What prior knowledge do you need for the Power BI Basics course?
For the Power BI Basics course you do not need any experience with Power BI. Basic knowledge of Excel is useful, however, because during the course you import data from Excel and create relationships between data. The course is suitable for finance professionals such as controllers, financial managers and advisers, but also for anyone who wants to work with dashboards and KPIs. You learn step by step on a course laptop or your own laptop.
Who is the Power BI Basics course intended for?
The Power BI Basics course is intended for finance professionals such as financial controllers, business controllers, finance managers, financial advisers and finance directors who are responsible for financial reporting. This classroom-based course is also a good fit if you want to analyse large volumes of data, or monitor processes and departments through dashboards with KPIs.
Which software do you use during the Power BI Basics course?
During the Power BI Basics course you work with Microsoft Power BI Desktop and Microsoft Excel. You are provided with a course laptop, or your own laptop with the right software, so you do not have to install anything yourself. You learn to import and structure data from Excel and turn it into interactive dashboards. At the end of day 2 you publish your report to Power BI Online and share a dashboard.
Do you receive a certificate after the Power BI Basics course?
Yes, on completion of the Power BI Basics course you will receive a certificate of participation from Learnit. This certificate shows that you have the practical skills to create financial reports and interactive dashboards in Microsoft Power BI. You can add the certificate to your CV or LinkedIn profile to demonstrate your new knowledge to employers.
Can the Power BI Basics course also be taken in-company?
Yes, the Power BI Basics course can also be delivered in-company. You then receive the same course at a location of your choice, tailored to practical examples from your own organisation. This is useful when several colleagues want to learn to work with Power BI at the same time and want to use their own financial data or dashboards as the basis for the exercises.
How does the Power BI Basics course compare with online self-study or YouTube tutorials?
The Power BI Basics course is a classroom-based course in which you are guided by an experienced trainer and work directly on your own report and dashboard. It differs from self-study via YouTube or an online learning platform in three respects. First, you practise on a course laptop or your own laptop using a structured workbook, so you work through a complete workflow. From importing Excel data to publishing to Power BI Online. Second, you can ask direct questions about your own working situation, for example about relationships between tables or the right visual for your KPI. Third, the material is geared towards finance professionals, not to a general audience. Choose self-study if you want to brush up on individual topics; choose this course if you want to establish a working foundation in a short space of time.
When is a classroom-based Power BI course more worthwhile than learning it myself through the Microsoft Learn documentation?
Microsoft Learn is free and thorough, but you learn without a working context. Learnit's classroom-based Power BI Basics course is aimed at finance professionals who want to get started straight away on their own reporting issues. You work on a course laptop or your own laptop with Power BI Desktop and Excel, and practise with realistic examples: importing data, creating relationships, building visuals and publishing to Power BI Service. A trainer corrects you immediately if you create the wrong relationship or choose an unsuitable visual. That saves weeks of trial and error. Choose self-study if you have the time and learn independently; choose the classroom course if you want to deliver a working management report and want to know the do's and don'ts for dashboards.
How does the Power BI Basics course suit a finance professional who currently works entirely in Excel?
The course has been designed specifically as a transition route from Excel. You learn how to import your existing Excel files into Power BI Desktop, how to structure data and create relationships between tables, and how to turn these into interactive dashboards. Excel itself also remains in view during the course as a data source, so you do not have to abandon your familiar way of working. The difference with Excel: in Power BI you work with a fixed data model and interactive visuals that you share online via Power BI Service, whereas in Excel you build reports from scratch every time. For financial controllers, business controllers and finance managers who run monthly reports, this saves time from the moment your data model is in place. Prior knowledge of DAX or Power Query is not required.