Before we start we give you some tips about setting up your data model and creating reports and dashboards in Power BI Desktop.
- Only import the tables and fields you use in your dashboard. Try to keep the data model as compact as possible, which gives a better performance and keeps the model clear. Read Data reduction techniques for Import modeling – Power BI | Microsoft Docs.
- Reuse the data from other dashboards. This ensures that different dashboards show the same data and prevents double data consumption. Read Data uit ander dashboard hergebruiken – Power BI Connector.
- Create an archive file for historical data. This prevents unnecessary data consumption for unchanged data. Read Historische data archiveren – Power BI Connector.
- Also read the other tips on 2.6 Tips Power BI Desktop – Power BI Connector
Import data
The Power BI Connector can be used in Power BI Desktop as follows:
- Click on Get Data.
- Choose the ‘Connector for Exact Online (by PowerBIConnector.nl)’. Click here when the connector isn’t visible.
- Click on Connect.
- The first time you use the connector, Power BI will show a message about a ‘third party connector’. You can disable this message here.
- Enter the companycode of the company, the code that is entered on PowerBIConnector.nl (read chapter Companies).
If you want to import multiple companies at once, enter the companycode separated by comma’s, without spaces. (For example 10000,10001,10002) - Enter the number of years you want to import, calcutated from the current year. (For example in 2020 the value 3 means you import the years 2018 t/m 2020.) The default value when you leave this field empty is 1 year.
- Click on OK.
- Enter the Connector Key that you copied earlier from PowerBIConnector.nl (read chapter Account)
- Click on Connect.
- Now all predefined tables from Exact Online are shown. Check the tables you need and click on Load. You can also click on Transform Data to edit the tables in the Power Query Editor.
- The tables from Exact Online are now loaded into Power BI Desktop and shown as normal tables with the same possibilities as all other tables in Power BI Desktop.
Note: one of the basic rules when setting up a data model in Power BI is to import only the tables and fields that you need in your dashboard. Try to keep the data model as compact as possible, which gives better performance and keeps the model well-arranged. Read more tips about Power BI Desktop here.