You can report these five numbers without a data warehouse, at least to start. Business Central holds the data, and a well-built Power BI model on top of it can surface cash, overdue receivables, sales against target, stuck inventory and margin on one page that refreshes overnight. A warehouse or Fabric only becomes necessary as volume, history and the number of sources grow.
For the full picture, see Getting your Business Central data into Power BI: the options.
The options for reporting on Business Central data in Power BI run from simplest to most capable: the standard Business Central Power BI apps, a direct connection to Business Central for smaller volumes, and a data platform such as Fabric that holds modelled Business Central data alongside your other systems. The right one depends on data volume, how many companies you consolidate and whether other sources are involved.
Related reading: Business Central reporting options explained: Native, Power BI direct, Jet, and Fabric.
Margin. Revenue flatters, and a deal can grow the top line while shrinking the business if the margin is wrong. A daily read on gross margin, by product or customer where it matters, keeps revenue honest.
It is worth reading our guide to Business Central Runs Your Business. It Should Not Run Your Reports..
Business Central's built-in reports run out of road because they were designed for operational lists such as a stock report or an aged debtors list, not for cross-functional management reporting. Ask Business Central to trend performance over several periods, consolidate across companies, or combine finance with data from another system, and the built-in reporting is the wrong tool rather than badly used.
It is worth reading our guide to Business Central Runs Your Business. It Should Not Run Your Reports..
The monthly pack tells you what already happened, usually a week after the month closed. A short daily view catches the thing that is drifting while there is still time to act, which is the difference between fixing a problem and explaining it.
There is more detail in Business Central Runs Your Business. It Should Not Run Your Reports..
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