Month-end takes too long, your reporting is laced with elaborate Excel formulas that read like hieroglyphics when you need to make a change, everyone has different numbers, and you can’t produce performance indicators fast enough to steer operations based on current, relevant data. If you’re still wrestling with native Business Central reporting tools and building spreadsheets to help plug the gaps every month, you’re not alone, but you’re also burning time and credibility that you can’t afford to lose.
Here’s what’s really happening: Microsoft’s built-in reporting and analytics functionality works fine for basic financial statements, but they fall apart when you need dimensional analysis, multi-company consolidations, KPI overviews, or meaningful data that actually help people make decisions. Meanwhile, your team is stuck doing manual work that should be automated, and every late report means starting over.
The good news? There are purpose-built, third-party reporting tools that can transform your reporting and analytics efforts from a dreaded marathon into a smooth, automated, accurate, and governed process. But with options like Power BI, Cosmos, TimeXtender, and others, how do you know which one fits your business best?
In this guide, you’ll discover:
- Why native Business Central reporting often hits a wall (and where)
- A plain-English breakdown of the top reporting solutions, what they do, what they cost, and who they’re best for
- A 5-step selection process with industry-specific requirements for manufacturing, food and beverage, retail, and logistics
- A decision framework you can use to shortlist options in 2-4 weeks
- Real implementation timelines and what to expect
Let’s dive in.
Why Native Business Central Reporting May Fall Short
Make no mistake, Business Central is a powerhouse cloud-based business management platform. Ranked by Forbes as the Best Overall Cloud ERP System, it’s trusted by tens of thousands of organizations worldwide to manage even the most complex processes and operations. But at its core, an ERP is built for data in. When your business needs go beyond simple GL, AP, and AR, getting meaningful data out requires carefully configured reports, dashboards, and data models that deliver the continuous financial and operational visibility you depend on, along with the right tools to support it.
In other words, this is a ceiling that businesses always run into. While Business Central’s native tools are designed for straightforward GL-based reports, they are not for the complex, multi-dimensional analysis that growing, modern enterprises need.
You’ve probably experienced some of these frustrations:
Excel exports for everything important. Need to analyze sales by customer and product line? Export to Excel. Want to see production costs by plant and month? Another export. Before you know it, you’re maintaining a parallel reporting system in disparate spreadsheets and burning hours every quarter simply exporting and importing your data.
Manual consolidations every month. If you have multiple companies or locations, you’re probably copying and pasting between reports, manually calculating eliminations, and praying you didn’t miss anything.
Re-runs when data changes. A late journal entry or cost adjustment means either a re-export of data or rebuilding some reports from scratch. What should be a quick refresh turns into hours of rework.
Static layouts that don’t answer follow-up questions. Your report shows a variance, but drilling down to understand why requires building entirely new reports or, you guessed it, more Excel work.
Everyone has slightly different answers. Because everyone is approach their spreadsheets and data collection differently, and at different times, one person’s numbers don’t match another’s, and suddenly you’re spending more time reconciling reports than running the business. The result? Decision-making slows, confidence in the data erodes, and your “system of record” starts to feel more like a collection of disconnected guesses.
These aren’t just minor inconveniences. They are clear signs that you’ve outgrown Business Central’s native reporting and analytics capabilities and need tools built for the intricacies of your business.
READ: 10 Steps to Better Microsoft Dynamics 365 Analytics and Reporting
Understanding Your Business Central Reporting Options: Power BI, Cosmos, Jet, and TimeXtender
Let’s break down the leading solutions in terms you can actually use to make a decision.
Power BI: Powerful but Can Be Complex
Think of Power BI as a Ferrari. It can do incredible things and create intensely meaningful and stunning visualizations, blend data from multiple systems, create interactive dashboards, and handle complex analytics, but it often requires technical skill to collect the data and drive it well. In particular, Power BI’s complexity is emphasized if you don’t have an organized, governed data model behind it.
Power BI excels when you need:
- Executive dashboards
- Advanced analytics across multiple data sources
- Interactive visualizations that let users explore data themselves
Where Power BI struggles:
- Pixel-perfect financial, transactional, and regulatory statements or reports
- Quick turnaround requests (“Can you show me last month’s margins by customer by noon?”)
- Month-end reporting that needs to be owned and updated by finance teams, not IT
The reality check: Power BI is essential for enterprise analytics, but it requires data modeling and ongoing governance. You’ll need either dedicated resources or a dedicated separate tool/solution (like Cosmos, TimeXtender, or BCDataCentral) to build and maintain the semantic models; otherwise, it can become another project instead of a solution.
Typical investment: $10-30 per user per month, plus implementation and modeling costs that can range from $25,000 to $150,000+ depending on complexity.
Cosmos: Cloud Reporting Built Specifically for Business Central
If Power BI is a Ferrari, Cosmos is more like a well-engineered pickup truck, built to handle real-world workloads quickly, reliably, and without needing a specialized driver.
Cosmos was made specifically for Business Central cloud reporting. It understands BC’s data structure and dimensions out of the box, and it’s shaped for performance, delivering reports up to 48x times faster than other third-party tools. More importantly, it’s Excel integrated environment is designed for business users, not data engineers, so anyone can build, run, and share the reports they need.
Cosmos also comes with an out-of-the-box, configurable data model for Business Central, which not only makes finding data fast and easy when building reports, it stands up an organized, governed data framework effortlessly.
Use Cosmos for:
- Monthly financial statement packages that refresh in minutes, not hours
- Fast dimensional analysis (breaking down data by location, product line, customer, etc.)
- Operational reports across any and all Business Central data, extensions, third-party add-ons, and other SQL databases
- Custom report creation and formatting directly in the familiar Excel environment
- Automated report distribution, sending the right reports to the right people in their preferred format
- Consolidations across multiple BC companies with proper eliminations and currency conversions
What makes it different:
- Unparallelled speed and performance with Business Central cloud data
- 30-minute installation and pre-built report templates for common Business Central reporting needs make it usable on day one
- Business users can modify layouts and create new reports without IT help
- Configurable, governed Business Central data model that integrates with Power BI
- Integrates directly with Azure’s security model
- Cloud-native architecture that scales seamlessly with data growth
The bottom line: Cosmos handles your Business Central reporting and analytics needs quickly and reliably, letting finance teams own the process instead of waiting for IT.
Typical investment: $500-$1000 per month, depending on users and features, with implementation and setup typically taking less than a day.
TimeXtender: The Data Infrastructure Play
TimeXtender isn’t really a reporting tool, it’s a data warehousing platform that builds and maintains the data infrastructure that feeds reporting and dashboard tools like Power BI.
Think of it as the plumbing system for your analytics (and we all understand how important plumbing is). It ingests data from Business Central and other systems, cleans and standardizes it, then connects to your chosen reporting tools with full documentation and lineage tracking. It’s a preferred data warehousing platform because of it’s low-code, drag-and-drop with developer flexibility, enabling very agile data management and fast adaptations of data outputs in repsponse to rapid business changes.
Consider TimeXtender when:
- You’re planning to combine Business Central data with multiple other systems (warehouse management, manufacturing execution, quality systems, CRM, etc.)
- You want a single, governed source of truth that feeds multiple reporting tools
- You’re tired of brittle, hand-built integrations that break every time something changes
- You need enterprise-grade data governance with automated documentation and lineage
The value proposition: Instead of spending months building custom integrations between systems and then rebuilding them when something changes, TimeXtender manages the entire process so your team can focus on accurate, consistent analytics.
Typical investment: $3,000-8,000 per month, depending on data volumes and complexity, with 12-20 weeks implementation timelines for comprehensive multi-system deployments.
Jet Reports and Jet Analytics: Classic Reporting and BI Made for NAV
Jet Reports and Jet Analytics are popular among finance departments and executives in organizations that are on, or upgrading to Business Central from, Dynamics NAV (Business Central’s predecessor). If your culture is deeply rooted in Excel and you want to enhance what you’re already doing rather than replace it, Jet can be a good fit.
Jet Reports lets you build reports inside Excel using direct SQL Server access for on-premises environments or OData web services for cloud-based setups. With upgraded Jet Analytics, you can access your data through a data warehouse (built on a version of TimeXtender) to pull data directly from Business Central and other sources. It’s environment is familiar to business users, and the output, once refreshed, is real-time. Building reports does require advanced Excel skills, trained knowledge of proprietary Jet formulas, and familiarity with the data structure and source.
Consider Jet when:
- You are aiming for finance-owned, Excel-based reporting
- You need automated financial statements and close packs that refresh on a schedule
- You are already familiar with the Jet features, functions, and formulas from using it with Dynamics NAV
- You rely on live Business Central data pulled directly into Excel for day-to-day decisions and are willing to compromise speed for real-time data
Typical Investment: Due to the complexity of the Jet Reports’ and Jet Analytics’ pricing structures, the monthly investment is hard to average. The cost of Jet varies based on factors like the number of users, features, number of data sources, and specific product version. You can request pricing here.
A Step-by-Step Approach to Choosing the Right Business Central Reporting and Analytics Tool
Here’s a practical framework for making this decision without getting lost in vendor demos and feature comparisons.
Step 1: Map what you actually produce
Start by listing the 10-15 most important reports and analyses you create every month. Don’t think about tools yet, just focus on the outputs your business depends on.
Your list might include:
- Financial statements with comparisons to budget and prior year
- Consolidation packages for multiple entities or locations
- Departmental P&Ls with allocation details
- Customer profitability analysis by product line and region
- Inventory valuation reports with aging and movement analysis
- Production variance reports that tie to financial results
- Regulatory filings or compliance reports with specific formatting requirements
Why this matters: This list becomes your demo script. Any vendor that can’t recreate or illustrate examples of these output scenarios isn’t the right fit.
Step 2: Assess your team’s capabilities and bandwidth
Be honest about your team’s technical skills and available time. The best tool is the one your team can quickly adopt, actually use, and efficiently maintain.
Questions to consider:
- Do you have dedicated IT or BI resources, or is reporting handled by finance/operations staff?
- How comfortable is your team with data modeling and technical troubleshooting?
- When you need a new report or modification, do you want to build it yourself or submit a request to IT?
- What type of reporting and analytics environment is important and condusive to the users producing and using reports?
- How much time can you realistically dedicate to implementation and learning new tools?
What this tells you: If you need business users to own most changes and modifications, favor tools built for that (like Cosmos). More sophisticated platforms (like TimeXtender + Power BI) become viable if you have strong technical resources and complex multi-system requirements.
Step 3: Define your performance requirements
Month-end close is stressful enough without waiting hours for reports to refresh or tying up your productivity applications. Be specific about your performance expectations.
Key questions:
- How long can you wait for complex reports to refresh during month-end?
- Do you need reports updated throughout the day, or is an overnight refresh sufficient?
- How many users will access reports simultaneously during peak periods?
- What’s your tolerance for downtime during maintenance or updates?
Step 4: Consider industry-specific requirements
Every industry has unique reporting challenges or requirement that can make or break a solution. Here’s what to watch for:
Manufacturing: Production complexity
Manufacturing reporting goes beyond standard financials. You need to track work orders, production variances, and cost roll-ups through complex bill-of-material structures.
Critical capabilities:
- Production order cost analysis with drill-through to components
- Standard vs. actual cost variance reporting that ties to financial statements
- Capacity and throughput reporting by work center and shift
- Inventory valuation that handles work-in-process and finished goods correctly
Demo requirement: Show a production order variance report that explains why actual costs differed from standard, with the ability to drill-down to specific material, labor, or overhead components.
Food & Beverage: Traceability and compliance
Food and beverage companies face unique challenges around lot tracking, yield management, and regulatory compliance that don’t fit neatly into standard financial reports.
Critical capabilities:
- Complete lot traceability and recall reporting
- Yield and shrinkage analysis by product, batch, and production line
- Promotional effectiveness and trade spend analysis
- Regulatory compliance reports that can be regenerated quickly when data changes
Demo requirement: Show a complete lot-to-lot traceability report and demonstrate how quickly you can regenerate regulatory compliance packages when the underlying data is updated.
Retail & Wholesale: Speed and dimensionality
Retail and wholesale businesses need to analyze performance across multiple dimensions—location, product, customer, channel—with refresh speeds that support daily decision-making.
Critical capabilities:
- Product and location profitability with full cost allocation
- Aged inventory analysis with automated reorder and markdown signals
- Vendor scorecard reporting (on-time delivery, quality, returns)
- Daily flash reporting that updates quickly throughout the day
Demo requirement: Show how quickly you can generate a store-by-product profitability analysis and demonstrate automated inventory aging alerts.
Transportation & Logistics: Operational metrics
Transportation and logistics companies need reports that blend operational performance (on-time delivery, capacity utilization) with financial results (cost per mile, customer profitability).
Critical capabilities:
- Carrier and lane performance scorecards
- True cost-to-serve analysis, including all accessorial charges
- On-time performance reporting that operations teams use for daily decisions
- Exception-based reporting that highlights what changed since the last update
Demo requirement: Show a comprehensive customer cost-to-serve analysis that includes all transportation costs and fees, not just base rates.
Nonprofits: Transparency and impact metrics
Nonprofit organizations need to track financial stewardship and program effectiveness across funds, grants, and initiatives, while maintaining the transparency and accountability expected by donors and boards.
Critical capabilities:
• Fund and grant reporting with full expense allocation
• Program impact dashboards that link outcomes to funding sources
• Restricted vs. unrestricted funds visibility and compliance tracking
• Automated donor and campaign performance reporting
Demo requirement: Show how easily you can generate a fund-level income and expense report with program outcome metrics and donor contribution summaries.
Step 5: Run proof-of-concept demos
This is where you separate marketing presentations from real solutions. Don’t accept generic demos. Insist that vendors present around your use cases.
How to structure effective demos:
Provide real examples or real data: Give vendors examples of reports you have manually produced or even give them a sanitized but representative dataset from your Business Central system. Include at least one full month of transactions and multiple companies if you have them.
Define success criteria: Pick 2-4 reports from your Step 1 list and set clear expectations for build time, refresh speed, and ease of modification.
Quantify and time everything: Track how long it takes to build each report, refresh it with new data, and make simple modifications. Document what data you can’t get, or seems to be inconsistent, and where that is specifically impacting the business. These measurements will be crucial for your decision and ability to articulate expected, quantitative improvements.
Validate security: Ensure the tool can properly restricts user access based on desired permissions and security needs.
Making the Final D365 BC Reporting Decision: A Practical Framework
After attending demos, use this decision tree to make your choice:
If your priority is getting finance teams self-sufficient on BC reporting quickly:
Choose Cosmos or BC-native tools. These platforms are built specifically for Business Central, require minimal technical expertise, and can typically be implemented in a short period of time. You’ll solve at least 80% of your reporting problems and requirements quickly.
If you need enterprise dashboards that combine multiple systems:
Implement Power BI with proper data modeling and governance. Plan for 12-20 weeks of implementation and budget for ongoing model maintenance. Consider pairing it with something like BCDataCentral or Cosmos, which will connect an out-of-the-box data model to Power BI so finance and executive teams arne’t blocked waiting for BI resources.
If you’re building a comprehensive data strategy across multiple systems:
Start with TimeXtender to create governed data pipelines, then feed reporting tools like Power BI. This approach takes longer but creates scalable infrastructure that supports analytics across your entire organization.
If you’re heavily Excel-dependent and want to enhance rather than replace:
Consider Jet Reports or Cosmos for Excel-based Business Central reporting. They are familiar to Excel users and can improve what you’re already doing without requiring new skills or processes.
Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Treating reporting and analytics as an afterthought. Many organizations implement Business Central and then realize their reporting and data needs aren’t met. Plan your reporting, business intelligence, and analytics strategy alongside your ERP implementation, not after.
Mistake 2: Underestimating the importance of user adoption. The most powerful tool is worthless if your team won’t use it. Prioritize ease of use and training over advanced features you might never need.
Mistake 3: Focusing on features instead of outcomes. Don’t get distracted by impressive feature lists. Focus on vendors who can demonstrate clear solutions to your specific reporting challenges.
Mistake 4: Ignoring total cost of ownership. Consider not just licensing costs but also implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance. A “cheaper” solution that requires constant IT support may cost more in the long run.
Mistake 5: Trying to solve everything at once. You don’t need to replace all your reporting infrastructure on day one. Start with your most critical needs and build from there.
Your Next Steps
The right reporting and analytics solution can transform your month-end process from chaotic scrambling to smooth automation. But the key is choosing tools that match your current capabilities while supporting your growth plans.
Here’s what we recommend:
Start with assessment: Use the framework in this guide to map your current Business Central reporting and data needs, team capabilities, and industry requirements. Be honest about what you need now versus what you might need in the future.
Run focused pilots: Don’t try to evaluate everything at once. Pick 2-3 solutions that seem like the best fit and run structured proof-of-concept tests with your real data.
Plan for adoption: The best tool is the one your team will actually use. Factor training time and change management into your implementation timeline.
Think in phases: You don’t have to solve every reporting challenge on day one. Start with your most critical needs and build from there.
Ready to stop struggling with month-end reporting, KPI tracking, or inconsistent analytics and start making data-driven decisions with confidence? The right Business Central reporting and analytics tools exist to make this transformation, you just need to choose the right one for your business and implement it properly.
Tigunia’s certified Business Intelligence experts will help you create a custom evaluation plan based on your specific Business Central setup and reporting needs. We’ll help you make this decision quickly and confidently. Reach out today to discuss your situation and get a roadmap for moving forward.
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