Connect Simplicate Power BI via OData

Why use Simplicate data in Power BI?

Simplicate contains much more than CRM data. For service companies, it contains organizations, contact persons, assignments, projects, hours, invoices, employees, leave, absenteeism and custom fields. It is precisely this combination that makes Simplicate valuable for Power BI.

The problem is that reports often get stuck in separate exports. Sales looks at the funnel, finance looks at invoices and project managers look at hours. This makes it difficult to get a reliable picture of project profitability, customer value or occupancy rates.

DigiData's Simplicate connection

With the Simplicate link, DigiData automatically retrieves the most important Simplicate entities and prepares them as an OData feed. In Power BI, open Get Data, choose OData feed and load the tables you need.

This makes the connection suitable for recurring reports. You don't have to build a Simplicate API integration, collect separate CSV files, or redo manual transformations every month.

Terms and rights

Before connecting, check which Simplicate user or API token has access to organizations, projects, hours, invoices and HRM data. Simplicate API tokens inherit the rights of the user they were created for. So missing data could be due to source permissions, not a Power BI filter. Also record which custom fields and statuses are reporting-critical before building the model.

Reports that make sense with Simplicate

A strong Simplicate dashboard usually starts with three themes. Firstly, project profitability: combine hours, assignments and invoices to see which projects are running well and where margins are disappearing. Second, sales and CRM: track organizations, contacts, open opportunities and customer value. Third, HR and planning: use employee data, leave and absenteeism to better understand capacity.

Because DigiData structures the data, you can also combine Simplicate with accounting data from Exact Online or Twinfield. This allows you to compare operational hours and project information with the financial reality.

Simplicate analysis with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini

In addition to Power BI, you can use CSV exports from DigiData for AI analysis. For example, upload a controlled export with projects, hours and invoices and ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for deviations, project risks or management summaries. The power does not lie in a random export, but in a dataset that has first been neatly synchronized from Simplicate.

A practical Simplicate data model

A good Power BI model for Simplicate starts with clear core entities. Organizations and contact persons form the customer layer. Projects, assignments and contracts form the working layer. Hours, invoices and declarations form the performance and financial layer.

Don't be too quick to place relationships solely on name fields. Where possible, use IDs from Simplicate, so names can change without breaking your model. Then create dimensions for customers, employees, projects, period and status. This way you can build reports that are not only beautiful, but also remain auditable.

KPIs for Simplicate dashboards

Commonly used KPIs are turnover per customer, billable hours, written hours, project margin, occupancy rate, outstanding invoices, average lead time and absenteeism percentage. Pipeline value, conversion per phase and customer value are interesting for sales.

The strong point of DigiData is that you do not have to analyze Simplicate separately. You can combine project hours with accounting data, or compare CRM data with invoice history. This makes your dashboard usable for management, finance, sales and project management at the same time.

Which Simplicate tables deserve priority?

Start with organizations, contacts, projects, assignments, hours and invoices. Together, these tables answer most questions: which customers generate turnover, how many hours have been written, which projects are behind schedule and which invoices still need to be followed up.

Then add employees, teams, leave and absenteeism when occupancy is important. For service providers, capacity is often just as important as turnover. A dashboard that only shows invoices does not show where future pressure will arise.

Custom fields are valuable when you have set up Simplicate for your own processes. Think of industries, labels, project types or customer segments. Include those fields when they drive decisions, but document what they mean. Otherwise, they quickly become unclear to colleagues in Power BI.

Validation of Simplicate data

First check hours and invoices for totals per month. Compare written hours, billable hours and invoice amounts with Simplicate. If that basis is correct, you can start modeling project margin and occupancy rate.

With Simplicate, pay attention to statuses. A project in the quotation phase should count differently than an ongoing project. A draft invoice is different from a sent invoice. Make this status logic explicit in Power BI, so that management and project management use the same definitions.

Also use IDs for relations here. Organization names, project names and employee labels may change. Stable keys ensure that historical reports continue to work when names are changed.

Combining simplicity with finance

Simplicate tells a lot about operations: hours, projects, assignments and CRM. The accounting tells what has been booked financially. By combining Simplicate with Exact Online or Twinfield you can see differences between planning, implementation and financial reality.

This produces better questions for management. Why is a project operationally ready but not yet invoiced? Which customers require many hours but deliver little margin? Where is the sales pipeline full, but turnover is lagging behind? These are exactly the questions for which a central data layer has more value than a separate export.

From sales question to management information

Simplicate is strong because sales, projects and hours are close together. Use that advantage in your dashboard. Don't start with all the available fields, but with the questions that arise every week. Which quotes need to be followed? Which projects exceed the hourly budget? Which customers require a lot of capacity but generate little billable turnover?

Translate each question into a small number of tables. For sales you need organizations, contacts, opportunities and phases. For projects you need assignments, project status, hours and employees. For finance you need invoices and possibly accounting data. By modeling per question, the report remains clear.

Then create views for different roles. Sales needs a funnel and customer activity. Project management wants planning, hours and progress. Finance wants invoices, declarations and outstanding amounts. Management wants a summary that connects these layers. The source data is the same, but the presentation differs per decision.

Post-live management

A Simplicate dashboard changes with your organization. New project types, new custom fields or other invoicing processes can affect reporting. Therefore, plan a check periodically, for example around monthly closing or quarterly reporting.

Check whether statuses are still correct, whether new fields are being filled and whether old fields have not been quietly phased out. This is extra important with custom fields, because they are often adjusted by teams themselves. DigiData supplies the data; good management ensures that the data retains meaning.

Resolve limitations and issues

The official Simplicate documentation mentions rate limiting and specific limitations for large data sets, such as hour rules. Also, deletions via the API are not available as a separate change stream; a synchronization must therefore recognize deletions via comparison. Please note that a change will only appear in Power BI after both the DigiData synchronization and the Power BI refresh have completed.

If only custom fields are missing, first check whether they are available and filled for the relevant entity type. If complete entities are missing, check the rights of the linked Simplicate user. For HTTP 429 or a temporary 5xx error, source retrieval should be retried later; do not start multiple manual refreshes at the same time.

When is a Simplicate Power BI connection worthwhile?

If you only look at a simple export once a quarter, manual labor may still be acceptable. As soon as you manage hours, projects, sales or invoicing every week, an automatic connection quickly becomes more valuable. It prevents discussions about old exports and gives everyone the same source data.

Summary

Linking Simplicate to Power BI is especially valuable if you analyze CRM, hours, projects and invoicing together. DigiData supplies the Simplicate data as an OData feed, so you can build up-to-date dashboards without scripts or API maintenance. View the full Simplicate integration for all available data.