Power BI has no connector for BUSY's .bds files, and the Access connector fails on them.
Export the company year to CSV or JSON, then load the files with Get Data. Day-first dates need a locale setting. For several years, keep the files in one folder and combine them with the Folder connector.
A manager wants a dashboard from the BUSY books. Power BI cannot open the data file, and BUSY reports come out one at a time. The steps below get the figures into Power BI in a shape that adds up.
Who Needs BUSY Data in Power BI?
Choose the line that matches your job.
You tried Get Data on a .bds file and nothing worked.
See why it fails →You want the format that gives the least rework.
Compare the formats →One dashboard should show this year against the last.
Combine the years →BUSY reports are fine for daily work. They are harder to slice by month, party and item in one view. Power BI does that well, but it needs flat data. The route below turns a BUSY company year into files Power BI understands, then joins the years without a mismatch.
Why Can Power BI Not Read a BUSY .bds File?
The file is a database that Power BI has no connector for. A Microsoft community user asked how to connect a .bds file. The vendor had called it an Access database, yet the Access connector failed. A reply suggested ODBC. The poster reported that this failed too, and the thread shows no fix. Our guide on opening a .bds file covers what the file is.
The practical answer is to stop fighting the connector. Export the data to a format Power BI already reads.
Should You Use CSV or JSON for a BUSY Export?
Both work. They differ in shape. Univik BUSY Data Converter writes either from the same company year, so you can try both on one folder and keep the one you prefer.
| CSV | JSON | |
|---|---|---|
| Files | One file per table, such as vouchers, entries and item lines | One file holding every table of the year |
| Dates | Day first, like 25-12-2025 | Year first, like 2025-12-25 |
| Empty fields | Empty cells | Left out of the record |
| Deleted vouchers | Marked in the Status column of Vouchers only | Flagged on every row with deletedInBusy |
| Best for | Most reports and quick starts | One-file hand-over and nested work |
The CSV files are saved as UTF-8 with a byte order mark. Microsoft says a file saved that way opens normally in Excel, and its page on opening CSV UTF-8 files explains the mark. Amounts are written with two decimals and no thousands separator.
How to Load BUSY CSV Files Into Power BI
Power BI Desktop and Excel share the Power Query engine, so Microsoft's Excel pages on text and CSV import and folder import describe the same steps. Menu wording in Power BI can differ a little.
- Export each financial yearWrite the company year to CSV for flat tables or to JSON for one file. Keep each year's files together in a folder.
- Start a new report in Power BI DesktopChoose Get Data. Pick Text/CSV for one file, JSON for the JSON file or Folder for several years.
- Filter the folder to one tableIn the folder list, keep only the files whose names end in the table you want, such as vouchers. Then choose Combine and Transform Data.
- Set the column typesChange the date column with a day-first locale. Set the amount columns to decimal numbers and leave codes and numbers as text.
- Add the year to your keyVoucher codes repeat in each year file. Keep the file name column and use it with the voucher code to join tables.
- Build the model and check one totalRelate Vouchers, Entries and Item lines on the key. Compare one month's total with a BUSY report before you publish.
How Do You Combine Several BUSY Years in One Report?
Use the Folder connector. Microsoft's help says every file should have the same column headers and data types, and that column order can differ because matching is by name. Keep the folder free of other files.
Two traps came up in our own reading of the exports. A voucher code counts up from one inside each year file, so the same code shows up in more than one year. Add the year from the file name to your key or the tables will join wrongly. A year with rebuilt records also carries two extra columns on the Vouchers table. Remove them before you combine, or the headers will not match.
Univik BUSY Data Converter turns a company year into files and shows the row count of each table.
Download Free Trial Buy Now - $99Built for Windows 11 and 10. Trial exports stop at ten items per section. Personal licence: $99 for two PCs, with 30 days to ask for a refund. Converter page
How Do You Read the JSON File in Power BI?
Choose Get Data and then JSON. Power Query shows the top level as a record. Each table appears as a list. Expand the record, then turn each list into a table and expand its records. Microsoft's page on list and record columns describes the expand icon and the New Rows option for lists. If a cell still shows [Record], that column needs one more expand step.
What Do the Main Columns Mean?
- Voucher code
- A running number inside one year file. It links Vouchers, Entries and Item lines for that year only.
- Debit and Credit
- Separate positive amounts on each entry. Net a ledger as credit minus debit.
- Status
- On the Vouchers table, marks a voucher that was deleted, edited or renumbered. Join the line tables to it before you total.
- Closing and Closing Dr/Cr
- On the Accounts table, an unsigned balance and the marker that says which side it is on.
- A month's sales total matches the BUSY sales register
- Debit and credit totals are equal across the year
- Deleted vouchers are filtered out or shown on purpose
- Each year appears once and not twice
Fix Common Problems With BUSY Data in Power BI
Do this: Set the column type with a locale whose date order is day month year. Microsoft shows the Change Type with Locale route in its locale help.
Do this: Open that year's file and compare its header row with the others. Remove extra columns, then combine again.
Do this: Deleted vouchers may be in the lines. Join to Vouchers, filter its Status column and check again.
Need help shaping a table? Contact our support team with the first rows of the file.
Questions About BUSY Data in Power BI
The Univik staff provided the export details. File formats follow how the converter writes its exports. Power Query steps follow Microsoft's help pages as they stood on October 11, 2026. We checked them against Microsoft's Excel pages and did not run them in Power BI Desktop.
Pages we read: Power BI community thread · folder import · locale setting · structured columns · CSV UTF-8 in Excel