Power BI’s interactive dashboards have changed how organizations explore data, offering flexibility for slicing, filtering, and drilling into KPIs. They’re perfect for trend analysis, operational oversight, and self-service analytics across departments.
But some reporting scenarios prioritize consistency over interactivity – accurate, formatted, and print-ready.
When Precision and Structure Are Non-Negotiable
Not every team needs pixel-perfect reporting, but Teams in Finance, Compliance, and Operations often need reports that look exactly the same, every time. Whether it’s a financial statement, a regulatory filing, or a customer-facing service level report, the format must follow strict rules.
Despite Power BI’s strengths, these fixed-layout needs are often handled manually or with legacy tools like SSRS, Excel, or third-party solutions, leading to inefficiencies, inconsistent data, and governance issues. Teams producing repeatable, print-ready reports need something purpose-built.
Pixel-Perfect Reporting with Power BI Paginated Reports
Power BI Paginated Reports are designed for structured, pixel-perfect outputs. Built on the same RDL foundation as SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), they bring trusted capabilities into the Power BI platform, while modernizing delivery.
They’re ideal for:
- Monthly financial summaries
- Contractual performance reports
- SLA tracking documents
- Invoices and other customer-facing deliverables
Paginated Reports support detailed layout control, page-level formatting, parameters, and high-fidelity export to PDF, Excel, or Word.
Already using SSRS? You can migrate your existing RDL reports into Power BI with minimal changes, protecting your previous investments while moving to a more modern reporting stack.
And because Paginated Reports can connect to Power BI semantic models, you can ensure data consistency across dashboards and formal reports, with shared governance and security.
Simple Architecture: From Data to Delivery
Paginated Reports fit naturally into the Microsoft Fabric ecosystem.
They can pull data from:
- Power BI semantic models for consistency and centralized logic
- SQL sources like Azure SQL, Fabric Warehouse, and Synapse
- Power Query-enabled sources including Excel, SharePoint, SAP, Snowflake, OData, and more
Reports are authored using Power BI Report Builder, then published to workspaces. From there, users can view them online, subscribe to email deliveries, or export to common formats like PDF and Excel.
💡 Subscriptions can be scheduled (e.g., weekly, month-end) and customized with parameters, delivering the right version of the report to the right people, automatically.
Licensing
Power BI offers two licensing paths depending on your organization’s needs:
Capacity-Based (Fabric or Premium):
- Paginated Reports are included in Fabric capacities (F SKUs)
- Viewers don’t need Pro/PPU licenses if using F64 or higher
- Lower tiers (F2 – F32) still require Pro or PPU licenses to view
- Ideal for enterprise-wide deployments
Bonus Features Available Only in Capacity Mode:
- Export To File API – Automate PDF, Excel, or Word exports from Paginated Reports.
- Dynamic per-recipient Subscriptions – Deliver personalized report versions to each user in a distribution list (e.g., different region, cost center, or department).
User-Based Licensing (Pro or PPU)
- Available under Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU)
- Both Developers and Viewers require Pro or PPU licenses
- Best for smaller teams or piloting Paginated Reports
💡 Authoring remains free: Power BI Report Builder is available at no cost for creating and testing reports.
Conclusion
Paginated Reports are purpose-built for scenarios where structure, consistency, and delivery control are non-negotiable. They complement interactive Power BI reports by addressing needs that dashboards simply can’t, like formal regulatory submissions, print-ready customer outputs, or strict internal compliance formats. With automated email delivery via subscriptions, they ensure the right report reaches the right people, on time, every time.
Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the “how” but now you know the “why” Power BI Paginated Reports.
