Publish the reporting folder
Use DataPull to prepare the Xero reporting tables and send completed StarSchema CSV output to the dedicated client OneDrive or SharePoint folder used for the dashboard.
Client BI for accounting firms
Give Xero clients a daily BI dashboard with a simple hand-off
Prepare the reporting data once, schedule the refresh, share one controlled folder and give the client a connection key. They can then open their branded dashboard in a browser whenever they want the latest published view.
Fast setup
Set the client up once, then let the reporting workflow do the routine work
Schedule the refresh
Choose the refresh pattern that fits the service. For clients who want a regular management view, a daily DataPull schedule can prepare a fresh published dataset without rebuilding the dashboard.
Share and hand over
Give the client view access to the folder, connect the hosted dashboard to that exact folder, set the client Alias and logo, click Key, then send the dashboard address and connection key.
That is the client hand-off
The client does not install DataPull, build a Power BI model or learn your reporting file structure. They open the dashboard, use the key and sign in to Microsoft.
Client experience
Make management information something the client can check, not something they have to request
A traditional reporting service often ends with a PDF, spreadsheet or monthly meeting. The Datplan hosted dashboard gives the client a place to return to between meetings.
When the DataPull schedule has published newer files, the client selects Refresh and the browser reads the latest permitted reporting data from Microsoft. The same connection key continues to identify the same project folder, so routine data updates do not require a new hand-off.
The result is a simple shared reporting view: you control the preparation and reporting process; the client gets easy browser access to the latest published information.
Client routine
- OpenGo to the Datplan dashboard.
- ConnectUse the client connection key and Microsoft sign-in.
- ReviewChoose the business view they need.
- RefreshReload the latest files your reporting process has published.
What you hand over
The client receives a dashboard link and a key — not your DataPull workspace
The consultant keeps responsibility for the DataPull source connection, reporting preparation, schedule and publication folder. The client does not need access to the Windows application or the local accounting database.
The hand-off is intentionally small: the hosted dashboard address plus the DPMS1 connection key for that client's exact Microsoft folder. The client signs in to Microsoft in their own browser and Microsoft checks that the signed-in identity has permission to read the folder before any reporting files are loaded.
That separation makes the service easier to explain. You are not creating another client username database or asking the client to install a desktop reporting tool. Their normal access experience uses a browser and the Microsoft identity they already use or choose for the shared folder.
When new reporting files are published into the same folder, the connection remains the same. The client can select Refresh rather than receiving a new dashboard link or another copy of the report.
Benefits to clients
Give the client useful answers between reporting meetings
Performance
Clients can review revenue, profitability, margins, liquidity and working-capital trends without waiting for another static report to arrive.
Cash and commitments
Bring cash context, actual settlements and unpaid customer and supplier amounts into the same reporting conversation.
Receivables and payables
Help clients see overdue balances, collection priorities and payment obligations early enough to act on them.
Projects and audit insight
Where the source data supports it, clients can review project billing and time information, while Audit Analytics provides controlled screening views for follow-up.
Practice benefits
Add a client BI service without building a separate reporting portal
No separate client software
The client uses a browser. DataPull stays with the accountant or consultant who operates the reporting process.
No new BI model for every hand-off
The hosted Xero dashboard already understands the Datplan reporting files and contains purpose-built finance, ageing, project and audit views.
Less report chasing
A client with dashboard access can answer routine management questions directly, leaving meetings and consultant time for interpretation, decisions and follow-up.
Repeatable across clients
Use a dedicated folder and connection for each client, then repeat the same publish, schedule, share and key workflow as the service expands.
Client branding
Set a clear client-facing Alias and add the chosen dashboard logo so the hand-off feels like a deliberate reporting service rather than a raw file share.
Microsoft-controlled access
Datplan supplies the reporting experience while Microsoft checks who can read the exact shared folder. The connection key identifies the project; it is not a standalone password.
A simple service model
Turn daily reporting into a client conversation
The value is not merely that the charts are newer. It is that the client and adviser can discuss the same reporting view earlier.
Instead of waiting for month end
The client can notice that overdue receivables have risen, margins have moved or payment commitments are building and raise the question while it is still current.
Instead of sending another spreadsheet
The consultant can point the client back to the dashboard, then spend time explaining the movement and deciding what should happen next.
Best practice
Keep the easy setup, add a few sensible access habits
Use one dedicated folder per client
Keep each client's published reporting files separate so the connection key and Microsoft permissions refer to one clear reporting project.
Share with named people and view permission
Use Microsoft sharing for specific people rather than an unrestricted public link. The dashboard only needs read access to the reporting files.
Recommend organisation-managed Microsoft accounts
Clients can decide which eligible Microsoft identity they use. Where possible, recommend their company-managed Microsoft work account because normal joiner and leaver administration is then easier for the client's own IT team.
One project key can serve several authorised employees
The connection key identifies the reporting folder. Microsoft separately checks each signed-in person's permission, so a client does not need a different key for every employee unless your own operating process requires one.
Remove access when a person leaves
The client's IT administrator should disable or remove the departing organisation account as part of the normal leaver process, and the folder owner should remove the stale OneDrive or SharePoint permission as access-list housekeeping.
Describe the refresh accurately
A daily dashboard means the reporting files can be published daily when the configured DataPull schedule completes. The hosted dashboard reads those published files; it is not a live query directly into Xero.
Client-owned Microsoft folder is an option
If the client wants the reporting copy to sit in its own Microsoft environment, it can create the dedicated OneDrive or SharePoint folder and give the consultant edit access. Where the client's Microsoft external-sharing and sync policies allow that folder to appear on the consultant's Windows PC, DataPull can publish directly into the synced client-owned folder. In the hosted dashboard, browse My OneDrive or use the read-only Microsoft folder search to look for a client or project folder that has been shared with the signed-in account. If Microsoft policy does not expose the external folder to that account, use the standard consultant-owned dedicated-folder workflow instead.
Start with one client
Prepare the reporting folder, schedule it, share it and hand over the key. Once the workflow is familiar, repeat the same controlled pattern for the next client.