Five Power BI tips for faster reports

Slow Power BI reports are almost always a data model problem, not a visuals problem. Here are five tips I reach for again and again.

1. Import only what you need

Trim columns you don’t use and filter rows at the source. A narrower model refreshes faster and uses less memory.

2. Prefer a star schema

Split data into fact and dimension tables. Star schemas are easier for the engine to compress and for measures to traverse than one giant flat table.

3. Measures over calculated columns

Calculated columns are stored in the model and bloat it. Measures are computed at query time, so use them for aggregations wherever possible.

4. Turn off Auto date/time

Power BI silently creates hidden date tables per date column. Disable it and use one shared, marked Date dimension instead.

5. Watch cardinality

High-cardinality columns (like unique IDs and free text) compress poorly. Remove or reduce them where you can.

Apply these and most reports get noticeably snappier, often without touching a single visual.