PROJECT

Business intelligence software for connected Power BI dashboards

Custom software development, SQL and spreadsheet data integration, Power BI dashboard development, Power Query data modeling, DAX KPI development, Reporting dashboards, Refresh and access configuration

  • Industry: Industrial consulting
  • Italy Location: Italy
  • Delivery time: 10 weeks
  • Technologies: PHP, Python
3 months

This industrial consulting firm spends time bringing financial, operational, sales, and customer data together for clear reporting. The business intelligence software combines SQL and Excel data with other specified sources. Power Query models the data, and Power BI presents interactive dashboards for managers and analysts. Managers review KPIs, charts, and tables.

Summary

Problem

The client’s financial, operational, sales, and customer reporting depends on data from several sources.

Solution

The solution became a connected Power BI reporting system with modeled data, documented DAX measures, and interactive dashboards.

Result

The software is made to reduce manual reporting work and the time spent preparing management information.

Client story

The client is an industrial consulting firm from Italy. It works with financial, operational, sales, and customer data. These data come from SQL databases, spreadsheets, cloud platforms, and other specified sources.

Preparing useful reporting takes time because the data needs to be connected, cleaned, modeled, and turned into consistent KPIs and visual reports.

The request was simple: combine the required sources in Power BI and provide interactive dashboards with KPI visuals, charts, and tables. Filters, slicers, drill-downs, and navigation were also required.

The solution was shaped around the firm’s reporting model. Power Query handled data preparation, while DAX supported documented calculations.

Separate screens covered executive reporting, metric details, data connections, and report administration.

The client asked for

  1. Build interactive Power BI dashboards with KPIs, filters, drill-downs, and navigation
  2. Combine SQL, Excel, CSV, cloud, API, and application data sources
  3. Clean and model data in Power Query, including star schemas
  4. Create documented DAX measures, KPIs, and financial calculations

Why ready-made software did not fit

Ready-made visualization, reporting, and self-service business intelligence products cover parts of the task. These include charts, dashboards, and data connections. The client needed a specific Power BI model with documented DAX measures, refresh configuration, and access rules.

Project overview

The solution was designed around one reporting model for the client’s financial, operational, sales, and customer data. SQL databases, Excel or CSV files, and specified cloud sources feed the reporting environment.

API and application sources are also supported when required.

To handle this, Power Query cleans, transforms, and models the incoming data. Star-schema models are included where required, while DAX measures and calculated fields support documented KPIs and business calculations.

The main reporting screen presents KPI cards, interactive charts, and tables. Filters, slicers, and navigation controls help managers review the main figures and move into detailed views.

Special attention was paid to the path from a headline metric to its details. Drill-down charts, drill-through navigation, detail tables, and date or category filters connect the executive view with the underlying report information.

The solution also includes refresh and access configuration for published reports. Scheduled refreshes and failure notifications are paired with workspace permissions and row-level security rules in a dedicated administration screen.

Key features delivered

  • Interactive Power BI dashboards
  • KPI cards and calculated measures
  • SQL, Excel, and CSV data connections
  • Power Query transformations and data modeling
  • DAX measures and calculated fields
  • Charts, tables, filters, and slicers
  • Drill-down and drill-through reporting
  • Refresh schedules and failure notifications
  • Workspace permissions and row-level security

Can be added

+ Excel-template import + Performance optimization + Application-source integration + Extended drill-through pages

Who else can use this solution

These businesses have a similar reporting task, and the same solution can be adapted to their data and management needs.

An accounting firm

Task It needs consistent financial reporting from SQL databases and spreadsheet data.
How the solution helps The solution cleans and models the sources, then presents calculated financial KPIs in Power BI.
Accounting firms

An organization rebuilding Power BI reports

Task It needs live management reporting from extended or improved datasets.
How the solution helps The solution connects the specified sources and presents them through modeled Power BI dashboards.

Technology stack

PHP

Power BI integration

PHP supports the Power BI connection layer through the selected SDK libraries.

Python

Data access and processing

Python supports SQL access, query handling, file processing, and data preparation.

JavaScript / TypeScript (Node.js)

File parsing and generation

JavaScript or TypeScript handles selected CSV, Excel, and PDF file operations.

SQLAlchemy

Database abstraction

SQLAlchemy provides a common way to connect to and work with SQL data.

sqlparse

SQL query parsing

sqlparse reads and processes SQL query text without validating it.

PyMySQL

MySQL database access

PyMySQL connects the reporting solution to MySQL and MariaDB sources.

d3-dsv

CSV and TSV parsing

d3-dsv reads and formats delimiter-separated files such as CSV and TSV.

Excel and CSV

Spreadsheet data import

Excel and CSV files provide spreadsheet and tabular data for the reporting model.

Integrations

SQL databases and warehouses

The solution reads source tables and queries for financial, operational, sales, and customer reporting.

Excel and CSV files

Spreadsheet and delimited files enter the model as source data for cleaning and reporting.

Cloud platforms and REST APIs

Specified cloud or API sources provide additional data for the connected Power BI model.

Power BI Service

Power BI reports are published to workspaces when publishing is required.

The result

Management reporting starts with one KPI view

The executive page gives the client a single reporting view for financial, operational, sales, and customer measures. KPI cards, charts, and tables keep the main information together.

Filters, slicers, and navigation help managers review performance and move through the report context.

How it works

  1. The report displays calculated KPIs, financial or operational measures, and sales or customer metrics.
  2. Interactive charts and tables present the selected reporting values.
  3. Filters, slicers, and navigation controls update the visible report context.
  • KPI cards
  • Interactive charts and tables
  • Filters, slicers, and navigation
Tip: The page combines the main measures with the controls needed to examine them.
Executive KPI overview

Executive KPI overview

Functions on this screen
KPI Development and Management Interactive Dashboard Creation Design data visualizations Dashboard Charts Add filters and slicers

Detailed views explain the figures behind a KPI

The drill-down page turns a high-level value into more detailed report information. Time or category breakdowns and detail tables help analysts and managers examine the selected metric.

How it works

  1. The drill-down chart shows the selected KPI across a time or category breakdown.
  2. Drill-through navigation opens related report details.
  3. The detail table presents filtered metric values and underlying report information.
  • Drill-down charts
  • Drill-through navigation
  • Date or category filters
Detailed metric drill-down

Detailed metric drill-down

Functions on this screen
Report Drill-Down Drill-Through Functionality Add filters and slicers

The reporting model keeps source data consistent

The connection screen makes the data foundation visible to analysts and developers. It shows SQL source tables, Excel or CSV sources, and transformed fields.

Power Query handles shaping and transformation, while DAX measures and calculated fields support the calculations used by the dashboards.

How it works

  1. SQLAlchemy (a library that provides a common database interface) connects to SQL source tables, while sqlparse (a library that reads SQL query text) handles query processing.
  2. Power Query transformation steps clean and reshape SQL, Excel, and CSV fields.
  3. The model relationship view and DAX measure list show calculated fields and KPI definitions.
  • SQL connection settings
  • Power Query transformation steps
  • Model relationships and DAX measures
Note: The model can include a star-schema structure where the reporting requirements call for it.
Data model and connection setup

Data model and connection setup

Functions on this screen
Database Access Fetch SQL queries Shape data in Power Query Model Data with Custom Objects Create calculated fields

Refresh and access rules support published reports

The administration page brings report maintenance and access control together. The client can review refresh status, connection settings, and workspace permissions for published reports.

Failure notifications and row-level security rules give the reporting team a clear place to maintain updates and access rules.

How it works

  1. The screen shows refresh status and scheduled refresh settings for connected sources.
  2. Failure notification settings record issues with report updates.
  3. Workspace permissions and row-level security rules define users and allowed data rows.
  • Refresh schedules
  • Failure notifications
  • Workspace permissions and row-level security
Refresh and access configuration

Refresh and access configuration

Functions on this screen
KPI Development and Management

What the solution gives

With this solution, the consulting firm can:

  • Review financial and operational KPIs in interactive dashboards
  • Combine SQL, Excel, CSV, cloud, API, and application data
  • Explore report values through filters, drill-downs, and drill-through pages
  • Maintain documented Power Query transformations and DAX measures
  • Configure refresh settings and failure notifications
  • Control published report access with workspace permissions and row-level security

Could ready-made systems do the job?

Before the design, the task was compared with ready-made products by their own descriptions.

What the client needs Data visualization tools Data Visualization, Infogram, Explo, Brightmetrics, TruOI Business intelligence platforms Data Studio Desktop reporting tools SAP Crystal Reports Custom solution
Interactive dashboards and report navigation —
Connect SQL, Excel, and other sources —
Clean and model reporting data — — —
Documented DAX measures and KPIs — — —
Fits the client's own rules: stages, roles, reports — — —
All steps in one place — — —
No manual steps between programs — — —

By the public descriptions of the products and their category.

Ready-made products cover important parts of the task: dashboards, reports, data connections, and KPI visualizations. A ready-made product is enough when only one of those parts is needed.

This client needed its own software because the reporting model, DAX documentation, Power Query transformations, refresh settings, access rules, and Power BI publishing had to fit together in one place.

In the end

In the end, the result was a connected reporting workspace made to reduce the manual path from scattered business data to management dashboards.

FAQ

Thinking about building a similar system? Read the answers below to see how the reporting model, data connections, and Power BI screens fit together.

Need something similar? Let's talk
Or browse more projects