{"id":337838,"date":"2021-09-10T18:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel\/"},"modified":"2021-09-10T18:00:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T15:00:06","slug":"how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Create and Customize a Waterfall Chart in Microsoft Excel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a255583b568e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a255583b568e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel\/#When_to_Use_a_Waterfall_Chart\" >When to Use a Waterfall Chart<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel\/#Create_a_Waterfall_Chart_in_Excel\" >Create a Waterfall Chart in Excel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-create-and-customize-a-waterfall-chart-in-microsoft-excel\/#Customize_a_Waterfall_Chart\" >Customize a Waterfall Chart<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Create and Customize a Waterfall Chart in Microsoft Excel&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone wp-image-747410 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ExcelWaterfallChartChecking.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ExcelWaterfallChartChecking.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ExcelWaterfallChartChecking.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Waterfall chart in Excel\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you want to create a visual that shows how positives and negatives affect totals, you can use a waterfall chart, also called a bridge or cascade chart. You can easily create and customize a waterfall chart in Microsoft Excel.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_to_Use_a_Waterfall_Chart\"><\/span>When to Use a Waterfall Chart<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You might be wondering whether the data that you have in your spreadsheet is <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriate for a waterfall chart. If you have a starting value with a positive and negative <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> that affects the final outcome, then a waterfall chart is for you.<\/p>\n<p>Here are just a few common uses:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Checking accounts<\/strong>: Use a starting balance, add credits, subtract debits, and show the ending balance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inventory<\/strong>: Enter a starting amount, add received shipments, subtract units sold, and show the ending amount.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Products<\/strong>: Display a starting total, subtract damaged units, add refurbished units, and show the sellable total.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revenue<\/strong>: Use a starting amount, add income, subtract expenses, and show the total remaining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Automatically Generate Charts in Google Sheets<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_a_Waterfall_Chart_in_Excel\"><\/span>Create a Waterfall Chart in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you have data that would fit perfectly into a waterfall chart for a useful visual, let\u2019s get right to it! For this tutorial, we\u2019ll use a checking account as an example.<\/p>\n<p>Start by selecting your data. You can see below that our data begins with a starting balance, includes incoming and outgoing funds, and wraps up with an ending balance. You should arrange your data similarly.<\/p>\n<p>Go to the Insert tab and the Charts section of the ribbon. Click the Waterfall drop-down arrow and pick \u201cWaterfall\u201d as the chart type.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-747413 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/InsertChartWaterfall-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"On the Insert tab, click Waterfall and select Waterfall\" width=\"666\" height=\"500\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The waterfall chart will pop into your spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747412\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/InsertedWaterfallChart-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Example of a waterfall chart inserted\" width=\"650\" height=\"283\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, you might notice that the starting and ending totals don\u2019t match with the numbers on the vertical axis and aren\u2019t colored as Total per the legend. Not to worry\u2014this is a simple fix!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/WaterfallChartNoTotals-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Example of a waterfall chart with no totals\" width=\"634\" height=\"386\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Excel recognizes those starting and ending amounts as parts of the series (positives and negatives) rather than totals.<\/p>\n<p>To fix this, double-click the chart to display the Format sidebar. Select the bar for the total by clicking it twice. Click the Series Options tab in the sidebar and expand Series Options if necessary.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747415\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/FormatDataPointSeriesOptions-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Open the Format sidebar\" width=\"650\" height=\"264\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Check the box for \u201cSet as Total.\u201d Then, do the same for the other total.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/FormatDataPointSetTotal-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Enable the Set as Total option\" width=\"650\" height=\"264\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, you\u2019ll see that those bars match up with the vertical axis and are colored as Total per the legend.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/WaterfallChartWithTotals-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Example of a waterfall chart with proper totals\" width=\"634\" height=\"386\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customize_a_Waterfall_Chart\"><\/span>Customize a Waterfall Chart<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Like other chart types in Excel, you can customize the design, colors, and appearance of your chart. If this isn\u2019t something you\u2019ve done yet in Excel, here are the basics for customizing your chart.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to start by changing the title, click the Chart Title text box.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747418\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ChartTitle-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Click the Chart Title to change it\" width=\"642\" height=\"398\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Double-click the chart to open the Format Chart Area sidebar. Then, use the Fill &amp; Line, Effects, and Size &amp; Properties tabs to do things like add a border, apply a shadow, or scale the chart.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/FormatChartArea-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Open the Format Chart Area sidebar\" width=\"650\" height=\"334\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Select the chart and use the buttons on the right (Excel on Windows) to adjust Chart Elements like labels and the legend, or Chart Styles to pick a theme or color scheme.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747419\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ChartElements-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Adjust the Chart Elements\" width=\"650\" height=\"294\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Select the chart and go to the Chart Design tab. Then, use the tools in the ribbon to select a different layout, change the colors, pick a new style, or adjust your data selection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747420\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ChartDesignTab-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Click the Chart Design tab\" width=\"650\" height=\"77\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can also move your chart to a new spot on your sheet by simply dragging it. And, to resize your chart, drag inward or outward from a corner or edge.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-747423\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ResizeChart-ExcelWaterfall.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Drag a corner or edge to resize the chart\" width=\"650\" height=\"421\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>For help with other chart types, take a look at how to make a bar chart in Excel or create a combo chart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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You can easily create and customize a waterfall chart in Microsoft Excel. When to Use a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ExcelWaterfallChartChecking.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}