI dashboards, the SQL Explorer and the Data API then read from the same tables. Business Central data is already used in ENABLE this way.

In ENABLE

What you do with Business Central data

Financial dashboard

Revenue, margin, costs and result per month, based on G/L entries and dimensions, compared with last year.

Accounts receivable management

Open entries per customer and by age, so finance can follow up in a targeted way.

Sales and margin per item

Sales lines linked to items and customer groups, for insight into which products and customers contribute to margin.

Ask questions in plain language

In the SQL Explorer you ask, for example, for revenue per customer group this quarter. The AI writes the SQL on your warehouse and sees only the structure, no rows.

Business Central data in other systems

Publish a query via the Data API, so a planning tool or custom app retrieves the same figures as your dashboards.

Steps

How to use Business Central data in ENABLE

  1. 1IntakeWe determine which Business Central data, companies and periods are needed, and choose the best loading route.
  2. 2Loading into your data warehouseData is loaded into your PostgreSQL warehouse via the Business Central API, for example with Airbyte.
  3. 3ModellingRaw tables are transformed into a model with facts and dimensions, such as revenue per customer, item and period.
  4. 4Dashboards and AI in ENABLEPower BI reports and the SQL Explorer use the model. ENABLE reads from the warehouse encrypted and read-only.
  5. 5Access by roleAccess profiles and row-level security determine who sees which figures, for example per branch or per company.

Business Central Power BI via a data warehouse: why?

You can also connect Power BI directly to Business Central. For a few reports, that works fine. For Business Central reporting across multiple sources, a data warehouse in between pays off as soon as you want more:

  • Combine Business Central data with your CRM, online shop or planning in one model.
  • Keep history and snapshots, for example inventory at the end of each month.
  • Compare or add up multiple Business Central companies.
  • Have dashboards and AI questions calculate on a stable model instead of on your ERP's API.

Business Central integration: what you need

Loading via the API requires an app registration in Microsoft Entra ID with access to the right Business Central environment and companies. Together we decide which data is needed; you do not have to load everything. If you use Business Central on-premises rather than online, loading works differently. We look at that during the intake.

ENABLE itself does not connect to Business Central. The portal connects only to your data warehouse, encrypted and read-only.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does ENABLE have a standard integration with Business Central?

No, not as a built-in connector in the portal. Business Central data is loaded via the API into your own data warehouse outside ENABLE, for example with Airbyte, and then used in ENABLE. Business Central data is already used in ENABLE this way.

How do I create Business Central Power BI dashboards?

Load the Business Central data into a data warehouse, build a model with fixed definitions there and create the Power BI reports on that model. In ENABLE you then share those dashboards with access by role and optional row-level security.

Can I ask AI questions about my Business Central data?

Yes, if the data is in your data warehouse. In the SQL Explorer, the AI converts your question into SQL on the warehouse. The AI sees only table and column names, no rows of data.

How up to date is Business Central data in ENABLE?

That depends on how often the data is loaded into the warehouse, for example hourly or nightly. You agree on this during the intake. On every Power BI dashboard you can see when the data was last refreshed.

Does this work with multiple Business Central companies?

Yes. You can load data from multiple companies into one warehouse and compare or add them up in the model. With row-level security you determine who sees which company.

See Business Central data in ENABLE?

In a demo we show how data from Business Central reaches dashboards, plain-language questions and apps via your data warehouse. Book a demo and bring your questions.

Book a demo info@enableyourdata.nl