Power BI Beginner Crash Course: Complete End-to-End Guide (2026)
Power BI is one of the most powerful and in-demand data analytics tools used by businesses, accountants, analysts, and students worldwide. If you want to analyze data, build interactive dashboards, and share insights professionally, learning Power BI is essential.
In this beginner-friendly crash course, you will learn Power BI from scratch — starting from installation and ending with publishing dashboards online.
What Is Power BI? (Power BI Ecosystem Explained)
Power BI consists of three main tools:
- Power BI Desktop – Used to connect data, clean it, build models, and create dashboards
- Power BI Service – Microsoft’s cloud platform for publishing and sharing reports
- Power BI Mobile App – Allows you to view dashboards on mobile devices
In this guide, we will use all three tools.
Phase 1: Installing Power BI Desktop & Interface Overview
Step 1: Install Power BI Desktop
Power BI Desktop is available only for Windows. The recommended method is installing it from the Microsoft Store because it updates automatically.
- Open Microsoft Store
- Search for Power BI Desktop
- Click Get and install
- Open the application
Important: Install Power BI Desktop, not Report Builder.
Step 2: Power BI Desktop Interface
Power BI Desktop has three important views:
- Report View – Build dashboards
- Table View – View raw data
- Model View – Create relationships
Ignore advanced views for now.
Phase 2: Connecting Data & Data Modeling
Step 3: Connect CSV Data Files
- Click Get Data
- Select Text / CSV
- Load Customers file
- Load Orders file
Once loaded, Power BI stores the data internally. Changes in the source file require a manual refresh.
Step 4: Build the Data Model
Go to Model View. You will see Customers and Orders tables connected using Customer ID.
This is a one-to-many relationship — one customer can place many orders.
Phase 3: Data Review & Cleaning
Step 5: Review Data in Table View
Use Table View to verify date formats, numbers, and missing values.
- Shorten date formats
- Add thousand separators to sales numbers
Step 6: Cleaning Data Using DAX
The score column contains null values. We replace them using a calculated column.
Clean Score = COALESCE(customers[score], 0)
This ensures clean and reliable analysis.
Step 7: Data Transformation Using Power Query
Power Query is used for data preparation before analysis.
Example transformation:
- Merge First Name and Last Name
- Create a new column: Customer Name
Click Close & Apply to save changes.
Phase 4: Building the Power BI Dashboard
You will create the following visuals:
- Stacked Bar Chart – Total Sales by Product
- Donut Chart – Sales by Category
- Cards – Total Orders, Customers, and Sales
- Line Chart – Sales Over Time
- Slicers – Country, Category, Date Range
Slicers allow users to interact with the dashboard dynamically.
Phase 5: Publishing to Power BI Service
Create Power BI Service Account
Power BI Service requires a business email. You can use a free Microsoft business trial with an @onmicrosoft.com domain.
Login at app.powerbi.com.
Publish the Dashboard
- Sign in to Power BI Desktop
- Click Publish
- Select My Workspace
Your dashboard is now available online.
Phase 6: Power BI Mobile App
Install the Microsoft Power BI Mobile App and log in using the same account.
You can view and interact with dashboards anytime, anywhere.
Final Thoughts
This Power BI beginner crash course covered everything from installation to publishing. Master these fundamentals to move confidently toward advanced DAX and real-world dashboards.
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