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Microsoft Power BI Zapier integrationAutomate Microsoft Power BI with Zapier.

Microsoft Power BI Zapier integration: 0 triggers, 3 actions and 1 search. Power BI never starts the automation itself. Another app does, then Power BI receives the data: a new row in a push dataset, a new dataset, or a refresh. And it needs a paid plan.

Premium app Zapier reserves this app to its paid plans.

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Overview

What the Microsoft Power BI Zapier integration actually does

This integration feeds Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft's business analytics platform for charts and shared reports, from the other apps you connect through Zapier. Power BI has no event of its own to start an automation, so it always comes last: something happens in another tool, then Zapier writes to Power BI.

A dashboard fed row by row. Add Dataset Row pushes a row into a table of a push dataset each time another app records something, so your report reads data no one had to export.

A dataset built for the Zap. Create Push Dataset sets up a new dataset with its table and columns, each with a data type, ready to receive rows from Add Dataset Row.

A refresh at the right moment. Refresh Dataset asks Power BI to refresh a dataset once something has changed elsewhere, and List Datasets finds it among the datasets of a workspace.

Now the limits. Power BI is reserved for paid plans and the free trial: no Zap that uses it runs on the free plan. Nothing that happens inside Power BI can start a Zap through this integration, since there is no trigger. Add Dataset Row only writes to a push dataset, not to any dataset. And no Zap goes back in time: rows recorded before you publish are never sent. The same app also has a Microsoft Power BI Make integration page.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight words you will meet in the editor. Each is explained once here, then used as is.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it. Power BI has none, so another app plays this role.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you, like Add Dataset Row.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The number on your plan is a count of those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer for new items. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself, so nothing waits for the next check.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps that follow can use what it found. List Datasets is one.
Connection
Your Power BI account, linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step that works with Power BI.
Cost

What a Power BI Zap really costs

Zapier bills tasks, not Zaps. The trigger never costs a task, and checking for new data costs nothing however often it happens. A task is counted when an action completes; an action that fails is not counted.

  • Plan neededPaid plan or free trial
  • Trigger and checksNever cost a task
  • Failed actionNot counted
  • Each successful actionOne task

Power BI is reserved for paid plans and the free trial, so the free plan (100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps of two steps) does not cover it. On a paid plan, a filter, the search or a second action makes the Zap multi-step, which those plans allow. Every Power BI action that succeeds counts as one task. The grid below only concerns a polling trigger, which here means the trigger of the app that starts your Zap, since Power BI has none of its own.

Connect

Connect your Power BI account

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    Go to the Apps page of your Zapier account and click + Add connection. You need an account on Power BI, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Pick Microsoft Power BI

    Type Microsoft Power BI in the dialog, pick it among the results, then click Add connection. A new tab opens on the Microsoft sign-in page, where the rest of the connection happens.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Sign in with the account that owns or can edit the datasets the Zap will use, then grant Zapier access. Every Power BI step in every Zap reuses this connection afterwards.

First Zap

Your first Zap: spreadsheet rows straight into a Power BI dataset

GoalEach new row of a spreadsheet that passes your condition is pushed as a row into a table of a Power BI push dataset.

  1. 01

    Build: start from the spreadsheet

    Create a Zap and pick your spreadsheet and its new-row event as the trigger. Power BI can't start a Zap, so the starting point always sits in another tool.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the trigger test. Zapier brings back the three most recent rows of the connected sheet, so pick a real one to map the next steps on.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Add a step with the plus icon, choose Filter, then fill the field, the rule and the value. A filter makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan, which Power BI already requires.

  4. 04

    Add Add Dataset Row

    Add the Power BI action Add Dataset Row, fill in the fields it offers for your push dataset, and map each spreadsheet column into them. Test the step once and read what came back.

  5. 05

    Publish

    Click Publish to switch it on. New rows are picked up at the interval of your plan if the spreadsheet trigger polls; check its type on the spreadsheet's app page.

Actions

The 3 Power BI actions

Microsoft Power BI gives you 3 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add Dataset Row

Action

In Zapier“Adds a row of data to a push dataset table.”

Pushes one row of data into a table of a push dataset, from whatever the trigger or earlier steps provide.

When to use it
every signup or form answer recorded elsewhere should show up in a Power BI report without an export.
Watch out
it only writes to a push dataset; create one first with Create Push Dataset if you have none, and check at the test which fields it offers.
2

Create Push Dataset

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new push dataset with a table schema.”

Sets up a new push dataset with its table schema. Dataset Name, Table Name and Column Names are required, and each column gets a data type.

When to use it
a new project or source in another tool needs its own dataset before any rows arrive.
Watch out
Column Names asks for each column's data type at creation, so prepare that list before you build the step.
3

Refresh Dataset

Action

In Zapier“Refreshes a dataset.”

Asks Power BI to refresh a dataset you pick, from inside the Zap. The Notification field is required, so decide its value when you set the step.

When to use it
data changed in another tool and the dataset should refresh now rather than wait.
Watch out
each refresh that succeeds is a task, so put a filter before it if the trigger fires often.
Searches

The Power BI search

1 search step looks for data that already exists in Microsoft Power BI, so a later step can use it.

A search step reads, it does not write. In the editor, Power BI's search sits at the bottom of the Action event list, under the SEARCH heading, and some action fields offer + Add search step, which inserts it right before. Three settings decide what happens when the result is not what you expected.

1

List Datasets

Search

In Zapier“Lists all datasets in the specified workspace.”

Lists all the datasets of the workspace you specify and passes them to the following steps.

When to use it
Refresh Dataset or Add Dataset Row needs a dataset that the trigger does not name, and you want to pick it from the workspace.
Watch out
a workspace can hold several datasets, so set If multiple search results are found? to what the next step expects.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap there and the steps that depended on it are skipped. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    On apps that offer it, this box turns a search into a find-or-create. Power BI exposes no find-or-create variant, so List Datasets only looks things up.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first one, which is the default, stop the Zap, or hand all of them on at once.
When it breaks

When it breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to Power BI. The traps below come from the app's status, its operations and Zapier's general rules.

Read them before you publish. For a general method when a Zap misbehaves, see our Zapier troubleshooting guide.

  • No Power BI on the free plan

    Power BI is reserved for paid plans and the free trial. A Zap that uses it cannot run on the free plan, even with only two steps.

  • Push datasets only

    Add Dataset Row writes to a table of a push dataset. Create the dataset with Create Push Dataset first, with the columns your rows will fill.

  • Old records are never sent

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Rows already in your source are not pushed; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • A sudden flood of rows

    After a bulk import into the app that starts your Zap, a trigger returning a huge batch can be held back by Zapier's flood protection.
Need help

Need help automating Microsoft Power BI with Zapier?

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FAQ

Questions about Microsoft Power BI on Zapier

01Is the Microsoft Power BI Zapier integration free?
No. Power BI is one of the apps Zapier reserves for paid plans and the free trial, so a Zap that uses it does not run on the free plan. The free plan itself gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps of two steps each, but none of them can include Power BI. On a paid plan, you can also add a filter, the List Datasets search or a second action. Each Power BI action that succeeds then counts as one task.
02How many tasks does a Power BI Zap use?
One task per action that completes successfully. The trigger, which comes from another app, costs nothing, and neither do the checks Zapier runs on it. An action that fails is not counted. So a Zap that pushes each new form answer into a dataset with Add Dataset Row uses one task per row. Add Refresh Dataset after it and each run costs two tasks, since every successful action counts on its own. A few apps and actions take more than one task, so watch your count.
03Does Power BI update in real time with Zapier?
It depends on the app that starts the Zap, because Power BI has no trigger of its own. If that app offers an instant trigger, it reports the event to Zapier itself and the plan interval does not apply. If it uses a polling trigger, Zapier checks it every 15 minutes on Free, every 2 minutes on Professional, and every minute on Team and Enterprise. The app page of the starting app on Zapier shows the free-plan interval on each polling trigger, so you can check before you build.
04What does it take to connect Power BI to Zapier?
An account on Power BI, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch, and a paid Zapier plan or the free trial. The connection happens from the Apps page of your Zapier account: click + Add connection, search for Microsoft Power BI, click Add connection, sign in in the tab that opens and grant access. Every Power BI step in your Zaps then reuses that connection.
05Which dataset can Add Dataset Row write into?
Only a table of a push dataset, not any dataset you already have. If the dataset you want to feed was not created as a push dataset, the action has nothing to write into. The way around it is Create Push Dataset: give it a Dataset Name, a Table Name and Column Names with their data types, then point Add Dataset Row at that new dataset. Check at the test which tables and fields the action offers before you publish.
06What if the Power BI operation you need is not there?
Then the list on Zapier is all you get for now: three actions and one search, with no trigger. Open the Microsoft Power BI page on Zapier, which shows the current list, before you design anything. If your process needs an event coming out of Power BI, or a write other than pushing rows, creating or refreshing a dataset, this integration will not cover that step and another route is needed.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Microsoft Power BI?
Judge it on criteria rather than a ranking. Plan: on Zapier, Power BI requires a paid plan, so price that in first. Direction: here data only flows into Power BI, through three actions and one search; check whether the other tool also offers events coming out of Power BI if you need them. Volume: Zapier bills each successful action, so count the rows and refreshes you push each month before choosing.
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