Easy Tech TutsHow to Connect Smartsheet to Power BI (Step-by-Step Setup) Easily 2026
By Impran M NLast checked against official docs
Smartsheet is where plenty of teams run their projects, but it isn't built for deep analysis. Power BI is.
Power BI Desktop includes a Smartsheet connector (built and maintained by Smartsheet itself) that imports your sheets and reports straight into a data model. The connector asks for very little: a region, then a sign-in.
Most of the friction sits in that sign-in, which opens a Smartsheet window on top of Power BI and can leave a stale credential behind when it fails. This guide covers the click path, that failure, and how to keep the data refreshing once it's in.
Before you start
- Power BI Desktop installed
- A Smartsheet account with access to the sheets or reports you want to analyse
01Find the connector and choose your region
On the Home ribbon in Power BI Desktop, click Get data, type Smartsheet into the search box, select Smartsheet and click Connect. The dialog that opens is titled SmartsheetGlobal.Contents and has exactly one field: Region, with US and EU as the options.
There is nowhere to type a sheet name or URL. You pick sheets later, from a browsable list.
Choose the region by the address you normally sign in at: app.smartsheet.com is the US region and app.smartsheet.eu is the EU region. Those are the only two the connector supports. Click OK.
02Sign in through the Smartsheet window
The first time you use the connector, Power BI shows a third-party connector notice. Tick Don't warn me again with this connector if you want, then click Continue.
On the next screen, click Sign in. A separate window opens at app.smartsheet.com.
It looks like it belongs to another app because it does: Smartsheet handles this login, not Microsoft. Sign in with Google, Microsoft, Apple or your Smartsheet email, using whichever method your Smartsheet account was set up with.
On a first sign-in Smartsheet asks you to allow the connector access to your data. Click Allow. The window closes, the Power BI dialog now shows you as signed in, and you click Connect.
03If it says "unable to connect", clear the saved credential
Sometimes the dialog returns with the message "We're unable to connect. Please delete your credentials and try again later" and a line saying you aren't signed in.
Clicking Connect again rarely helps, because Power BI keeps reusing the credential it stored for Smartsheet. Close the dialog and go to File > Options and settings > Data source settings.
Under Global permissions, select the Smartsheet entry and click Clear Permissions. Then start again from Get data. You'll get a fresh Smartsheet sign-in window with no leftover state from the failed attempt.
04Pick your sheets in Navigator and load them
Once connected, Navigator lists the folders and workspaces your Smartsheet account can see. Expand them and tick the sheets or reports the report needs.
You can mix both types. Pick only what you'll use.
A workspace with dozens of sheets imported wholesale makes the model heavier and every refresh slower. Click Load, or Transform Data if you want to tidy columns in Power Query first. The tables then appear in the Data pane like any other source.
05Publish and schedule a refresh
The connector imports a copy of the data, so the report shows Smartsheet as it was at the last refresh. Publish to the Power BI service, open the workspace, select the semantic model, and choose Refresh > Schedule refresh.
Turn on Configure a refresh schedule and add your time slots. Power BI Pro allows up to 8 scheduled refreshes a day; Premium Per User and Premium/Fabric capacity allow up to 48.
After the first scheduled run, check Refresh > Refresh history. Power BI turns a schedule off after four consecutive failures, which is easy to miss if nobody looks.
When it doesn't work
"We're unable to connect. Please delete your credentials and try again later"
Why: A stored Smartsheet credential from an earlier or interrupted sign-in is being reused.
Fix: File > Options and settings > Data source settings > Global permissions, select Smartsheet, click Clear Permissions, then reconnect from Get data.
The published report stopped updating
Why: Power BI deactivates a refresh schedule after four consecutive failures or when credentials become invalid.
Fix: Check Refresh history for the error, re-enter the Smartsheet sign-in under Data source credentials in the semantic model settings, then switch the schedule back on.
Frequently asked questions
Do I type a sheet name or URL into the connector?
No. The first dialog asks only for a region. After you sign in, Navigator lists your folders and workspaces and you tick the sheets or reports from there.
Which region should I choose?
Match the site you sign in to. app.smartsheet.com is US and app.smartsheet.eu is EU. The connector supports only those two regions.
Why is Smartsheet asking me to 'Allow' access?
The connector is Smartsheet's own app. On first sign-in, Smartsheet asks you to approve it reading your data. Without clicking Allow, Power BI can't list your sheets.
How often can the report refresh?
Up to 8 times a day on Power BI Pro and up to 48 on Premium Per User or Premium/Fabric capacity. Those limits are Power BI's, not Smartsheet's.
Sources and last check
The Region dialog, the Smartsheet sign-in window and the "unable to connect" error come from a walkthrough recording in Power BI Desktop. The connection steps, supported regions, credential-clearing path and refresh limits were re-checked against Microsoft Learn documentation in September 2026. That check corrected this guide's earlier claim that the connector asks you to name a sheet or workspace up front; the dialog asks only for a region, and sheets are chosen in Navigator.
About the author
Impran M N
I've been hooked on technology for as long as I can remember — especially the new tools and AI apps that seem to land every other week. Easy Tech Tuts is where I write up whatever I've just worked out: I do the task in the real product, record the screen, and turn it into the guide I wish I'd found first.
