When is it necessary to refresh your reports and dashboards in Power BI?

Refreshing reports and dashboards in Power BI is essential whenever data sources are updated. This is because Power BI visualizations are only as current and relevant as the data they are based on. If the underlying data in a data source changes due to updates, new records being added, or existing records being modified or deleted, these changes need to be reflected in the reports for the insights to remain valid and useful.

Power BI can connect to a variety of data sources, and depending on the configuration, data might be updated in real-time or periodically. Therefore, setting up a data refresh schedule is crucial for maintaining the accuracy and timeliness of analytics provided through dashboards and reports. In situations where data updates are frequent, implementing automatic refresh settings can help ensure that stakeholders always have access to the most current information without needing to manually refresh the reports every time a data change occurs.

This makes practical sense as reliable decision-making in business intelligence largely hinges on using the most up-to-date data available.