What does a report that’s actually used in real-world work look like? Ideally, it’s an interface where you can ask questions of the data and get answers right away. This video breaks down the key interactive features of Power BI that help you build exactly these kinds of dashboards—with logic, navigation, and a clear user experience.
Let’s see how to use standard Power BI tools to make a report manageable and convenient. A dashboard consists of separate pages that are responsible for different aspects of the analysis. This allows you to quickly navigate the data and move from the big picture to the details without overloading the interface.
The presented dashboard consists of 7 pages
- Profit and Loss—a page for a comprehensive analysis of financial results with a breakdown of income and expenses, which allows you to assess margin, dynamics of indicators, and factors affecting profit.
- Sales—a detailed analysis of revenue with the ability to segment by products, regions, or channels, which helps to identify key revenue drivers and changes in demand.
- Expenses—a structured overview of expenses with a breakdown by categories and periods, which allows you to control the expense part and find points for optimization.
- Cash flow—a page for tracking cash flows with a division into receipts and payments, which allows you to control liquidity and plan financial obligations.
- Output—a detailed level of data with the ability to view individual records, which is used to check calculations and point-by-point analysis of indicators.
- Accounts receivable is a page for analyzing customer debt broken down by due dates, amounts, and counterparties, which helps control the timeliness of payments and the risks of delays.
- Accounts payable is an overview of liabilities to suppliers, broken down by due dates and amounts, which allows you to plan payments and manage your financial burden.
The transition between pages is implemented through an interactive menu. Each menu item activates a corresponding viewing scenario, which allows you to quickly switch between analysis blocks. Additionally, filters and other tools are used to help tailor the report to a specific user question:
- Slicer—used to select the analysis period. Select months, year, or a custom range to instantly update all indicators and compare, for example, seasonal results.
- Tooltip—displays exact values and explanations. Hover over the graph to see details without opening additional pages.
- Focus mode—expands the visual to the full screen. Use it to conveniently work with the chart and access filters and drill-down in one place.
- Drill-down—allows you to go from the general to the detailed level. Switch from annual data to monthly or weekly data to analyze dynamics in more depth.
- Filters (global and local filters)—used to control data selection. The global filter changes the entire page, and the local filter changes only individual visuals, which allows you to analyze segments without losing context.
- Multi-select—allows you to select multiple items at once. Hold down the Ctrl key to compare, for example, multiple departments or segments.
- Export to Excel—provides access to the underlying data. Click the appropriate option on a visual to get a table for detailed offline analysis.
- Cross-filtering—synchronizes all visuals on the page. Select an item (for example, a customer or category), and all charts instantly update based on the selected segment.
- Hierarchy—allows you to analyze data at different levels. Expand or collapse levels (organization → department → customer) to explore metrics with the required granularity.
- Forecasting is used for scenario modeling. Change values (for example, sales or cost) to see how this will affect future results.
- Navigation buttons (back button/navigation) let you move between dashboard pages. Click the button to return to the main page or go to another section.
Interactivity in Power BI isn’t about “flashy effects.” It’s about control over data, faster decision-making, and convenience for those who work with reports every day. If a dashboard doesn’t help you ask questions and find answers, it isn’t doing its job. Watch the video to see how these tools work in practice, and use them in your reports.
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