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SankeyBI's avatar
SankeyBI
New Member
2 days ago

Publishing as an individual

Hi there,

I have developed a custom visual that I will publish free and open source. I have a website with an email address that I have linked to a Microsoft Entra account so that it is considered a work email by Microsoft. I do not however have a registered company.

When I try to complete the verification process to access the commercial marketplace through the partner center I get asked to submit my business registration documents - which I cannot do. Am I going about the process wrong? - or do I need to register a company? (Which sadly might not possible where I live for a non-profit hobby)

Any help appreciated! - thanks

Need Help

2 Replies

  • jubinsoni's avatar
    jubinsoni
    Icon for Skilled Sharer rankSkilled Sharer
    2 days ago

    Hi SankeyBI​,

    As far as I know you are not doing anything wrong: AppSource listings go through the commercial marketplace in Partner Center, which verifies a legal business entity, so an individual without a registered company usually cannot complete that step. Please double-check with Partner Center support, since requirements differ by country. Until then, there are still good ways to get a free, open-source visual to people:

    1. GitHub release (most common for hobby/open-source visuals)
   -> publish the source + a built .pbiviz in Releases
   -> users: Visualizations pane > ... > Import a visual from a file

2. Organizational visuals
   -> any org that likes it can add your .pbiviz in Admin portal >
      Organizational visuals and roll it out to all their users

3. Partner with an existing publisher
   -> an organisation or community group with a registered entity can
      publish it to AppSource on your behalf (you stay the maintainer)

    One thing worth knowing for adoption: visuals imported from a file are not certified, so they will not render in PDF/PowerPoint export or email subscriptions, and some tenants block non-AppSource visuals. Mentioning that in your README saves users confusion.

    So my overall approach would be:

    Confirm entity requirement for your country with Partner Center support
-> Meanwhile: GitHub releases + "import from file" instructions
-> Encourage orgs to deploy it as an organizational visual
-> Later: publish via a partner entity if AppSource listing matters

    AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.

    • SankeyBI's avatar
      SankeyBI
      New Member
      1 day ago

      Thanks for that - that is what I suspected. I raised a support ticket with partner center and will repost with their reply.

      I have it public on GitHub already but I’m waiting to market it actively until I know what the future will be with AppsSource

      Thanks again!