AFTER my recent article, I received several emails from readers asking the same question: What exactly is Power BI in simple, everyday language? Because of this interest, I have decided to explain Power BI in a way that anyone can understand.
Power BI is a Microsoft data analysis and visualisation tool that helps businesses convert raw data into useful insights.
Think of Power BI as a tool that takes your sales figures, expense reports, stock levels, or HR information, which are usually just numbers in rows and columns and turns them into easy-to-read charts, dashboards, and reports.
These visuals help owners, managers, and decision-makers understand what is really happening in the business, so decisions are based on facts and trends not gut feeling, instinct, or “experience”.
Power BI turn raw data into insights
Power BI works through four main steps:
- ETL (Extraction, Transformation and Loading): This is the process of importing data into Power BI. The data can come from Excel sheets, CSV files, PDFs, or directly from your business systems such as accounting, HR, marketing, sales, or production software.
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At this stage, the data is cleaned — removing unwanted columns, fixing errors, removing duplicates, and creating new useful fields. Once the data is in the correct format, it is loaded into Power BI for further processing.
- Modelling: Here, relationships are created between different tables. For example, your sales table (facts) can be linked to a dates table or a product table (dimensions). These relationships allow Power BI to understand how different pieces of information connect. It is important to note that relationships are created between fact tables and dimension tables — not dimension-to-dimension or fact-to-fact.
- Measures: Measures are the calculations that Power BI performs based on your data. These are created using simple functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, DIVIDE, and more advanced formulas if needed.
Measures are powerful because they change automatically when you apply filters or when new data is added. For example, if you click on a specific branch or select a particular month, the dashboard instantly updates to show information for that selection only.
- Visualisation: This is where the magic becomes visible. The analyst creates visuals such as graphs, tables, maps, charts, cards, and gauges. These visuals tell the story behind the numbers and highlight trends, opportunities, and problem areas.
Why Power BI is a game changer
As you perform ETL, modelling, calculations (measures), Power BI remembers every step. This means that the next time you add new data, the system can automatically apply the same steps and update the entire dashboard instantly — saving hours of manual work and reducing errors.
In short, once the dashboard is properly set up, updating it becomes as simple as clicking a button.
Is Power BI free?
Yes and No.
This is where many people become curious. Let’s make it clear.
Power BI Desktop
Free to download and use allows you to connect data, clean it, model it, create measures, and build dashboards — all at zero cost perfect for individuals, small teams, students, analysts, or business owners working alone and for pilot projects.
However, dashboards created on the free version stay on your computer. You cannot share them with others or collaborate as a team.
Power BI Pro license
Costs US$14 per user per month
Unlocks the ability to share your dashboards, publish reports online, collaborate, and refresh data automatically
Ideal for management teams, departments, boards, or businesses with multiple users
Power BI Premium
Designed for larger organisations that need advanced features, bigger datasets and more frequent data refreshes
The Premium Per User option costs more but gives enterprise-level capabilities. This pricing model ensures that anyone can start with Power BI for free and only pay when collaboration becomes necessary.
Why should your business care?
Power BI helps you:
See trends you may otherwise miss
Track performance in real time
Measure productivity
Make informed decisions backed by evidence
Conclusion
Whether you are running a small business, a church, an NGO, a school, or a large corporation, Power BI can help you turn raw data into clear insights. You can start for free using Power BI Desktop and only invest in a license when you want to share your dashboards with others. As businesses in Zimbabwe and across the world become more data-driven, tools such as Power BI are no longer optional. They are essential for staying ahead.
Francis Nyasha Mubika FCCA is a finance manager, managing director for Dataledgertax Consultancy and data analytics enthusiast with over 10 years of experience in financial management, reporting, and analysis. He holds a master’s degree in professional accountancy from the University of London and is a member of both ACCA and BICA. Passionate about technology-driven insights, Francis has conducted several Power BI training sessions for professionals and organisations, helping them harness data for better decision-making. He has developed dynamic Power BI dashboards across industries such as healthcare, tourism, education, manufacturing, sports, and continues to empower teams to make data-driven business decisions. Email — francismubika@gmail.com