Data Labels are one of the critical components of any Power BI visual. It allows users to understand the visuals easily. With the help of Custom Data Labels, users can see a particular data point and trends.
Custom Data Labels in Power BI play a vital role in making dashboards not only visually appealing but also actionable. Instead of relying on generic values, Power BI users can create customized labels that display KPIs, percentages, or concatenated insights, which can drive faster decision-making. This is especially useful for business users in retail, manufacturing, sales, and finance, where executives want to see precise metrics (like revenue growth %, order volume, or stock turnover) directly on the chart without hovering.
Optimizing the use of Power BI Custom Data Labels enhances storytelling with data, improves accessibility, and ensures executives can consume insights at a glance. This aligns with modern BI best practices and accelerates data-to-decision cycles.
In this blog, we will see how to add custom Data Labels in bar and column charts.
Step 1: Select the chart where you want to add custom data labels.
Step 2: Go to Formatting > Data Labels > Values > Enable Custom Label.
You can add any measure or values to the Custom label. It accepts only one field, so you cannot add multiple fields. In case you want to show multiple fields, then you can create a measure to concatenate them first and then use it.
You can also format the label as per the requirement.
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How Can Power BI Developers Optimize Their Dashboards Effectively?
When creating custom measures for labels, consider using DAX functions like CONCATENATEX, FORMAT, or ROUND to combine values such as sales numbers with percentages. For example, “Sales: ” & FORMAT([Total Sales], “Currency”) & ” (” & FORMAT([YoY %], “0.0%”) & “)” will make your labels much more insightful.
Additionally, you can leverage conditional formatting in Power BI data labels to highlight important thresholds (e.g., profit margin < 10% in red). This makes dashboards more actionable for senior leadership and operational managers.
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See how Addend Analytics implements best practices for visual storytelling and reporting.
At Addend Analytics, we specialize in building enterprise-grade Power BI dashboards that integrate custom data labeling techniques for maximum impact. Whether you’re in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, or financial services, our consultants can help you transform raw data into visually compelling insights.
- Need real-time sales tracking? Custom labels can show today’s revenue right on the bar chart.
- Want to track inventory turnover? Labels can display both stock levels and reorder points directly.
- Looking for customer analytics? Combine churn probability + customer segment into one label for faster decisions.
This level of data storytelling in Power BI ensures your business leaders don’t just see numbers – they see insights that drive growth.
Why Custom Data Labels Matter for Businesses
For executives and analysts, time-to-insight is critical. By using custom data labels:
- Retailers can track stockouts and overstocking issues at a glance.
- CFOs can view profit margins vs. costs without drilling into reports.
- Sales leaders can instantly see regional performance KPIs.
Power BI custom labels transform charts into decision-ready tools.
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