Power My Analytics offers a native Power BI connector that allows you to load your Data Builder datasets directly into Power BI Desktop for custom reports and dashboards. This guide walks you through connecting your PMA hub to Power BI, installing the custom connector, building your first report, and setting up scheduled data refreshes.

The Power BI integration is currently in Alpha. Features and workflows described in this article may change as the integration is developed further.

Overview

The Power My Analytics connector for Power BI enables you to:

1. Load your Data Builder datasets directly into Power BI Desktop without intermediate exports
   
2. Import blended, business-ready data from multiple marketing platforms
   
3. Refresh your data on demand within Power BI Desktop
   
4. Set up scheduled refreshes using Power BI Service and a data gateway
   
5. Create custom reports and interactive dashboards using your PMA data

Key Terms

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

1. An active Power My Analytics subscription
   
2. At least one Data Builder dataset with one or more data tables configured: The Power BI integration connects exclusively to Data Builder datasets. You cannot connect individual source accounts (e.g., a Facebook Ads account) directly to Power BI through the PMA connector. Data must first be configured in Data Builder.
3. Power BI Desktop installed on your Windows computer: The PMA custom connector (.mez file) is designed for Power BI Desktop, which is only available on Windows. Power BI Desktop is not supported on Mac.
4. A Microsoft account or organizational account for Power BI

The Power BI connector for PMA pulls data from your Data Builder datasets. Make sure your data tables contain all the metrics and dimensions you need before connecting to Power BI. For detailed instructions on creating datasets and data tables, see the Data Builder Guide.

Limitations

1. Scheduled refreshes require a gateway: To set up automatic scheduled refreshes via Power BI Service, you must install and configure a Microsoft On-Premises Data Gateway on a machine that remains online. See Set Up a Gateway for Scheduled Refreshes below.

Step 1: Set Up Your Data Builder Datasets

Before using the Power BI integration, you need to prepare your data in Data Builder.

1. In your PMA hub, navigate to Data Builder in the left sidebar.
2. Create a dataset by clicking + Create Dataset and giving it a descriptive name (e.g., "Client ABC Reports" or "Social Media Performance").
3. Add data tables to your dataset with the metrics and dimensions you want to report in Power BI.
4. For blended reports, configure your join keys to combine data from multiple sources into a single data table.

For detailed instructions on creating datasets and data tables, see the Data Builder Guide.

Step 2: Navigate to Power BI in Your PMA Hub

Power BI is located in the Reports section of your PMA hub's left sidebar.

1. Log in to your hub at hub.powermyanalytics.com.
2. In the left sidebar, expand Reports.
3. Click Power BI.
   
   
   

Step 3: Download the Connector File and Configure Power BI Desktop

Click the Connect to Power BI button in the top-right corner of the Power BI page. This opens a three-step connection setup wizard that will guide you through the process.

Wizard Step 1: Install the Custom Connector

Create the Custom Connectors Folder

For Power BI Desktop to detect the PMA connector, you must first create a folder named Custom Connectors at the following location on your computer:

This PC > Documents > Power BI Desktop > Custom Connectors

If the Power BI Desktop folder does not already exist under your Documents folder, create it first, then create the Custom Connectors folder inside it.

The full folder path is typically: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors

Download the .mez File

In the connection wizard, click the Download Power My Analytics.mez file link. Once downloaded, move or paste the Power My Analytics.mez file into the Custom Connectors folder you just created.

Configure Power BI Desktop to Allow Custom Connectors

Before Power BI Desktop can use the PMA connector, you need to adjust its security settings to allow custom connectors to load.

1. Open Power BI Desktop.
2. Go to File > Options and settings > Options.
   
   
   
   
3. In the left panel under Global, select Security.
   
   
   
   
4. Under Data Extensions, select (Not Recommended) Allow any extension to load without validation or warning.
5. Click OK.
6. When prompted that the change requires a restart, click OK and then restart Power BI Desktop so the new connector is loaded.
   
   
   

This setting is required because the PMA connector is a custom (third-party) connector. Power BI's default security settings only allow certified connectors to load. You can revert this setting if you remove the .mez file in the future.

Once Power BI Desktop has restarted, click Next in the PMA connection wizard to proceed to step 2.

Wizard Step 2: Connect Power BI Desktop to Your PMA Hub

With the .mez file installed and security settings configured, you can now connect Power BI Desktop to your PMA hub.

1. In Power BI Desktop, click Get Data > More... from the Home ribbon.
   
   
   
   
2. Search for Power My Analytics or browse to find it in the list.
3. Select the Power My Analytics connector and click Connect.
4. A PMA Connector credentials dialog will appear, requesting your Organization ID and Bearer Token.
   
   

The connection wizard in your PMA hub displays both your Organization ID and Bearer Token.

5. Click Connect in the PMA Connector dialog to authenticate.

Your Organization ID and Bearer Token are unique to your hub. Keep these credentials secure and do not share them publicly or include them in shared reports.

Once authenticated, Power BI will establish a connection to your PMA hub and display your available Data Builder datasets. Click Next in the PMA connection wizard to proceed to step 3.

Wizard Step 3: Select Your Report and Load Data

After successful authentication:

1. In Power BI Desktop, navigate to Get Data > More... select Power My Analytics, and choose your report from the list of available datasets in the Navigator window.
2. Click Get Report to preview the data.
3. Optionally configure the following parameters before loading:
   • Number of Days — how many days of data to retrieve (1–365, default is 30)
   • Include Today — whether to include today's partial data in the date range
     
     
     
     
4. Click Apply, then click Load to import your data into Power BI.
   

You can also click Transform Data instead of Load to open Power Query Editor for additional data preparation before loading.

Your selected Data Builder data tables will now appear as tables in Power BI's Fields pane, ready to use in reports and dashboards.

5. Click Done in the PMA connection wizard to close it.
   

Step 4: Build Your First Report

With your PMA data loaded into Power BI Desktop, you can start building reports.

1. In the Fields pane on the right side, expand your imported data table(s) to see available metrics and dimensions.
2. Drag a dimension (e.g., Campaign Name or Date) onto the report canvas or into the Axis area of a visualization.
3. Drag a metric (e.g., Impressions, Clicks, or Cost) into the Values area.
4. Power BI will automatically create a visualization based on the fields you selected. You can change the visualization type using the Visualizations pane.
5. Continue adding visualizations to build out your report page. Use filters, slicers, and calculated columns to customize your analysis.
6. Save your report by going to File > Save.

If you created blended data tables in Data Builder, the blended data will already be unified in Power BI. No additional joining or merging is needed within Power BI itself.

Refreshing Your Data

Manual Refresh in Power BI Desktop

To update your report with the latest data from your PMA hub:

1. Open your saved report in Power BI Desktop.
2. Click Refresh in the Home ribbon.
3. Power BI will re-query your Data Builder datasets and pull the latest available data.

Set Up a Gateway for Scheduled Refreshes (Power BI Service)

To enable automatic, scheduled data refreshes without manually opening Power BI Desktop, you can publish your report to Power BI Service and use a Microsoft On-Premises Data Gateway. The gateway acts as a bridge between Power BI Service (cloud) and the custom PMA connector installed on your local machine.

Install the On-Premises Data Gateway

1. Download the On-Premises Data Gateway from Microsoft's download page.
2. Install the gateway on a Windows machine that will remain powered on and connected to the internet (this can be the same machine where Power BI Desktop is installed).
3. Sign in with the same Microsoft account you use for Power BI Service.
4. Register the gateway and give it a descriptive name.

Add the Custom Connector to the Gateway

1. On the machine where the gateway is installed, open the On-Premises Data Gateway app.
2. Go to the Connectors tab.
3. Set the custom data connectors folder path to the same Custom Connectors folder containing your Power My Analytics.mez file (e.g., C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors).
4. Click Apply and restart the gateway if prompted.

Publish Your Report and Configure a Scheduled Refresh

1. In Power BI Desktop, go to File > Publish > Publish to Power BI and select a workspace.
2. Open your report in Power BI Service.
3. Navigate to your workspace and find the dataset associated with your published report.
4. Click the three-dot menu (…) next to the dataset and select Settings.
5. Under Gateway and cloud connections, select the on-premises gateway you configured and map the PMA data source connection.
6. Under Scheduled refresh, toggle the refresh to On and configure your desired refresh frequency (e.g., daily or multiple times per day).
7. Click Apply.

The machine running the On-Premises Data Gateway must remain powered on and connected to the internet for scheduled refreshes to succeed. If the gateway goes offline, scheduled refreshes will fail until it comes back online.

Troubleshooting

The Power My Analytics connector does not appear in Get Data

1. Verify that the Power My Analytics.mez file is in the correct folder: [Documents]\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors

2. Confirm you adjusted the Data Extensions security setting in Options > Security to allow custom connectors (see Step 3, Wizard Step 1).
   
3. Restart Power BI Desktop after making changes.

Authentication errors when connecting

1. Ensure you are using the Organization ID and Bearer Token displayed in the PMA hub's Power BI connection wizard, not credentials from any other source.
   
2. Return to Reports > Power BI in your hub and click Connect to Power BI to view and re-copy your credentials.
   
3. Verify that you have pasted each credential into the correct field — the Organization ID and Bearer Token are separate values.
   
4. If the issue persists, contact our support team.

No datasets appear after authentication

1. Confirm that you have at least one Data Builder dataset created with at least one data table. The PMA Power BI connector requires Data Builder datasets to be configured before data can be loaded.
   
2. Check that your data tables contain fields (metrics and/or dimensions). Empty data tables may not appear in the Navigator.

Scheduled refresh fails in Power BI Service

1. Verify that the On-Premises Data Gateway is online and running.
   
2. Confirm the gateway's custom connectors folder path includes the Power My Analytics.mez file.
   
3. Check that the gateway connection is properly mapped to your dataset in Power BI Service settings.
   
4. Review the refresh history in Power BI Service for specific error messages.

Additional Information

1. Data Builder Guide
   
2. Power My Analytics Data Connector User Guide
   
3. Basic Troubleshooting
   
4. Power BI Custom Connector Documentation (Microsoft)
   
5. On-Premises Data Gateway Documentation (Microsoft)

For additional assistance, please contact our support team.