How to Add a Paginated Report to Power BI for Journals

This post relates to this YouTube video
This is a ChatGPT summary of the video, with some editing to add context :-)

Requirements

• A Xero account and a Odatalink account to connect to it.
• Power BI Report Builder installed.
• Xero4PowerBI deployed to your Power BI service.

Setup

1. Download the Zip file from the Xero4PowerBIReporting.
2. Extract the Journal.rdl file and open it in Power BI Report Builder.
3. Edit the data source to connect to your Xero4PowerBI dataset.

Creating the Report

• Run the report locally in Report Builder.
• By default, it shows the last 30 days of journals, but you can customize the date range (e.g., go back to December 2023).
• The report displays:
  • Journal data ordered by date, transaction type, account, and journal number.
  • Journal numbers link related transactions.

Report Builder Specifics

• Formatting is done via formulas (similar to VBA).
• Customizations:
  • Modify expressions (e.g., date expressions, concatenating account codes and names).
  • Group and filter data using DAX-like syntax (with some custom filters specific to Report Builder).
• Add a logo using Base64 encoding and adjust MIME types as needed.

Tips and Notes

• Backup: Make a copy of the report before making edits.
• Formulas and fonts:
  • Pay attention to formulas and font sizes to avoid rendering issues.
• Export options:
  • Formats include Excel, PDF, and others for flexibility.

Features

• Reports update automatically.
• Options to:
  • Share, subscribe, comment, and add reports to favorites.
  • Export to various formats (e.g., Excel, PDF).

Final Thoughts

• Paginated reports differ from traditional Power BI reports but are easy to learn with online resources.
• Be mindful of precision ("pixel-perfect" formatting) and potential compatibility issues.

Conclusion

Follow the steps to download, customize, and use paginated reports for journals. Experiment with the settings to suit your needs.