Power BI service- salesforce report access

[Tech02]

I am currently facing an issue related to the Salesforce reports and the Power BI service account.
We have a service account configured for the Power BI gateway, and the dataset refresh is managed through this account. I have recently incorporated some Salesforce reports into a Power BI , and while I have access to these reports through my personal ID, I’m encountering issues after publishing the report to the Power BI Service. When attempting to refresh the dataset, the refresh fails with an error stating that the Salesforce reports cannot be found. I suspect this is because the service account used by the gateway does not have access to the required Salesforce reports, while my personal ID does.
Could you please let me know if it’s possible to grant access to the necessary Salesforce reports for the service account? If not, what would be the recommended way to configure this correctly so that the dataset can refresh without issues?

[BhavinVyas3003 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tech02 ,

Yes, you can grant access to the necessary Salesforce reports for the Power BI service account, but the account must have a valid Salesforce license, API access enabled, and appropriate permissions to view the reports or folders. Log in to Salesforce using the service account to verify access, and if not available, share the reports or assign the needed roles or permission sets. If granting access is not feasible, the recommended approach is to create a dedicated Salesforce account for Power BI with all required permissions and use it in the connector setup to ensure stable dataset refreshes. Avoid using personal credentials long-term as they can expire or be disabled.

[v-dineshya · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tech02 ,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

Please check the below things to fix the isssue.

1. Grant Salesforce Access to the Service Account

Log in to Salesforce as an admin. Navigate to the reports in question. Share them explicitly with the service      account or assign the service account to role or group that has access to those reports. Ensure the service account has the necessary Salesforce license and API access.

2. Use Organizational Account Authentication in Power BI
When configuring the data source credentials in Power BI Service: Go to your workspace --> Datasets and Dataflows --> Dataset Settings. Under “Data source credentials,”. choose: Authentication method: Organizational Account. Privacy Level: Organizational. Sign in using the service account credentials.
This ensures that the dataset refresh uses the correct identity.

3. Create a Shared Connection in Power BI Gateway
If you're using pipelines or shared datasets, Sign in to Salesforce from the service account once in the Power BI Gateway or Manage Connections.
This connection can then be reused across datasets and pipelines.

Note: If you are using Dataflow Gen2, the connection is not shareable and must be recreated per dataflow.

4. Check API Version Compatibility
If you are using a newer Salesforce object, but Power BI defaults to an older API version, you may encounter errors. A workaround is to:

Go to Salesforce --> Setup --> Release Updates. Disable the test run for “Salesforce Platform API Versions 21.0 through 30.0 Retirement.” Re-authenticate the connection in Power BI Service.

Please refer Microsoft articles and community thread.

Power Query Salesforce Reports connector. - Power Query | Microsoft Learn

Salesforce Data in Microsoft Fabric with Organizational Account - Microsoft Q&A

Solved: Re: Power Bi Service - Salesforce API - Microsoft Fabric Community

Connect to Salesforce with Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Link to or import data from Salesforce - Microsoft Support

If this information is helpful, please “Accept it as a solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.

[rohit1991 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tech02 ,

It sounds like the issue is related to the permissions assigned to your Power BI service account in Salesforce. When you publish a Power BI report and configure the dataset refresh using a service account, that account must have access to all the Salesforce reports and data required by your dataset. Simply having access through your personal Salesforce user ID will not allow the service account to refresh the data. To resolve this, you should grant the necessary permissions to the service account within Salesforce, ensuring it can access the same reports and data objects used in your Power BI dataset.

This may involve sharing the relevant Salesforce reports or folders with the service account, or adjusting its profile or permission sets as needed. Once the correct permissions are in place, the Power BI gateway should be able to refresh the dataset without any issues. If direct access cannot be granted for security reasons, consider coordinating with your Salesforce admin to explore alternative approaches, such as creating a dedicated report folder accessible to the service account.

[v-dineshya · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tech02 ,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

Please check the below things to fix the isssue.

1. Grant Salesforce Access to the Service Account

Log in to Salesforce as an admin. Navigate to the reports in question. Share them explicitly with the service      account or assign the service account to role or group that has access to those reports. Ensure the service account has the necessary Salesforce license and API access.

2. Use Organizational Account Authentication in Power BI
When configuring the data source credentials in Power BI Service: Go to your workspace --> Datasets and Dataflows --> Dataset Settings. Under “Data source credentials,”. choose: Authentication method: Organizational Account. Privacy Level: Organizational. Sign in using the service account credentials.
This ensures that the dataset refresh uses the correct identity.

3. Create a Shared Connection in Power BI Gateway
If you're using pipelines or shared datasets, Sign in to Salesforce from the service account once in the Power BI Gateway or Manage Connections.
This connection can then be reused across datasets and pipelines.

Note: If you are using Dataflow Gen2, the connection is not shareable and must be recreated per dataflow.

4. Check API Version Compatibility
If you are using a newer Salesforce object, but Power BI defaults to an older API version, you may encounter errors. A workaround is to:

Go to Salesforce --> Setup --> Release Updates. Disable the test run for “Salesforce Platform API Versions 21.0 through 30.0 Retirement.” Re-authenticate the connection in Power BI Service.

Please refer Microsoft articles and community thread.

Power Query Salesforce Reports connector. - Power Query | Microsoft Learn

Salesforce Data in Microsoft Fabric with Organizational Account - Microsoft Q&A

Solved: Re: Power Bi Service - Salesforce API - Microsoft Fabric Community

Connect to Salesforce with Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Link to or import data from Salesforce - Microsoft Support

If this information is helpful, please “Accept it as a solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.

[v-dineshya]

Hi @Tech02 ,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet.do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.

[v-dineshya]

Hi @Tech02 ,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet.do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.

[v-dineshya]

Hi @Tech02 ,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet.do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.

[BhavinVyas3003 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tech02 ,

Yes, you can grant access to the necessary Salesforce reports for the Power BI service account, but the account must have a valid Salesforce license, API access enabled, and appropriate permissions to view the reports or folders. Log in to Salesforce using the service account to verify access, and if not available, share the reports or assign the needed roles or permission sets. If granting access is not feasible, the recommended approach is to create a dedicated Salesforce account for Power BI with all required permissions and use it in the connector setup to ensure stable dataset refreshes. Avoid using personal credentials long-term as they can expire or be disabled.