- Analytics & Reporting
Where can PowerApps add value to your BI reporting?
PowerApps| Added Value | Case
Meanwhile, Power BI has become a well-known tool for gaining insights into both financial and operational business data. However, the power of using Power Apps in combination with Power BI is still uncharted territory for many. In this article, we show how Power Apps can be a valuable addition to your BI reporting system and what benefits this integration brings.
What are Power Apps?
Power Apps is a platform from Microsoft that allows users to develop custom applications without extensive programming knowledge. These apps can be easily linked to various data sources such as Microsoft Excel, SharePoint and Dynamics 365, as well as external systems via APIs. With Power Apps, companies can create custom applications that perfectly fit their specific business needs without requiring in-depth technical knowledge.
How can Power Apps improve BI reporting?
Power Apps provides the ability to create user-friendly interfaces for data entry, eliminating manual entry into spreadsheets or other systems. Employees can immediately enter data, such as sales figures, customer data or project statuses, through a customized Power App. These can include forms that are simple and intuitive to use. Such interfaces significantly reduce the risk of input errors and speed up the data entry process.
License impact
What is the price tag involved? In the free Developer Plan Power Apps, you receive a free developer profile that allows unlimited app building and testing. However, this is limited to development and testing purposes and not suitable for production use. The Power Apps Premium license gives full access to all features of Power Apps. This license is suitable for production use and sharing apps within the organization. The premium license is licensed per user and entitles the licensed user to build, modernize and run unlimited custom applications and access unlimited websites for €18.03/user/month. This license is in addition to your “regular” Power BI license.
Real life cases
Case 1
In a first case, the Power App is used for several purposes. First, new customers and suppliers are added and existing customer and supplier data are changed. This is done via a Power App since the company in the case works with an external firm to provide some services. For this reason, there is no purchase and sales data available in the ERP package. To still maintain the customer and supplier relationship, they engaged horsum to develop a Power App.
In addition, the Power App is also used to add commission lines. Based on the entered supplier, end customer, net value and product type, the BI tool determines the associated representative and calculates the commission amount the company from the case owes to the representative as well as the amount the company receives from the supplier. Finally, the commission data (%) is changed for each representative.
Changes and new data enter a Sharepoint list that is then visually displayed in the desired BI dashboard so that the necessary insights are generated.
Case 2
In a second real-life case, the Power App is used to add comments at the invoice level. In this way, a reason for the overdue payment can be added. This ensures that there is no constant checking as to why a customer has not yet paid. For each comment, the appropriate relationship code must be included.
Again, the comments for each relationship will appear in a Sharepoint list. This Sharepoint list is then included in the A/R dashboard in Power BI.
Conclusion
Integrating Power Apps into your BI reporting provides significant data entry and processing benefits. By creating user-friendly data entry interfaces, seamless integration with various data sources, and automation of data processing processes, you can improve the accuracy and timeliness of your BI reports. This enables your organization to make faster and more informed decisions based on up-to-date data.
Want to discover how Power Apps can optimize your data entry and processing? Contact us for customized advice and support. Find out how we can help you harness the full potential of Power Apps and take your BI reporting to the next level.
