In this post, we’ll explore how you can use Microsoft Power BI to supercharge your Xero company data, helping you to keep your business in good shape if you’re a business owner, and how to maximise the value of the relationship with your clients if you’re a Xero partner.

Running a business is hard

Running a business of any size can be a tough gig. This is particularly true if you’re running a small business with a handful of staff who depend on your leadership and skills to keep the business running smoothly, and keep them in a job. Astonishingly, one of the primary reasons for businesses failing today is a poor understanding of cash flow. It’s all too easy to end up in a situation where, on a monthly basis, there isn’t enough money flowing through the business to meet all the financial commitments there may be.

Getting insight is easy

Microsoft Power BI is a suite of tools that, put simply, allow you to connect to “some data”, “somewhere”, and turn that data into insights (the fashionable way of saying information!) through some pretty sophisticated visualisations, reports, dashboards and an array of applications for mobile, desktop and tablet. You can connect to over 50 popular business applications, and Xero – the popular business accounting software company – have created a content pack that plugs into Power BI to enable you to visualise Xero company data in a rich, customisable dashboard.

It’s free to sign up for Power BI, although there is a paid option if you need more advanced features and functionality.

How to get started

In the following video demo, I show how simple and quick it is to connect Power BI to Xero company data through the Xero content pack. For the purposes of the video I have used the Xero demo company data as part of a free trial (since I don’t run my own business).

Start today

From watching the video, you’ll have seen just how quick and easy it is to connect Microsoft Power BI and Xero together and can appreciate the tremendous level of insight you can get into your business in doing so. In just a couple of minutes, you can be on your way to obtaining actionable insights, available anywhere; all you need to do is sign up!