Prerequisites - Before you start

A few things need to be in place before you set up Analytics for LS Central. This page covers them in plain terms, so you can get everything ready before you start the onboarding process.

Analytics license

LS Central

A machine to run the setup

Power BI and Azure subscriptions

Helpful knowledge

Analytics license

Analytics for LS Central is free, but you need a license key to download it. Think of it as your personal key to the latest version.

Get your license key

  • Customers: Contact the LS Retail License department by email, or submit an Additional order request in the support portal. One key can be used for several installations and environments.
  • Partners: You can get a key for your own testing and demos. Don't use it for a customer setup. If you install Analytics for a customer, request a separate key for that customer.

Each key belongs to one customer only.

Download the product package

  1. You'll receive an email with your license key and a link to a download form.
  2. In the form, enter your name and email address, and choose Full installation or Update existing installation.
  3. Enter your license key and submit the form.
  4. A few minutes later you'll get an email with the download link and links to the setup guides.

You can use the same key and form again for future releases. If you lose your key, the License department will gladly resend it.

Keep Analytics up to date

Each release includes a full installation package and an update package. You can only download the latest version. If you need an older one, contact LS Retail Support.

Update packages are not cumulative. If you've skipped a release, apply the missed update packages in order, or install a new instance instead. That's often easier, and your old setup keeps running until the new one is ready.

To update:

  1. Download the update package using the same form, and select Update existing installation.
  2. Back up the Analytics database and export the Azure Data Factory.
  3. If you've customized your setup, review the changes first so your customizations aren't overwritten. The package has one folder with database changes and another with bicep templates for Azure Data Factory changes.
  4. Run the update script. You can reuse the parameter file from your original setup.
  5. Check that all pipelines run without errors and all reports show data.

LS Central

You need LS Central version 8.4 or later on-premises, or the latest version in SaaS. For the recommended bc2adls setup, you need LS Central SaaS version 27.0 or later.

Your LS Central setup must also meet the Microsoft Business Central system requirements, such as hardware, SQL Server and operating system.

A machine to run the setup

With the recommended bc2adls setup, you don't need a server. You only need a computer to run the PowerShell deployment script.

The legacy setups need a server (virtual or physical). Its role depends on the setup:

Power BI and Azure subscriptions

  • Power BI: A Power BI Pro subscription is needed to publish the reports and share them with your organization.
  • Azure: Analytics runs in your own Azure account. A typical setup costs around 100 USD a month, with data refreshed once every 24 hours. See the Azure cost estimate for an example.

The onboarding process explains the subscription setup in more detail.

Helpful knowledge

You don't need to be an expert, but a basic understanding of SQL, Power BI and Microsoft Azure helps you get the most out of Analytics. Free Microsoft Learn courses can help: