Create a waterfall chart

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a waterfall chart in Excel (2016 and later versions) and Google Sheets:

In Excel:

1. Prepare Your Data

   • Column A: Categories (e.g., “Start,” “Revenue,” “Expenses,” “End”)

   • Column B: Values (positive for increases, negative for decreases)

   Example:

   Category	Value
   Start	1000
   Revenue	500
   Expenses	-300
   End	1200

2. Insert Waterfall Chart

   • Select your data (A1:B5).

   • Go to Insert → Waterfall Chart (under “Insert Waterfall, Funnel, Stock, Surface, or Radar Chart”).

3. Adjust Chart Formatting

   • Right-click on the “Start” and “End” columns → Set as Total.

   • Customize colors, labels, and titles as needed.

In Google Sheets:

Google Sheets doesn’t have a built-in waterfall chart, but you can create one manually:

1. Prepare Data with Helper Columns

   • Column A: Categories

   • Column B: Values (positive/negative)

   • Column C: Cumulative values (use formulas to calculate running totals).

2. Create a Stacked Column Chart

   • Select your data → Insert → Chart → Choose Stacked Column Chart.

   • Adjust series colors to make increases green, decreases red, and totals gray.

Alternative Tools

• PowerPoint/Word: Insert an Excel waterfall chart.

• Tableau/Power BI: Built-in waterfall chart options.