Forum Discussion

Anonymous's avatar
Anonymous
Not applicable
6 years ago

Salesforce Reports Connection Issues in Power BI & Power Query

hoping for some help with an issue I am facing in connecting Power Bi with Salesforce . I also tried to do this on Power Query in Excel and am getting the same issues.

 

Every time I try to refresh the data, I get errors related to the credentials. I have to "Clear Permissions" and sign in again multiple times before I can get the data successfully. I have also tried various Privacy levels (None, Organization, Private...). My login is a single-sign on.

 

If it were not working at all, I would have assumed some issues with the credentials. But it works after multiple attempts. Is this a common issue with Salesforce data connections in Excel/Power BI?

 

Screenshots attached showing the different errors I get every time I click on connect.

 

 

 

 

Need Help

5 Replies

  • lbendlin's avatar
    lbendlin
    Super User
    6 years ago

    yes, that's a common issue with SFDC connectors and SSO. 

     

    The SFDC reports connector is pretty useless anyway due to the 2K row limit.

  • metrica's avatar
    metrica
    Post Prodigy
    1 month ago

    Hi Anonymous,

     

    I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to add another option for anyone still dealing with Salesforce Reports connection issues in Power BI or Power Query.

     

    From your description, this does not look like a simple wrong-password issue. The fact that it works only after clearing permissions and signing in multiple times points more to an SSO, OAuth token, or Salesforce session policy problem.

     

    For the native connector, I would still check:

    • Whether API Enabled is available for the Salesforce user.
    • Whether Salesforce session settings or SSO policies are blocking the Power BI connection.
    • Whether the dataset was built with a current Power BI Desktop version that uses Edge WebView2 for OAuth.
    • Whether the connection uses a supported Salesforce URL, not a Lightning URL.

     

    That said, the bigger practical problem with the native Salesforce Reports connector is the 2,000-row Salesforce Reports limit. Splitting one year into several reports can work as a workaround, but it is fragile and hard to maintain.

     

    An alternative worth testing is Power BI Connector for Salesforce by Metrica Software, available on Salesforce AgentExchange / AppExchange:
    https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

     

    The idea is to define the Salesforce data source inside Salesforce, select the objects and fields you need, apply filters there, and then connect Power BI to that prepared data source.

     

    In this scenario, it can help avoid both:

    • Repeated manual report splitting just to stay under the Salesforce Reports 2,000-row limit.
    • Extra workaround layers such as Google Sheets, manual exports, or spreadsheet refresh chains.
    • A few reasons it may be relevant here:
    • It avoids the frustrating Salesforce Reports 2,000-row limit by building the Power BI data source from selected Salesforce objects and fields instead of splitting reports manually.
    • It supports standard and custom Salesforce objects.
    • You can select only the required fields and apply filters before the data reaches Power BI.
    • It uses an access-token based flow for Power BI, which can be easier to operationalize than repeatedly clearing stored credentials.
    • There is a 30-day free trial, so you can test it on the same Salesforce use case before committing.

     

    The documentation is clear and easy to follow: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/

     

    Support is available here: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/contact-support/

     

    Disclosure: I am with Metrica. If helpful, we can also set up a quick demo and walk through installation, data source creation, Power BI connection, refresh behavior, and any Salesforce permission or SSO questions.

     

    Hope this helps anyone who is still stuck between unstable Salesforce Reports authentication and the 2,000-row limit.

     

    Best wishes,

    Metrica Team.