Extending Acumatica using Power BI

Extending Acumatica using Power BI and the advantages for your organisation

​Introduction
Acumatica is a comprehensive cloud-based ERP solution that helps businesses manage their operations efficiently. One of its features is the ability to integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Power BI, a powerful business analytics tool. 

This integration allows organisations to leverage advanced data visualisation and analytics capabilities, providing deeper insights into their operations.

In this blog post, we will explore how Acumatica integrates with Microsoft Power BI and the advantages of using Power BI in your organisation.

​How Acumatica Integrates with Power BI

Step 1: Setting Up OData in Acumatica 

​Acumatica uses OData (Open Data Protocol) to facilitate data integration with external applications such as Power BI. Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Select the Generic Enquiry: Type “Generic Inquiry” into your Acumatica search bar.
2. Choose your report: Select the Acumatica report data that you want to use in your Power BI dataset.
3. Make it available via OData: Tick the checkbox “Expose via OData”

Step 2: Connecting Power BI to Acumatica

Once OData is set up in Acumatica, you can connect Power BI to your selected  Acumatica data:

1. Open Power BI Desktop: Launch Power BI Desktop on your computer.
2. Get Data: Click on the "Get Data" button and select "OData Feed" from the list of data sources.
3. Enter OData URL: Enter the OData URL (including Report name) from Acumatica and click "OK."
4. Authenticate: Provide your Acumatica credentials to authenticate the connection.
5. Select Data: Choose the data tables and fields you want to import into Power BI.

Step 3: Creating Reports and Dashboards

With the data imported into Power BI, you can start creating reports and dashboards:

1. Design Visuals: Use Power BI's drag-and-drop interface to design charts, graphs, and other visual elements.
2. Customise Reports: Tailor the reports to meet your specific business requirements by adding filters, slicers, and calculated fields.
3. Publish and Share: Once your reports are ready, publish them to the Power BI service and share them with your team.

​Advantages of Using Power BI in Your Organisation

1. Enhanced Data Visualisation Power BI provides interactive and visually appealing dashboards that help you understand your data better. This enhanced visualisation makes it easier to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in your business data.
2. Real-Time Insights With Power BI, you can access real-time data from Acumatica, enabling you to make informed decisions quickly. This real-time insight is crucial for responding to market changes and operational challenges promptly.
3. Customisable Reports Power BI allows you to create custom reports tailored to your specific business needs. You can design reports that focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to your organisation.
4. Improved Collaboration Power BI makes it easy to share insights and reports with your team, fostering a data-driven culture within your organisation. Team members can collaborate on reports, provide feedback, and make data-driven decisions together.
5. Scalability Power BI is scalable, meaning it can grow with your business. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, Power BI can handle your data analytics needs.
6. Integration with Other Microsoft Tools Power BI integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools such as Excel, Azure, and Dynamics 365. This integration provides a unified experience and enhances the overall efficiency of your business processes.

Conclusion

​​Integrating Acumatica with Power BI can significantly enhance your business intelligence capabilities, providing you with real-time insights and powerful data visualisation tools.

​By following the steps outlined in this blog post and leveraging the advantages of Power BI, you can drive better decision-making and improve overall business performance.

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