Way 1. Exports from 1C to Excel
An accountant or analyst runs a report in 1C, saves it to Excel, and Power BI reads the file. Almost everyone starts here.
- Pro: no developer or server access needed.
- Con: every refresh is manual work; forget to export — the report is stale.
- Con: the export contains only what the 1C report shows — no drill-down.
Way 2. Power BI directly on the 1C database
Client-server 1C keeps its data in MS SQL Server or PostgreSQL, and Power BI can connect to it directly.
- Pro: fresh data, no manual exports.
- Con: tables are called _Reference123 and _Document531, columns _Fld5011RRef. Unreadable without decoding.
- Con: heavy report queries load the live database — 1C slows down for accounting.
- Con: after a configuration update field names may change — reports break.
Way 3. A separate warehouse (ETL)
A program copies the 1C tables you need into a separate SQL database on schedule, and Power BI connects to it. That's how analytics works in large companies — now without a developer.
- Tables get readable names instead of _Document531.
- 1C isn't loaded: only changed rows are copied, reports work with the copy.
- 1C, BILLZ and Google Sheets can share one warehouse — margin in a single report.
What to choose
- A one-off report for the CEO — an Excel export is enough.
- Regular reports and several users — you need a warehouse.
- A store network or several 1C databases — only a warehouse.
ETL Sync makes the third way easy: a 2-minute install, the 1C structure is read automatically, the Start plan is free.
Try it on your own data
The Start plan is free with no time limit. We'll help with installation and the first report.