POwer BI scheduled refresh from SharePoint folder - service acco

Hi Vandana,

Thank you for the forum question.

Here’s a clear, practical breakdown of how to set up Power BI scheduled refresh for a SharePoint folder using a service (generic) account, and answers to each of your questions.

Is a service account recommended?
Yes — using a service account for dataset refreshes in Power BI is considered a best practice.

It avoids refresh failures when a staff member leaves, goes on leave, or changes their password.

What does the service account need?
1. Access to the SharePoint folder? → YES
The service account must have at least Read access to the SharePoint site/folder containing your files:

“Make sure you grant the service account ‘Read’ permission to whatever sources you are using… whether that’s a specific file or a SharePoint site.”

2. Power BI Pro license? → Usually YES
To refresh in the Power BI Service, the account must have a Power BI Pro license (unless your workspace is in Premium).
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b) Can you build the model using your account, publish it, and then configure refresh with the service account?
Yes — this works perfectly.
This is a common and recommended pattern:
1. You develop the PBIX file locally using your account.
2. Publish to a workspace.
3. Ensure the service account is an Admin or Contributor in the same workspace.
4. In Power BI Service, the service account:
o Opens Dataset → Settings → Data source credentials
o Signs in using its own credentials (OAuth2).
o Takes over dataset ownership if needed (easy and safe).
5. Scheduled refresh now runs using the service account identity — independent of yours.
This lets you continue developing and republishing without breaking refresh.
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Is this a good overall approach?
Yes — it’s the recommended architecture for organisations using SharePoint Online as a data source:
• SharePoint Online sources do not require a gateway, simplifying refresh setup.
The service account prevents refresh failures due to staff turnover.
• You can republish using your own account without overwriting refresh credentials.

It also avoids the pain described in the reference source of having to fix many broken refreshes when an employee leaves.
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Below are clear, step by step instructions for configuring Power BI scheduled refresh for a SharePoint Online Folder dataset using a service account.
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Exact Steps to Configure Scheduled Refresh (Using a Service Account)
These steps assume:
• Your PBIX has already been published to a workspace.
• The service account has Power BI Pro (or workspace is Premium) and access to the SharePoint folder (required).
SharePoint Online sources do NOT require a gateway, making this simpler.

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STEP 1 — Add the Service Account to the Workspace
1. Go to Power BI Service → open the workspace that contains your dataset.
2. Select Workspace access → Add the service account as:
o Admin, or
o Member/Contributor (Admin preferred if it will own the dataset).
This ensures it can “Take Over” or configure dataset settings.
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STEP 2 — Log in as the Service Account
The refresh credentials must be set inside the service account’s login, not yours.
1. Open a private browser window (to avoid cached credentials).
2. Sign in to Power BI Service as the service account.
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STEP 3 — Open the Dataset Settings
1. In Power BI Service, navigate to the workspace.
2. Locate the dataset that loads from your SharePoint folder.
3. Select the ellipsis (…) → Settings.
You will now see the key sections Microsoft documents for refresh:
• Data source credentials
• Scheduled refresh
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STEP 4 — Set the Data Source Credentials
This is the most important step.
1. Scroll to Data source credentials.
2. Click Edit credentials.
3. Set:
o Authentication method: OAuth2
o Privacy level: Organizational
4. Click Sign in, and authenticate as the service account.
The source explicitly notes that every new dataset publish requires credentials to be re-entered:
Once this is done, the service account is now the identity used for refreshes.
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STEP 5 — (Optional but Recommended) Take Over Dataset Ownership
Still logged in as the service account:
1. In the dataset settings, click Take Over if shown.
This makes the service account the dataset owner (“data owner alignment”).
2. This prevents refresh failures when developers republish.
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STEP 6 — Configure the Scheduled Refresh
1. Scroll down to Scheduled refresh.
2. Enable: Keep your data up to date.
3. Set:
o Refresh frequency: Daily or Weekly
o Time slots: choose your preferred times
4. Set optional Failure notifications:
o Add email recipients so refresh failures don’t only go to the service account inbox.


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STEP 7 — Confirm SharePoint Access
Before testing refresh, ensure:
• The service account has Read (minimum) access at the site, library, or folder level.
If this is missing, refresh will fail with a SharePoint auth or 403 error.
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STEP 8 — Run a Manual Refresh Test
Still logged in as the service account:
1. Go to the dataset → click Refresh now.
2. Confirm it completes successfully.
A manual refresh confirms that:
• credentials are valid,
• permissions are correct,
• Power BI can access the SharePoint files.
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STEP 9 — Developer Workflow After Setup
Once the service account owns the dataset and refresh credentials:
• You (developer) can keep modifying the PBIX and republishing.
• Refresh credentials will NOT be overwritten.
• The scheduled refresh continues to run under the service account identity.
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That’s It — Scheduled Refresh Is Now Fully Configured
You’ve now set up scheduled refresh in the most stable and organisation friendly way.





Kind regards

Jens Bonde
Microsoft Office Specialist Trainer

Tel: 0207 987 3777
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