Best Power BI Report Examples for Better Insights

Power BI (PBI) reports are used for visualizing and analyzing data in a business context. They provide interactive and dynamic visual representations of data.

This allows users to gain insights, make informed decisions, and track key performance indicators.

Creating great PBI reports, however, might not be as easy as it seems.

Going through Power BI report examples is a great move. It can help you create better PBI reports more efficiently and effectively.

Moreover, it will help you avoid common pitfalls. It can also expose you to Power BI features to help you create great reports.

PBI report examples can serve as a source of inspiration. You get to see how others have solved problems similar to yours. You also learn how to analyze data in unique ways.

You then collect ideas and insights to apply to your own reporting needs.

PBI report examples can also help you learn how to use PBI more effectively. By studying Power BI report examples, you can gain a better understanding of how to:

• organize data,
• create visualizations,
• and design effective reports.

Going through PBI reports gives you access to templates that you can adapt for your use case. This also saves you considerable amounts of time.

In this article, we explore Power BI report examples. We begin by defining Power BI reports and their pros and cons. We then look at the best Power BI report examples.

Finally, we learn how to create charts for reports in Power BI. We’ll also answer some FAQs.

Table of Content:

1. What is a Power BI Report?
2. How to Share a Power BI Report?
3. The Pros and Cons of Power BI Reports
4. The Best Power BI Report Examples
5. How to Create Charts for Reports in Power BI?
6. Wrap Up

What is a Power BI Report?

A Power BI report is a collection of data visualizations, charts, graphs, and tables. They are created using the PBI service.

In PBI, a report can be created from one or more data sources. It can include various visualizations such as tables, matrices, charts, maps, and gauges.

Users can also create calculated measures, columns, and tables in Power BI to create custom analytics. These calculated measures and tables can be used in the report’s visualizations.

This helps in creating more sophisticated and insightful visualizations.

You can also create paginated reports using the Power BI report builder.

How to Share a Power BI Report?

To share PBI reports, you can use the Power BI service, SharePoint, or other web applications. You can export your reports in various formats, such as PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint, for offline use.

The Pros and Cons of Power BI Reports

Let’s explore the major pros and cons of PBI reports.

Pros

• Ease of Use

Power BI reports are user-friendly and do not require extensive training to use. They also have a drag-and-drop interface that makes data analysis and visualization simpler.

• Real-time Data Updates

Power BI reports provides real-time data updates. This allows you to make decisions based on the latest available information.

• Customizable Dashboards

Power BI reports allow users to customize dashboards, charts, and graphs to suit their needs.

• Accessibility

Since Power BI reports are cloud-based, they can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.

• Integration with Other Tools

Power BI reports can be integrated with other Microsoft tools, such as Excel and SharePoint. You can also integrate them with other third-party tools, such as Salesforce.

Cons

• Cost

PBI reports do have a free version. The full version, however, can be expensive, especially for smaller organizations.

• A Slightly Steep Learning Curve

Power BI reports are relatively easy to use. However, to use the software to its full potential, there’s a bit of a learning curve involved.

• Limited Customization

The available options may not be sufficient if you require more extensive customization.

• Dependency on an Internet connection

Since PBI reports are cloud-based, you need an internet connection to access the data and create reports. If the internet connection is slow or down, you may be unable to work on your reports.

The Best Power BI Report Examples

We’ll use Power BI finance reports as examples. You can refer to these for your use case or even to learn more advanced PBI report features.

• Spend Report

A spend report is a document that provides a summary of expenses over a period of time. The expenses can be an individual’s or a company’s.

A spend report can be used to:

• track and analyze spend patterns,
• identify areas where expenses can be reduced or optimized,
• and make informed financial decisions.

A spend report typically includes information such as:

• the total amount spent,
• the categories of expenses (such as rent, utilities, food, entertainment, etc.),
• the date and location of each transaction,
• and any notes or comments related to the spend.

Spend reports can be generated manually using a spreadsheet. They can also be automatically generated using personal finance software or mobile apps.

The following is a PBI dataset of a company’s spend:

Total Spend	Department	Category	Spend Amount ($)
Total Spend	Marketing	Advertising	20,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Events	15,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Collateral	30,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Salaries	50,000
Total Spend	Operations	Rent	10,000
Total Spend	Operations	Utilities	8,000
Total Spend	Operations	Supplies	15,000
Total Spend	Operations	Salaries	40,000
Total Spend	Sales	Salaries	30,000
Total Spend	Sales	Commissions	6,000
Total Spend	R&D	Salaries	40,000
Total Spend	R&D	Contractors	20,000
Total Spend	Admin	Salaries	30,000
Total Spend	Admin	Legal	15,000
Total Spend	Admin	IT	10,000

A PBI report will present the above data in a very effective way.

• Financial Report

A financial report provides information about the financial performance of a company or organization.

The report usually includes financial statements such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. All these show a company’s

• financial position,
• revenues,
• expenses,
• and cash flow during the reporting period.

Financial reports are often prepared on a quarterly or annual basis.

They are typically used by investors, analysts, creditors, and other stakeholders. They help evaluate the financial health of a company.

They can also be used to make decisions about investing or lending money to the company.

They may also be used as part of regulatory financial disclosure requirements.

Let’s use the following data to create a PBI financial report:

Locations	Revenue	Profit & Cost	Details	Amount
North America	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Sales	132000
North America	Revenue	Expenses	Salaries	159000
North America	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Marketing	170000
North America	Revenue	Profit	Tax	182000
North America	Revenue	Profit	Profit After Tax	834000
International	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Sales	162000
International	Revenue	Expenses	Salaries	158000
International	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Marketing	145000
International	Revenue	Profit	Tax	171000
International	Revenue	Profit	Profit After Tax	753000
Middle East	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Sales	155000
Middle East	Revenue	Expenses	Salaries	166000
Middle East	Revenue	Expenses	Cost of Marketing	199000
Middle East	Revenue	Profit	Tax	151000
Middle East	Revenue	Profit	Profit After Tax	685000

How to Create Charts for Reports in Power BI?

In this section, we learn how to create charts for reports in Power BI.

Stage 1: Logging in to Power BI

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email. Click the “Submit” button.

• Enter your password and click “Sign in.”

• Choose whether to stay signed in.

Stage 2: Create a Data Set and Select the Data Set to Use in Your Sankey Chart

• Click on the “Create” option on the left-side menu.
• Select ”Paste or manually enter data.”

• We’ll use the following cash flow data for this example

Total Spend	Department	Category	Spend Amount ($)
Total Spend	Marketing	Advertising	20,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Events	15,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Collateral	30,000
Total Spend	Marketing	Salaries	50,000
Total Spend	Operations	Rent	10,000
Total Spend	Operations	Utilities	8,000
Total Spend	Operations	Supplies	15,000
Total Spend	Operations	Salaries	40,000
Total Spend	Sales	Salaries	30,000
Total Spend	Sales	Commissions	6,000
Total Spend	R&D	Salaries	40,000
Total Spend	R&D	Contractors	20,000
Total Spend	Admin	Salaries	30,000
Total Spend	Admin	Legal	15,000
Total Spend	Admin	IT	10,000

• Paste the above data table into the “Power Query” window.
• Select the “Create a dataset only” option.

• Click on the “Data Hub” option on the left-side menu.
• Power BI populates the data set list. (If you have not created a data set, refer to the Error! Reference source not found section.)

• Choose the data set you want to use to create your Sankey diagram.
• Power BI populates the screen as shown below:

• The data set and its fields are shown on the right side. The middle area shows report and data set options.
• Click on the “Create a report” dropdown.
• Select “Start from scratch.”
• You should see the Report Canvas screen as shown below:

Stage 3: Adding the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo

• To finish creating our Sankey Diagram, we’ll use an add-in or Power BI visual from AppSource.
• Navigate to the Power BI Visualizations panel.
• Click the ellipsis (…) highlighted above to import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.

• The following menu opens:
• Select the “Get more visuals” option.
• The following window opens:

• Enter “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box.
• You should see “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” as shown in the image below.

• Click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.

Stage 4: Drawing a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension

• Select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.
• The following window opens in the report section of your dashboard:

• You can resize the visual as needed.
• Navigate to the right side of your Power BI dashboard. You should see “Fields” next to “Visualizations.”

• You’ll select the fields to use in your Sankey chart here.
• The ChartExpo visual needs to be selected, though.
• Select the fields in the following sequence:
  • Total Spend
  • Department
  • Category
  • Spend Amount ($)

• You’ll be asked for a ChartExpo license key or email address.

Stage 5: Activating your ChartExpo Trial or Applying a Subscription Key

• Select the ChartExpo visual. You should see three icons below “Build Visual” in the Visualizations panel.

• Select the middle icon, “Format visual.”
• The visual properties will be populated as shown below.

• If you are a new user,
  • Type in your email under the section titled “Trial Mode”.
  • This should be the email address that you used to subscribe to the ChartExpo add-in. It is where your ChartExpo license key will be sent.
  • Ensure that your email address is valid.
  • Click “Enable Trial.” You’ll get a 7-day trial.

• You should receive a welcome email from ChartExpo.
• The Sankey Diagram you create under the 7-day trial contains the ChartExpo watermark (see below).

• If you have obtained a license key:
  • Enter your license key in the “ChartExpo License Key” textbox in the “License Settings” section (see below).
  • Slide the toggle switch next to “Enable License” to “On.”

• Your Sankey diagram should now be ready (see below). Note that it does not have a watermark.

• Let’s add the prefix (e.g., the $ sign) to the numeric values in the chart.
• Expand the “Stats” properties.
• Add the prefix value (e.g., the $ sign).

• To add colors, expand the “Level Colors” properties and select a color.
• Do this to change the color of each node.

• Automatically, all changes will be saved.

Insights

• Level 1 shows that the amount spent in total is $339,000.
• At level 2, each node size shows how much money each department spent. The sales department had the lowest expenditure, while the marketing department had the highest.
• Level 3 analyzes the data by category. The largest amount was spent on salaries ($190K) which is 56% of the total cost.
• The smallest amount was spent on commissions ($6,000), representing 1.7% of the expenses.

FAQs:

What are Power BI reports?

Power BI reports are interactive data visualizations created using Microsoft’s Power BI platform. They enable users to analyze data from various sources. You can also create visualizations, customize them, share them, and explore them in different ways.

What are Power BI reports used for?

Power BI reports are used to analyze and communicate insights from data. Businesses frequently use them to keep an eye on their performance, spot trends, and make data-driven decisions.

Wrap Up

Creating Power BI reports might seem quite straightforward. To create effective reports, however, there are a few more things you need to learn.

In this article, we defined Power BI reports and looked at their pros and cons. We also looked at the best Power BI report examples. We used Power BI finance reports (spend reports and financial reports) for our examples.

We then looked at how to create charts for reports in Power BI, step by step. We used a cash flow Power BI dataset.

Finally, we answered some frequently asked questions. We hope that you’ll explore some Power BI reports and get inspired to create more effective ones.