Dynamics 365 Business Central Power BI Connector
SyncTools syncs D365 Business Central to your own database on an automated schedule. No OData throttling. No AL extensions. Connect Power BI, Tableau, or any BI tool that speaks SQL.
- No OData throttling — Power BI reads from SQL
- Flat $50/month — unlimited rows, no overages
- Works with Business Central cloud (SaaS)
No credit card required. Setup in under 15 minutes.
Trusted by Accounting and Finance Teams.
Microsoft ships a native Power BI connector for D365 Business Central — but it queries live OData endpoints at every refresh, which throttles on large datasets and times out on large transaction histories.
Power BI Embedded in D365 is limited to pre-built templates. Custom reports require AL extensions. SyncTools moves your D365 data into a database you own first — Power BI then connects via SQL with no throttling, no gateway complexity, and no developer in the loop.
Why Microsoft's Native D365 Power BI Options Fall Short
Microsoft offers several paths to get Dynamics 365 Business Central data into Power BI. In practice, each path has a constraint that limits what finance teams can actually do with their data — and those limits become significant as transaction histories grow.
The native OData connector throttles on large datasets. Microsoft's built-in Power BI connector for Business Central queries live OData endpoints at every refresh. For small companies with limited transaction history, this works. For mid-market businesses with years of GL entries, thousands of invoices, and large vendor and customer records, refreshes hit D365 API throttling limits — producing partial data, timeout errors, or dashboards that fail silently. Teams running multiple reports or refreshing on tight schedules are most affected.
Power BI Embedded in D365 is not custom reporting. Microsoft ships embedded Power BI reports inside the Business Central interface, but these are pre-built templates — not a replacement for custom, ad-hoc financial analysis. You cannot freely build new report structures, combine D365 data with external sources, or export to a standalone Power BI workspace without the same OData constraints.
Custom reports require AL extension development. If the pre-built templates don't cover your reporting needs, the standard path is writing AL code or RDLC report layouts — a developer-dependent workflow. Every new report, every data model change, and every filter modification requires a development cycle. Finance teams cannot iterate on reports independently.
Gateway requirements for cloud refresh. Power BI Service needs additional configuration to reach D365 OData endpoints for scheduled refresh. Teams on cloud-first infrastructure who want simple, automatic dashboard refresh face unnecessary complexity.
SyncTools eliminates all of these problems. It syncs D365 Business Central data into a database you own on an automated schedule — GL entries, invoices, customers, vendors, items, and more. Power BI then reads from your database via its native SQL connector: no API calls at refresh time, no OData throttling, no AL development required for new reports.
How SyncTools Works with Dynamics 365 Business Central
Three steps. No OData gateway. No AL extensions. No throttling at refresh.
Architecture
Connect Dynamics 365 Business Central
Connect your D365 Business Central tenant via OAuth. SyncTools handles the authentication flow — no AL extensions, no developer involvement. Works with Business Central cloud (SaaS) and supports multiple company IDs.
Choose your database
Bring your own PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, or Azure SQL instance — or use the SyncTools-hosted database for zero infrastructure overhead. SyncTools creates the schema automatically and runs the initial historical sync of GL entries, Invoices, Customers, Vendors, and Items. No DBA required.
Connect Power BI
Point Power BI Desktop or Power BI Service at your database using the built-in SQL Server connector. Scheduled refresh runs against your database — not the D365 OData endpoints. No throttling. No gateway required for Azure SQL or cloud-hosted databases.
What Dynamics 365 BC Data Syncs to Your Database
SyncTools syncs the D365 Business Central financial data your reporting needs — structured into query-ready tables with header and line-item detail. No raw OData responses. No JSON to parse.
General Ledger
- GL Entries
- Chart of Accounts
- Journal Lines
- Dimensions & Dimension Values
Accounts Receivable
- Sales Invoices (header + line items)
- Sales Orders
- Customers
- Customer Ledger Entries
Accounts Payable
- Purchase Invoices (header + line items)
- Purchase Orders
- Vendors
- Vendor Ledger Entries
Inventory
- Items
- Item Ledger Entries
- Item Variants
- Units of Measure
Fixed Assets
- Fixed Assets
- Fixed Asset Ledger Entries
- Depreciation Books
Sales & Purchasing
- Sales Quotes
- Return Orders
- Bank Accounts
- Currency Exchange Rates
Line-item detail included. SyncTools syncs both invoice headers and their line items — giving you row-level reporting on quantity, unit price, G/L account, and dimension values across every D365 Business Central transaction. This level of detail requires AL extension development to achieve through native D365 reporting tools.
D365 Business Central supports multiple companies within a single tenant. SyncTools can sync across company IDs into the same database — giving you consolidated multi-company reporting without building AL consolidation reports.
Sync Dynamics 365 Business Central to the Database You Already Use
Microsoft's native Power BI connector queries live D365 OData endpoints at refresh time — large databases timeout and high-frequency refreshes hit API throttling. SyncTools pre-syncs to SQL once; Power BI reads SQL directly with no API calls at refresh.
Key differentiator: The built-in D365 Power BI connector works for small datasets but throttles on large transaction histories. SyncTools syncs once, then Power BI reads from SQL — no API calls at refresh.
PostgreSQL
Most popular open-source DB
Fully supported. Ideal for teams running Postgres in AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, or on-premises. SyncTools creates and manages the schema — D365 BC GL entries, Invoices, and Vendors land in structured tables.
MySQL / MariaDB
Common in existing infrastructure
Supported natively. If your stack already runs MySQL — common in ecommerce and hosting environments — SyncTools writes D365 Business Central records directly into it. No OData queries at refresh time.
SQL Server
Enterprise environments, Power BI's native source
Sync D365 Business Central to SQL Server and connect Power BI using its built-in SQL Server connector. No OData gateway. No throttling at refresh. The natural choice for Microsoft-stack organisations already running SQL Server.
Azure SQL
Cloud-first Microsoft stack
For organisations on Azure alongside D365. Sync Business Central to Azure SQL and connect Power BI Service using the managed SQL connector — no on-premises gateway required for cloud refresh. Eliminates OData throttling entirely.
SyncTools-Hosted Database
No infrastructure to manage. SyncTools provisions a dedicated database for your organisation and keeps it running. Ideal for teams that want zero DevOps overhead. Power BI connects via the hosted database's SQL endpoint — no gateway, no OData connector required.
If your database isn't listed, contact us — we're expanding support.
Why Database Sync Beats the Native D365 OData Connector
The database-first architecture isn't a workaround. It's how finance teams run BI at scale — and the reason their dashboards stay fast and reliable when OData-dependent connectors throttle or time out.
Reliability
No D365 OData throttling. No API timeouts on large datasets. No dependency on Business Central's OData service uptime. Your data is in your database — Power BI reads it even if D365 enforces a quota mid-refresh.
Performance
Power BI queries a local or cloud database via native SQL, not live D365 OData endpoints. No API rate limits. No throttling. Reports open in seconds, not minutes — regardless of how many GL entries or invoices your Business Central tenant contains.
Flexibility
Once your D365 data is in a database, any BI tool works — Power BI, Tableau, Metabase, Looker, or custom SQL. Finance teams build and iterate on reports without AL developers. Switch tools without re-syncing. Zero platform lock-in.
One-way sync guarantee: SyncTools reads data from Dynamics 365 Business Central and writes to your database. It never writes data back to D365 — your accounting records are never at risk.
If you also use QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage, MYOB, NetSuite, or Zoho Books, SyncTools can sync all of them into the same database — giving you a unified reporting layer without duplicate BI infrastructure. See the QuickBooks Power BI Connector, Xero Power BI Connector, Sage Power BI Connector, MYOB Power BI Connector, NetSuite Power BI Connector, and Zoho Books Power BI Connector pages for details.
Flat $50/Month. Unlimited Rows.
No per-seat pricing. No row-volume overages. Your price doesn't change whether you have 1,000 invoices or 1,000,000.
SyncTools — Per Company
- All D365 BC entities — GL entries, Invoices, Customers, Vendors, Items
- All supported databases — PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Azure SQL
- SyncTools-hosted database option included
- Automated sync — hourly, daily, or custom schedule
- Unlimited rows — no overage fees
- No OData throttling, no AL extension development
The built-in D365 Power BI connector works for small datasets but throttles on large transaction histories. SyncTools syncs once, then Power BI reads from SQL — no API calls at refresh, flat $50/month.
Trusted by Teams Worldwide
Thousands of accounting firms and finance teams rely on SyncTools to streamline reconciliation and save hours every month.
Customers who are Trusting Us
Haider Ali
Business Owner
"Excellent app. Very easy to work with. Very knowledgeable, understanding, and open to any requests."
Tom Brookes
Finance Director
"Best in class. If you use Linnworks and Xero, SyncTools is a phenomenal tool, far superior to any alternative we've tried."
Deborah Whitfield
Customer
"I recently installed SyncTools and it is easy to use. The team worked quickly, kept me informed, and now everything runs smoothly."
Heather Cook
Customer
"Best Xero connector on the market. Excellent customer support and continuous development from an app that does exactly what it says."
Harvey Uppal
Customer
"AWESOME: Excellent tool and has saved us so much time. Credit to the support team for being so helpful in setup and post-setup."
Geoff Ainsworth
Customer
"Excellent tool: Does what it says and connects seamlessly & if you have any issues the support is amazing!"
Nirav Khiroya
Customer
"Fantastic support: The team has always been diligent and proactive about fixing any bugs that arise. Would highly recommend them."
Robert Morris
Customer
"Have been using the Linnworks Xero connector for a couple of years now. It is very reliable and the developers are keen to improve it."
Connie Sturman
Customer
"I just looked in the connector and it looks like they were able to get the purchase orders synced... thank the team for us. Thank you for your help."
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I connect Dynamics 365 Business Central to Power BI?
What are the limitations of Microsoft's built-in D365 Power BI connector?
Does Power BI Embedded in Business Central replace external Power BI reports?
What Business Central data does SyncTools sync to SQL?
Does SyncTools support Business Central on-premises and cloud?
How is SyncTools different from writing AL extensions for Business Central reporting?
Ready to Connect Dynamics 365 Business Central to Power BI Without the Limits?
SyncTools syncs D365 Business Central to your own database on an automated schedule. Connect Power BI, Tableau, or any BI tool via SQL. Flat $50/month, unlimited rows.
Setup in under 15 minutes. No credit card required for trial.