Revanth Periyasamy
The integration of enterprise financial systems with business intelligence tools has become increasingly crucial for modern organizations seeking to leverage their financial data effectively. This technical guide examines the integration between Exact Online, a leading cloud-based accounting platform, and Microsoft Power BI, focusing on practical implementation strategies and architectural considerations.
Exact Online Power BI Integration
For organizations utilizing Exact Online for financial management, the addition of Power BI’s analytical capabilities can significantly enhance data visualization and reporting processes. This integration enables organizations to transform routine financial data into actionable insights through interactive dashboards and detailed analytical reports. This guide provides a systematic approach to implementing this integration using Peliqan, examining both technical requirements and operational considerations.
Exact Online is the leading cloud-based business software in the Benelux region, offering comprehensive solutions for accounting, financial management, and business operations. As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, it provides:
Power BI is Microsoft’s premier business analytics solution, enabling organizations to:
Exact Online houses vast amounts of financial data that’s crucial for business operations. By integrating Exact online with Power BI, you transform this raw data into visually compelling insights that drive better business decisions. The combination allows finance teams to spot trends, identify anomalies, and make proactive decisions faster than ever before.
Making informed business decisions requires access to accurate, up-to-date information presented in an easily digestible format. The integration of Exact Online with Power BI puts this power directly in the hands of decision-makers, enabling them to understand complex financial data at a glance and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
Manual data processing and report generation can consume valuable time and resources while introducing the risk of human error. The integration automates these processes, freeing up your team to focus on analysis and strategic initiatives rather than data compilation and basic reporting tasks.
Understanding your customer relationships and business performance requires analyzing data from multiple angles. This integration brings together financial and operational data in ways that reveal deeper insights about your business performance and customer behaviors.
The integration of Exact Online and Power BI is particularly valuable for businesses that need to make sense of large volumes of financial data, want to improve their decision-making process, and are looking to scale their operations efficiently. By combining Exact Online’s comprehensive financial data with Power BI’s powerful analytics capabilities, you create a solution that not only simplifies reporting but also provides the insights needed to drive business success.
Understanding the different approaches to connecting Exact Online and Power BI helps organizations choose the most suitable method for their specific needs and resources.
| Feature | Direct API | Manual Export | Via Peliqan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | High | Low | Low |
| Real-time Data | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free | Free | Subscription (Free trial available) |
| Maintenance | High | High | Low |
| Data Refresh | Automated | Manual | Automated |
| Historical Data | Complex | Limited | Yes |
| Multi-division Support | Complex | No | Yes |
Whether you’re a financial analyst or IT professional, these steps will help ensure a smooth and successful Exact Online & PowerBI integration process.This guide provides a structured implementation approach across multiple phases, starting with preparation and ending with deployment, typically completing within 3 hours.
1. Visit the Peliqan website
2. Click “Start Free Trial“
3. Enter your business details
4. Verify your email address
1. In Peliqan, go to “Connections”
2. Select “Exact Online” as your data source
Start the oAuth connection flow by selecting ‘Connect Exact Online’:
3. Configure basic settings:
Pro Tip: Start with one division to test the setup before adding others.
1. Download and install Power BI desktop on your computer
2. Open Power BI
Use these settings in Microsoft Power BI to connect:
1. Choose relevant tables
2. Preview the data
3. Apply initial filters if needed
Set up basic financial reports:
1. Monthly Revenue Overview
2. Profit & Loss Statement
3. Accounts Receivable Aging
4. Cash Flow Analysis
Create visual representations:
1. Compare figures with Exact Online
2. Verify calculations
3. Check data freshness
1. Test dashboard load times
2. Check filter responsiveness
3. Verify auto-refresh functionality
1. Save your work
2. Publish to Power BI Service
3. Set up refresh schedule
1. Set up user permissions
2. Share with team members
3. Create workspace if needed
Next Steps After Integration:
1. Train your team on using the dashboards
2. Set up regular review meetings
3. Plan for future enhancements
4. Establish a feedback loop
5. Schedule periodic maintenance
Remember: The key to successful integration is starting simple and building up based on actual needs and feedback. Don’t try to implement everything at once – focus on getting the basics right first.
Challenge: Exact Online has strict API limits (5000 calls per day per company), which can interrupt your data synchronization.
Solutions: Peliqan will “back off” when rate limits are hit, but this will delay getting all your data in the data warehouse. Therefore select only the tables that you need for your analysis, for example exclude very large tables if not needed (e.g. transaction lines) or increase the sync “Start date” from e.g. 2020 to 2024 to load less historical data.
Challenge: Dashboards load slowly, especially when dealing with large amounts of data or complex calculations.
Solutions:
Pro Tip: Start with essential metrics and add complexity gradually as needed.
Challenge: Managing data from multiple Exact Online divisions while keeping everything organized and secure.
Solutions:
Pro Tip: Create a master template for division-specific reports to ensure consistency.
Challenge: Getting team members to effectively use the new integrated system.
Solutions:
Pro Tip: Create quick reference guides for the most common tasks users need to perform.
Challenge: Maintaining data security while providing necessary access to team members.
Solutions:
Pro Tip: Review security settings quarterly and after any major organizational changes.
Remember that Peliqan’s support team is available to help you address these challenges and implement the right solutions for your specific needs.
The integration of Exact Online with Power BI represents a strategic transformation in how businesses leverage their financial data. With Peliqan’s streamlined approach, you can connect Exact Online to Power BI in under 3 hours and start visualizing your financial data immediately.
This powerful integration enables organizations to automate their data synchronization and report generation while eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors. With real-time financial insights readily available, businesses can make better-informed decisions and scale their intelligence capabilities as they grow, all while maintaining robust security for sensitive financial data.
Start your integration journey today with Peliqan, and transform your financial data into interactive Power BI dashboards that drive strategic business advantages. With a structured implementation process and ongoing support, your path to data-driven decision-making begins with just a few hours of setup.
Revanth Periyasamy is a process-driven marketing leader with over 5+ years of full-funnel expertise. As Peliqan's Senior Marketing Manager, he spearheads martech, demand generation, product marketing, SEO, and branding initiatives. With a data-driven mindset and hands-on approach, Revanth consistently drives exceptional results.
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