Start with a value, add positive and negative movements, and let running totals and connectors build the story automatically.
The waterfall has not been calculated yet.
| Bar | Type | Input | Starts at | Ends at | Running total |
|---|
A waterfall chart, also called a bridge chart, shows how positive and negative changes transform an opening value into an ending value. Floating bars preserve the running total, while connectors make the sequence easy to follow.
A start bar establishes the opening value. Change bars add or subtract signed amounts. Subtotal and total bars are calculated automatically from the current running value, so their value cells can remain empty.
For a quick chart, import a label column and a signed value column. The first row becomes the start and later rows become changes. Add an optional type column when your source already identifies subtotals and totals.
Each connector begins where the previous bar ended. Green and orange defaults distinguish increases and decreases, while totals use a stable dark green. All colors, labels, widths, grid lines, and value formats remain editable.
Download PNG for reports and presentations or SVG for scalable editing. The export preserves the current visible bars, totals, connectors, labels, colors, and background.
Begin with prior-period profit, then add signed changes for revenue growth, pricing, volume, labor, materials, and other costs before ending with current profit. The running positions show how each movement contributes to the final result. Subtotals can separate operating effects from tax, financing, or other sections.
Positive values raise the running total and negative values lower it. Decide whether costs will be entered as negative changes or displayed through another convention, then apply that rule to every row. Avoid mixing balances with movements: start and total bars represent levels, while change bars represent differences between levels.
The ending value should match an independently checked source. Unexplained residuals, rounding, currency conversion, and duplicated changes can make a visually convincing bridge mathematically wrong. Add a clearly labeled reconciliation item only when its meaning is documented.
A waterfall explains signed contributions to one running total. Use a funnel chart for sequential conversion counts and a Sankey diagram for quantities splitting across multiple destinations.
An ordinary bar chart compares independent values from a common baseline. A waterfall intentionally floats change bars from the previous running level. Use ordinary bars when categories do not accumulate, and use the waterfall only when row order and arithmetic connection are part of the explanation. This distinction prevents readers from comparing floating bar heights as if they were separate totals.