QuickBooks and Power BI create a dynamic partnership! By connecting QuickBooks to Power BI, you can enhance your financial analysis significantly. This integration provides several valuable benefits for users:
Linking QuickBooks Online to Power BI allows you to transform your static, table-based financial reports into vibrant data visualizations.
You can merge QuickBooks Online data with various other data sources in Power BI. This capability gives more context to your financial information and helps create more insightful management reports.
Additionally, the automated data extraction from QuickBooks saves you the hassle of manual exports.
In this article, we will discuss how to initiate the integration between QuickBooks and Power BI, explore the pre-built reporting templates available in Power BI, and demonstrate how to design your own customized Power BI templates.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a leading accounting software product developed by Intuit. Trusted by over 100,000 businesses globally, it's often regarded as the top accounting software for small enterprises.
QuickBooks facilitates automated financial reporting, integrations with government agencies like HMRC, and seamless data synchronization with banks.
What is Power BI?
Power BI is a premier business intelligence tool from Microsoft that enables users to automatically gather data from various sources and consolidate it into a single management report. Recognized as the dominant player in the BI software sector by Gartner for five consecutive years, Power BI continues to thrive!
Getting Started with QuickBooks Online and Power BI Integration
Microsoft has introduced a public application that allows users to swiftly connect their QuickBooks Online data to a ready-made Power BI dashboard.
You can visualize your QuickBooks Online financial statement data in Power BI within minutes by simply linking it to this Power BI application. Just follow the Microsoft guide on connecting your QuickBooks Online data to Power BI.
While this ready-made option is useful for initial demonstrations, it doesn't permit customization. For a personalized Power BI report using your QuickBooks Online data, you would need to create it from scratch.
Later in the article, we will cover other QuickBooks Online Power BI templates that offer customization options.
Connecting QuickBooks Online Data to Power BI
There is a built-in connector between QuickBooks Online and Power BI, which you can access simply by clicking “get data” in Power BI Desktop and selecting QuickBooks Online.
This connector lets you retrieve data from over 100 different tables, including General Ledger, Invoices, Customers, and more. For detailed documentation on connecting QuickBooks to Power BI using the built-in integration, check the Microsoft website.
While the connector is effective, it does have some drawbacks:
The abundance of over 100 tables can be overwhelming for many users, making it challenging to locate the specific data needed. Limited documentation on this connector is available online, which can complicate data retrieval.
The native connector can only connect to one QuickBooks account at a time, while many users manage multiple QuickBooks Online accounts.
Not all data is available for extraction via the native QuickBooks Online connector in Power BI. For example, users have noted that the “Class” column is often missing from the general ledger.
Later in the article, we will discuss potential solutions to these limitations.
After establishing a direct connection, you can set up automatic data refreshes. For instance, you can have your Power BI data updated every day at 9 am.
Customizable QuickBooks Online Power BI Templates
If you're looking to quickly visualize your QuickBooks Online data in Power BI, setting up a template dashboard could be beneficial. Templates are pre-designed Power BI dashboards that can be implemented rapidly. This approach allows you the freedom to adjust the templates to suit your needs.
You can acquire all the QuickBooks Online Power BI dashboards outlined in this article for your business.
Once these dashboards are set up, you’ll receive a Power BI file that you can modify to reflect your desired design and layout.
P&L QuickBooks Online Power BI Dashboard
This dashboard displays your QuickBooks Online P&L statement in Power BI, allowing for interactive drilldowns, filtering, and highlighting trends for your key P&L metrics.
Balance Sheet QuickBooks Online Power BI Dashboard
This dashboard illustrates your QuickBooks Online Balance Sheet statement in Power BI, providing a comprehensive view of your assets, liabilities, and equity.
Cash Flow QuickBooks Online Power BI
This dashboard depicts QuickBooks Online’s cash flow statement in Power BI, showcasing trends in cash inflows and outflows from various business activities.
Account Receivables QuickBooks Online Power BI Dashboard
This dashboard examines outstanding balances by each customer and tracks how long those balances have been overdue.
How to Overcome the Limitations of the Native QuickBooks Online Power BI Connector
As mentioned earlier, the native QuickBooks Online Power BI connector has its flaws. In this section, we will delve into these limitations and explore feasible workarounds.
How to Create P&L Power BI Dashboards from QuickBooks Online
Using the native Power BI QuickBooks Online connector can make reconstructing your financial statements challenging due to the overwhelming number of tables. This complex data organization is a significant hurdle.
You can simplify your data extraction process in Power BI by utilizing a QuickBooks Online Power BI connector from Versich.
This connector provides tables such as Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and more. Consequently, you won't need to reconstruct your financial statements from over 100 tables; the data is already arranged in a user-friendly format ready for use.
How to Combine Multiple QuickBooks Online Accounts in Power BI
The native Power BI connector accommodates only one QuickBooks Online account at a time. However, many businesses, especially retailers, have multiple QuickBooks Online accounts (one for each location). Likewise, accounting firms often maintain one account per client.
These companies need the ability to extract data from multiple QuickBooks Online accounts simultaneously into Power BI.
You can achieve this data extraction using the Versich connector, which includes a “client ID” column in every table. This allows you to filter for a specific account, and removing the filter will display combined data from all accounts.
How to View QuickBooks Online Data in Power BI Using Cash and Accrual Methods
The native QuickBooks Online Power BI connector complicates calculations based on cash or accrual methods. To do this, you need to track when a transaction was invoiced and when it was paid.
The QuickBooks Online connector from Versich includes an “accounting method” column for every table. You can utilize this column to toggle between cash and accrual accounting methods.
How to Extract Class Data for P&L, Balance Sheet, General Ledger from QuickBooks Online into Power BI
While the native Power BI QuickBooks Online connector provides a general ledger table, it often lacks the “class” column, which is crucial for many businesses.
However, the QuickBooks Online Power BI connector from Versich includes the class column for Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and other financial statements.
How to Create a Custom Power BI QuickBooks Online Dashboard
If you're interested in building a fully customized Power BI dashboard from QuickBooks Online data, you can do so using either the native QuickBooks Online connector or the connector from Versich.
Using our connector is likely to save you time in developing the dashboard, as it minimizes the need to blend data from numerous tables.
Conclusion
You now have a clear understanding of how to begin analyzing your QuickBooks Online data in Power BI. We’ve discussed the different data connectors and template Power BI dashboards that can expedite your dashboard development process.
We’ve also highlighted the data format you will work with in Power BI once the data from QuickBooks Online is extracted. It’s time to dive into this data format and set up your first dashboards!
