# Power BI

Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence platform for building interactive dashboards and reports. It connects to data from dozens of sources, but pulling from marketing, project management, or analytics tools often requires custom connectors or manual exports — that's where Coupler.io comes in.

With Coupler.io as the bridge, you can send data from any supported source directly into Power BI using a simple integration URL, no custom connector development needed.

## Why use Power BI as a Coupler.io destination?

* **Any source, one destination** — send data from Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, HubSpot, Airtable, ClickUp, and 60+ other sources into a single Power BI report
* **Automatic refresh** — schedule Coupler.io to run on a recurring basis, then schedule Power BI to refresh after each run, keeping dashboards current without manual work
* **No coding required** — the integration is URL-based; you paste one link into Power BI Desktop and your data appears
* **Pre-built templates** — Coupler.io offers Power BI Template Apps for popular use cases so you can start with a ready-made dashboard

## Prerequisites

* Power BI Desktop installed, or access to Power BI Online

## Quick start

{% hint style="success" %}
If you're starting from a template, use the [Power BI Template App setup guide](#power-bi-template-app-setup-guide) instead. The steps below cover manual data flow setup.
{% endhint %}

## How to connect

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Create a data flow and add your source.** In Coupler.io, create a new data flow and connect the source you want to pull data from — for example, Facebook Ads, GA4, or Airtable. Configure the entity and any filters or date ranges you need.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Select Power BI as your destination.** In the Destination step of your data flow, choose **Power BI** from the list of available destinations.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Copy your integration URL.** Coupler.io will generate a unique integration URL for this data flow. Copy it — you'll paste it into Power BI in the next step. The URL won't return data until you run the flow at least once, so come back to this after completing the remaining steps.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Choose your write mode.**

* **Replace** — overwrites all data on each run. Best for dashboards where you always want the latest full dataset.
* **Append** — adds new rows below existing data on each run. Useful for building a historical log over time.
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Save and run your data flow.** Click **Save & Run**. Wait for the run to complete successfully before moving to Power BI — the integration URL only becomes active after a successful run.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Connect the URL in Power BI Desktop.** Open Power BI Desktop and go to **Get Data → Web**. Paste your Coupler.io integration URL and click **OK**. When prompted for authentication, select **Anonymous** access. Review the imported data, then click **Close & Apply** to load it into your report.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
After building your report in Power BI Desktop, you can publish it to Power BI Online and configure a scheduled refresh there. Make sure your Power BI refresh time is set *after* your Coupler.io run is expected to finish — allow at least 10–30 minutes, depending on your source.
{% endhint %}

## Power BI Template App setup guide

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Click "Connect your data" in Template App that you selected.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Sign In/ Sign Up to Coupler.io.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Connect your source accounts.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Navigate to DataSets step. Do not change anything - just review that your data is loaded.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Select Power BI destination
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Press "Generate link" under Generate an Integration URL.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Copy integration URL
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Insert copied URL in the Template and click "Next"
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Supported features

| Feature              | Supported |
| -------------------- | --------- |
| Replace mode         | Yes       |
| Append mode          | Yes       |
| Automatic scheduling | Yes       |
| Type enforcement     | No        |
| Templates            | Yes       |