How To Set Up Badger in Power BI
How To Select a Power BI File
There are several Badger Power BI files on SmartApps. To get started quickly, you can use one of the files that contain only one area, such as Badger - Sales or Badger - Finance. All files that are limited to one area have ready-made reports that can be used to analyze the details within the area without having to make any changes in Power BI.
The image illustrates the different Power BI files and what's included:
The file named Badger on SmartApps is a Power BI file in which you can select what areas the dataset should include. This enables you to have one Power BI file with several transaction tables such as general ledger, customer ledger entries, job ledger entries and value entries, all within the same dataset. The file does however not contain any reports.
The Power BI file Badger enables you to create reports that are adapted for different roles in a company such as a buyer, a project manager or a CEO, as it´s possible to make reports that contain data such as jobs, sales, purchase, inventory, accounts receivable, profit and loss, all in the same file.
Files Containing One Area
Entails | Description |
---|---|
Ready-made reports | Reports are included in the file. |
Related data | All data in the model is related. |
Measures | More measures per area. |
File Containing Several Areas
Entails | Description |
---|---|
Non-related data | The data is not always related, depending on what areas are included in the model. |
Complexity | More complex to build reports. |
Role | Can make role based reports. |
Dataset | Possibility to use only one or very few datasets for all reports. |
Summary
Select a Power BI file for one area for a rapid start with Power BI or select the Badger file with no ready-made reports but where you can choose which areas to include in the dataset.
Important
Always start with a Badger Power BI file for one area if you are new to Power BI.
Create Power BI Reports with Multiple Areas
The overall workflow for how you connect to the data source and publish the reports are similar for a Badger Power BI file with one area and a file with several areas. The big difference is what measures, dimensions and filters you choose to include in a report.
Warning
It's possible to include measures, dimensions and filters on a report page that are not related, which can lead to the reader of a report getting the wrong information.
Important
It is important to be selective when creating reports. Try to use only related data on a report page as much as possible.
Create Role Based Reports
The advantage of Badger is that you can create role-based reports instead of area-based ones. Below, an overall description will be described for creating reports based on three different roles in a company.
Purchaser
For example, a buyer of products needs to know how many items have been sold and how many are in stock:
Areas | Why |
---|---|
Sales | To see who bought what, when and how many. |
Inventory | To see which items and how many are in stock. |
Project Manager
For example, a project manager needs to know the budget, and the sales of the projects, they may also need to see the company's profit and loss statement.
Areas | Why |
---|---|
Project | To see the budget, cost and sales of the projects. |
Finance | To see the profit and loss statement. |
Sales Manager
Areas | Why |
---|---|
Sales | To see the total net sales and quantity. |
Finance | To see the gross and net profit. |
Receivables | To see the overdue amount per customer. |
Tip
You can use drill mode in a visual in Power BI when a visual has a hierarchy, to reveal additional details.
Tip
We recommend that you use the drill through functionality in Power BI, enabling you to create a page in your report that focuses on a specific entity and have another page for a different area which the readers can access by drill through.
How To Create Workspaces in Power BI Services
To be able to share the Badger reports with others, you need to setup a shared workspace, see more information on Microsoft Learn on how to create workspaces.
How To Create New Measures in Power BI
You can create your own measures for everything in the Badger dataset, it could be a new calculation or a filter of an existing measure, see more information on Microsoft Learn on how to create measures.
Note
Not all areas contain measures for the previous year, but you can add it yourself by using the function SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR.
Tip
Each area in the Badger dataset has a hidden group for custom measures that you can include in the report view and store your own measures in.
How To Set Up Badger Fields in Power BI
The Badger Fields are by default hidden in the Badger Power BI file. Go to Data and find the Badger Field and add it to the report view by right-clicking on it.
Tip
You can change the name of the Badger Fields by right-clicking on them in Data. We recommend that you use the Business Central name for the fields.
Note
The Badger Fields are mapped in Business Central.
How To Analyze in Excel
Sometimes it is more efficient to analyze an income statement or a balance sheet in Excel. Once a Badger report and dataset is published to Power BI Services you can use the Analyze in Excel action. See more information on Microsoft Learn on how to analyze in excel.
Tip
We recommend the Convert to formulas action in Excel to convert PivotTable cells to worksheet formulas to customize the layouts of a PivotTable.
Note
When you convert an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) PivotTable, you can continue to refresh the data to get up-to-date measure values. You cannot update the actual members that are displayed in the report, but you can add them manually.
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