How to Simplify Reporting in Power BI Using Jet Reports and Dynamics 365

If you’re looking for a better way to handle reporting in Power BI, especially when working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 data, you’re not alone. Many businesses struggle with the complexity of Dynamics data and the technical overhead of building reports in Power BI from scratch.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to simplify Power BI reporting by using Jet Reports, a powerful reporting tool that integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365 and Excel. Whether you’re in finance, operations, or IT, this approach can help you build accurate, real-time Power BI reports and dashboards without relying heavily on technical resources.

Why Power BI Alone Isn’t Always Enough for Dynamics 365 Reporting

When it comes to leveraging business intelligence (BI) and reporting tools, Power BI often steals the spotlight. Known for its powerful analytics and visualization capabilities, Power BI’s free desktop version makes it especially appealing to businesses of all sizes. However, when it comes to reporting on Dynamics 365 data in Power BI, it often requires:

• Complex data modeling
• Deep knowledge of Dynamics’ data structures
• Heavy IT involvement
• Manually exporting from Dynamics 365 into Excel, then updating and synchronizing the data

This can slow down your reporting process and create bottlenecks for business users who need fast, flexible insights.

How Jet Reports Simplifies Power BI Reporting for Dynamics 365

Connecting Power BI to your organization’s data sources seems simple on paper but can be quite complex. For most businesses, integrating Power BI requires significant IT assistance to establish data connections and navigate the overwhelming complexity of Dynamics data structures. Unfortunately, this process can be time-consuming and costly, creating significant bottlenecks.

Jet Reports from insightsoftware solves this problem by acting as a conduit between your Dynamics system and Power BI.

Jet Reports is purpose-built for Microsoft Dynamics. It understands the data structure natively and allows you to:

• Connect to live Dynamics 365 data without custom integrations
• Transform data into report-ready formats without IT help
• Access all Dynamics modules, including custom fields and vertical tables

Using Jet Reports, you can transform Dynamics data into a usable, report-ready format without needing assistance from IT or external consultants. This means you can leverage Jet Reports’ built-in knowledge of how Dynamics data is structured with your own Excel expertise to quickly create complex, tailored reports—even from advanced data sets.

Step-by-Step: How to Use Jet Reports for Power BI Reporting

Once your custom Jet Reports are created, they seamlessly integrate with Power BI. Power BI natively recognizes the objects and structures within Microsoft Excel, enabling you to directly connect Jet Reports outputs, such as tables, charts, or pivot tables, to Power BI Dashboards. There’s no need for repeated data modeling or manual reconfiguration.

This streamlined workflow ensures that your entire reporting process remains flexible, dynamic, and free of repeated manual intervention. With Jet Reports and Power BI, you maintain control of your data every step of the way while avoiding the technical complexities that often plague traditional approaches.

Step 1: Build Reports in Excel With Jet Reports

• Use the Jet Reports Excel add-in to create custom reports from your Dynamics 365 data. This gives you the flexibility of Excel with the power of Jet’s Dynamics integration.

Step 2: Save Reports to OneDrive or SharePoint

• Store your Excel-based Jet Reports in a shared location like OneDrive or SharePoint. Changes made in these shared environments cascade seamlessly with Power BI, ensuring easy access and version control.

Step 3: Connect Excel Reports to Power BI

• Power BI natively recognizes Excel files. Simply connect your Jet Reports workbook to Power BI to start building dashboards and visualizations.

Step 4: Automate Data Refreshes

• Jet Reports supports both scheduled and on-demand data refreshes. When your Excel report updates, your Power BI dashboards update automatically—no manual syncing required. This automation doesn’t just save time; it also ensures decision-makers across all levels of the business can access the most current, accurate information for their strategies.

Benefits of Using Jet Reports With Power BI for Financial Reporting

• Reduced costs by avoiding custom data modeling and external consultants
• Real-time data from Dynamics 365 without IT bottlenecks
• Hassle-free access to all Dynamics modules, including custom fields and vertical tables.
• Minimal reliance on IT for data access or transformation, empowering business users to work more independently.
• Automated data refreshes for always up-to-date reports and dashboards

By combining Jet Reports’ understanding of complex Dynamics 365 data with Power BI’s visualization capabilities, businesses can remove dependency on IT teams or external consultants and unlock the ability to generate accurate insights within Power BI in record time.

A Winning Partnership for Comprehensive Reporting

By combining Jet Reports and Power BI, businesses can unlock unparalleled reporting, analysis, and visualization strengths. Here’s how the two platforms work together:

• Jet Reports handles the heavy lifting of data transformation, offering simplified access to Dynamics data and enabling self-service reporting without IT support. It gives you streamlined access to real-time, analysis-ready data.
• Power BI, with its robust visualization capabilities, takes your data further. It allows you to uncover patterns, create stunning dashboards, and deliver actionable insights to stakeholders.

This partnership is a game-changer for businesses relying on Dynamics and looking to maximize the value of their data.

Better Together: Power BI and Jet Reports

Combining Power BI with Jet Reports equips your business with the tools you need to simplify data access, create custom reports, and drive insights into your business processes. Want to experience the powerful combination of Jet Reports and Power BI firsthand? Watch this on-demand video to see for yourself how Jet Reports and Power BI just work better together.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Jet Reports and how does it work with Power BI?

• Jet Reports is a reporting tool designed for Microsoft Dynamics 365 that allows users to create real-time reports in Excel. These reports can be easily connected to Power BI for advanced visualizations without complex data modeling or IT support.

Can I use Jet Reports and Power BI together without technical expertise?

• Yes! Jet Reports is built for business users. It simplifies data access and transformation, allowing you to create and update reports in Excel that Power BI can use—no coding or deep technical knowledge required.

Why use Jet Reports instead of connecting Power BI directly to Dynamics 365?

• Direct connections to Dynamics 365 often require complex data modeling and IT involvement. Jet Reports simplifies this by providing a user-friendly interface that understands Dynamics data natively, reducing costs and speeding up report creation.

How do I connect Jet Reports to Power BI?

• After building your report in Excel using Jet Reports, save it to OneDrive or SharePoint. Then, connect the Excel file to Power BI, which will recognize the data and allow you to build dashboards and visualizations.

Does Jet Reports support real-time data updates in Power BI?

• Yes. Jet Reports supports both scheduled and on-demand data refreshes. When your Excel report updates, your connected Power BI dashboards update automatically, ensuring real-time insights.

The post How to Simplify Reporting in Power BI Using Jet Reports and Dynamics 365 appeared first on insightsoftware.