TL;DR

Microsoft’s 2025 Release Wave 2 brings major enhancements to Power BI purchasing reports in Business Central. Expect bigger dashboards, interactive drill-downs, prebuilt apps, export options, and stronger self-service reporting—empowering users to analyze data without relying on IT.

Microsoft has released recent enhancements with Power BI and Business Central across every module in BC. These updates bring significant improvements to Power BI reports, making them larger, richer in information, and easier to analyze. In this walkthrough, we’ll focus on the Purchasing Reports and explore them both within Business Central and on PowerBI.com.

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Accessing Power BI in Business Central

Launching Reports from Business Central

One of the best ways to access Power BI in Business Central is through the All Reports area. From here, you can easily identify which reports are Power BI-based. For example, the Purchase Overview Report can be launched directly.

These updated reports go beyond earlier versions:

• Dashboards are larger and contain more data.

• KPIs, graphs, and charts provide multiple perspectives.

• Filters allow quick customization.

• Interactivity enables users to click on a component (e.g., “Office Chair”) and see all other graphs adjust automatically.

This makes it easy to analyze purchasing activity for both inventory and non-inventory items.

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Using PowerBI.com for a Better Experience

Cleaner Display and Apps

While reports can be run inside Business Central, many users prefer PowerBI.com for its cleaner display and ease of navigation. Reports for Business Central are organized into apps, provided by Microsoft at no charge (though a Power BI license is required).

To access them:

1. Go to Get Apps.

2. Select the ones you need.

3. Download them to your Power BI workspace.

These apps connect directly to Business Central data, ready for immediate use.

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Exploring Purchasing Reports

Purchase Overview Report

The overview report provides KPIs, charts, and interactive graphs. Users can drill down into specific items, vendors, or categories for deeper insights.

Purchases Decomposition Report

This report allows users to:

• Break down purchase amounts by document, fiscal year, fiscal month, item category, or item number.

• Apply multiple filters from the right-hand side.

• Drill into details to understand underlying purchase drivers.

Tip: To get the most out of this, ensure that item category codes and dimensions (financial, customer, or vendor) are properly set up in Business Central.

Purchases by Item

This report highlights purchasing data by item. Users can:

• Click on any item to have all dashboard visuals adjust to that selection.

• Drill down further for details.

• Analyze data without logging into Business Central.

Reports can be exported to Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF for further use.

Purchases by Vendor

This report answers questions like “Who do I buy these chairs from?”

• Selecting an item (e.g., “Chairs”) reveals the list of vendors.

• Reports can be popped out to a separate screen and exported for sharing.

Purchases by Location

This report allows users to:

• See purchases summarized by location.

• Drill into specific warehouses for item-level detail.

• Perform drill-through actions to identify vendors and KPIs tied to purchases.

Actual vs. Budget

Business Central supports purchase and sales budgets by customer or item. This report allows users to compare actual results against budgeted figures, building a strong reporting and planning framework.

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Key Benefits for Users

• Interactivity: Click on graphs and see instant updates across dashboards.

• Self-Service: Users don’t need to ask others for reports; they can filter and drill down themselves.

• Export Options: Reports can be exported to Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF for extended use.

• Ease of Setup: Apps and reports are prebuilt by Microsoft and ready to connect.

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Conclusion

With the new Power BI Purchasing Reports in Business Central, users gain powerful, interactive tools for analyzing data. These updates make it easier to drill down, filter, and share insights across the organization.

Microsoft has not only released these reports but is also making the design components available for customization. This ensures companies can tailor their reporting infrastructure to their needs.

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