Excel Waterfall Charts (Bridge Charts)

by Jon Peltier

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Peltier Technical Services, Inc., Copyright © 2012.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Waterfall charts are commonly used in business to show how a value changes from one state to

another through a series of intermediate changes. For example, you can project next year’s profit or

cash flow starting with this year’s value, and showing the up and down effects of changing costs,

revenues, and other inputs. Waterfall charts are often called bridge charts, because a waterfall chart

shows a bridge connecting its endpoints. A simple waterfall chart is shown below:

There is more than one way to create a waterfall chart in Excel. The first approach described below is

to create a stacked column chart with up and down columns showing changes and a transparent

columns that help the visible columns to float at the appropriate level. Under some circumstances this

simple approach breaks down, and another approach is described.

Floating Column Chart Data and Calculations

Here is some sample data showing how to construct a stacked-column waterfall chart. The left table

has a column of labels, then a column with just the initial and final values, then columns with increases

and decreases in value. This is the almost arrangement needed for making the chart, but I prefer to

put these values into a single column as shown at right, and let the formulas sort it all out.

The first approach most people try is to use a floating column chart, that is, a stacked column chart

with the bottom column in the stack hidden to make the others float. This range contains the

calculations needed to make a floating column waterfall chart. After the two columns of labels and

values, as in the top right table, there are calculated columns for the chart endpoints, the blank series

that supports the floaters, and up and down values. Here are the formulas; the formulas in D3:F3 are

filled down to row 7:

Cell C2: =B2

Cell C8: =SUM(B2:B7)

Cell D3: =MIN(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3))

Cell E3: =MAX(B3,0)

Cell F3: =-MIN(B3,0)

The chart is pretty easy to make. Select A1:A8 (yes, include the blank top cell), hold Ctrl and select

C1:F8 so both selected areas are highlighted, and create a stacked column chart.

Finish up with a little formatting. Set the gap width of the columns to 75%: format the series and on

the Series Options or Options tab, change the value for gap width. Hide the Blank series by giving it no

border and no fill, use colors that invoke positive and negative for the audience (usually green and red,

which makes it tough for those with color vision deficiencies), remove the legend.

Data Crossing into Negative Territory: Breakdown with Stacked Columns

That seems just too simple to be true. And in fact, for data like the following, which has negative as

well as positive values, the simple floating column chart approach fails.

The green and red bars are the correct length, and as long as they are located completely above the

horizontal axis, the chart is cool. But the formula computing the blank values is too simplistic, and

Excel prohibits the floating bars from floating across the axis.

You can still use stacked columns, but you need to compute two sets of up bars and two sets of down

bars, one set of each that lies above the axis, and one that lies below the axis. You also need to fix the

formula for the blank series so it floats each column above or below the axis as necessary, or provides

no float if the column spans the axis. Wow, so complicated.

But wait!

Approach Using Up-Down Bars

There is another approach which takes a bit longer to chart, but the formulas are easier, and the

columns in this case are able to float anywhere, even across the axis. This approach is based on line

charts and a line chart feature called up-down bars. Up-down bars connect the first line chart value at

a category to the last, like the open-close bars in a stock chart. In fact, Excel uses up-down bars as

open-close bars in its stock charts. The up bars and down bars can be formatted individually.

The range below contains the calculations needed to make an up-down bar waterfall chart. After the

two columns of labels and values, as above, there are calculated columns for the chart endpoints, and

the values before and after adding an item to the previous total. Here are the formulas; the formulas in

D3:E3 are filled down to row 7:

Cell C2: =B2

Cell C8: =SUM(B2:B7)

Cell D3: =SUM(B$2:B2)

Cell E3: =SUM(B$2:B3)

The chart-making process is a bit longer than for the floating column chart approach. Select A1:A8,

hold Ctrl while selecting C1:E8, and create a line chart.

Select the Ends series and convert it to a column chart.

Select one of the line series, and add Up-Down Bars. In Excel 2007 and 2010, go to the Chart Tools >

Layout tab, click the Up-Down Bars button, and select Up-Down Bars from the menu. In Excel 2003 and

earlier, format the series, and check Up-Down Bars on the Options tab.

Hide the line chart series by formatting them to show no line and no markers, and format the up-down

bar colors.

Remove the legend, and change the gap width of the column and the up-down bars to 0.75. This is

easy for the column: simply format the series and on the Series Options or Options tab, change the

gap width value. For the up-down bars in Excel 2003 and 2010, format one of the line chart series, and

on the Options or Series Options tab, change the gap width value.

In Excel 2007 there is no way to change the up-down bar gap width from within the user interface, but

you can do it with VBA. Press Alt+F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor. Press Ctrl+G (or go to View

menu > Immediate Window) to open the Immediate Window. Type the following line of code into the

Immediate Window (capitalization does not matter), then press Enter:

ActiveChart.ChartGroups(2).GapWidth = 75

Indistinguishable from the floating stacked column approach.

Data Crossing into Negative Territory: No Problem with Up-Down Bars

This is the negative trending data set that messed up the floating columns. The up-down formulas

work just fine.

Follow the same process. Create a line chart.

Change the Ends series to columns.

Add up-down bars to the lines.

Hide the lines and markers and format your colors.

Change the necessary gap widths, and delete the legend.

Perfect, no problem with spanning the axis with our floating columns.

Stacked Columns for Positive and Negative Data

Earlier I said that it’s possible to use stacked columns for mixed values, and for completeness I’m

going to describe the protocol here. If you don’t care to read about it, feel free to skip ahead, or to visit

some of the other tutorials on this web site.

Here’s the start of the calculations for the stacked-column-across-the-axis approach. Here are the

formulas for blanks above and below zero in D3 and E3:

Cell D3: =MAX(0,MIN(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

Cell E3: =MIN(0,MAX(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

Since at most only one of these has a non-zero value, we can replace the two formulas by a single

formula which adds them together:

Cell F3: =MAX(0,MIN(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

+MIN(0,MAX(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

Let’s consolidate the Blank column, and compute the other values. Here are the formulas; those in

D3:H3 are filled down to row 7:

Cell C2: =B2

Cell C8: =SUM(B2:B7)

Cell D3: =MAX(0,MIN(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

+MIN(0,MAX(SUM(B$2:B2),SUM(B$2:B3)))

Cell E3: =MAX(0,MIN(SUM(B$2:B3),B3))

Cell F3: =-MAX(0,B3-E3)

Cell G3: =MAX(0,H3-B3)

Cell H3: =MIN(0,MAX(SUM(B$2:B3),B3))

Select A1:A8, hold Ctrl while selecting C1:H8 so both areas are highlighted, and create a stacked

column chart. Format the Blank series

to hide it, format both Up series the same and both Down series the same.

The result is almost identical to the up-down bar

version, except here the horizontal axis is not hidden by the bars that cross the axis.

Waterfall Chart with Intermediate Cumulative Totals

It’s easy to accommodate intermediate totals in a waterfall chart. Adjust your formulas so the Ends

series has a cumulative total and no red or green bars at the appropriate category. Construction of the

charts is the same as without the intermediate totals.

Here is how the data and charts appear for a stacked column waterfall chart with intermediate totals:

Here is how the data and charts appear for an up-down bar waterfall chart with intermediate totals:

Peltier Tech Waterfall Chart Utility

This tutorial shows how to create waterfall charts in Excel, including the specialized data layout

needed, and the detailed combination of chart series and chart types required. This manual process

takes time, can be prone to error, and soon becomes tedious. If you want to add data labels, tedium

increases.

I have created the Peltier Tech Waterfall Chart Utility to create such charts automatically from raw

data. This utility, a standard Excel add-in, lays out data in the required layout, then constructs a chart

with the right combination of chart types. This is a commercial product which has been tested on

thousands of machines in a wide variety of configurations. Using this utility will save you time and

aggravation.

Please visit the Peltier Tech Waterfall Chart Utility page or the Peltier Tech Waterfall Chart

Utility Documentation page for more information.

Compound Floating Columns

Sometimes a waterfall chart may have two or more items stacked within a floating column. In the data

table below, we see that Items A and B both contribute to the accumulating value. This kind of

illustration only makes sense if the Item A and B values are all positive or all negative. Otherwise the

chart will be confusing.

This table contains calculated blank data for a stacked (floating) column waterfall:

Select the data in column A, then hold Ctrl while selecting the data in columns C through E, and insert

a stacked column chart as before.

Hide the blank series and the chart is complete.

A compound waterfall chart with up to two elements can be made using the up-down bar approach.

There can be only one set of up-down bars per axis, so one set is on the primary axis and the other on

the secondary axis.

Here is how the data is arranged for up-down bar waterfall. Here are the formulas that generate the

table, which are filled down as far as shown:

Cell E3: =SUM(B$2:D2)

Cell F3: =E3+C3

Cell G3: =F3

Cell H3: =G3+D3

Select A1:B8, then hold Ctrl while selecting E1:H8 so both regions are highlighted, and insert a line

chart.

Move the Before B and After B series to the secondary axis.

Select the secondary vertical axis (right of chart) and press Delete.

Convert the Ends series to a column.

Select either Before A or After A and add Up-Down Bars.

Select either Before B or After B and add Up-Down Bars.

Format the up-down bars and adjust gap widths.

If the endpoints are also split by item, the data looks something like this.

Here the blanks have been calculated for floating columns:

Construction of the chart is the same as before, starting with a stacked column chart, except there is

no Ends series.

Here is the finished chart with Blanks made transparent.

Here the Before and After A and B values have been calculated for up-down bars:

Construction of the chart is the same as before, starting with a line chart, except there is no Ends

series which must be converted to columns. Before and After A stay on the primary axis, while Before

and After B move to the secndary axis.

Add two sets of up-down bars.

Hide the legend, hide the lines and markers, and format the up down bars. The chart looks just like

that using stacked columns.

Because there are only primary and secondary axes in an Excel chart, the up-down bar approach can

only support a two-item per stack waterfall chart. The stacked column approach can support many

more items: the limitation is imposed by the legibility of the resulting chart.

Here is data for a waterfall chart with three items per stack (you could add enough items to make your

chart illegible).

The data has a calculated Blank column to float the three columns.

Select the data in column A, and hold Ctrl while selecting the data in columns C through F, and insert a

stacked column chart.

Hide the Blank series, and hide the unwanted legend entries (click once to select the legend, and click

a second time on the legend entry, and press Delete).

Related Posts:

Add Percentages on the Secondary Axis

Candlestick Alternative: Individually Colored Up-Down Bars

Stock Charts in Excel 2007

Simple Box Plots

Interactive Charts with Checkboxes and Formulas

Conditional Formatting of Excel Charts

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Posted: Thursday, July 7th, 2011 under Chart Types.

Comments: 18

Comments

Comment from Joe Mako

Time: Thursday, July 7, 2011, 4:43 pm

I always enjoy a good waterfall chart, thank you for these great examples.

I remade these in Tableau, and added a couple of other features, you can see them at:

http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/WaterfallExamples/Waterfall

(there are two tabs, and they are interactive, with values effected by the filters)

Comment from Bob

Time: Friday, July 8, 2011, 6:05 pm

Hi Jon,

Really like the up/down bar approach. Always learn something here.

Cheers,

Bob

Comment from Anonymous

Time: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 6:40 am

Correction: Am i missing something? It seems the issue with the up/down bar approach is that it does NOT show

correct labelling for the change in value from one bar to another.

Comment from Jon Peltier

Time: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 6:49 am

Actually, the up-down bars cannot be labeled directly. You have to label one of the existing line chart series or add

a new series, and the labels have to be custom, not a simple value.

What I do is add a line chart series. I use the labels I want to show as the X values, which Excel ignores, treating

them as valueless categories. I use the vertical position as the Y values. I add the series, move it to the secondary

axis, then delete the secondary X and Y axes. Then I label this series using the category labels option, and hide the

markers and lines.

So you see, it’s still easier than stacked columns, especially when the bars cross the axis.

Comment from Maher

Time: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 7:37 am

Absolutely great tutorial.

Comment from GB

Time: Friday, September 2, 2011, 10:48 pm

Excellent

Comment from Cesar

Time: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 12:03 pm

Jon,

Do you have a version that can “cluster” different data sets within each up and down bar, like having a stack bar

within each up and down bar, allowing each element in the stack to be a different color?

My specific application is for a multi-location system. I want to show the growth each year at each location (up

stack, unique color for each, say from a green palate), the new product declines from each location (a down stack,

each location with a color from a blue palate) and the drop from legacy products (a down stack, each location with

a color from a red palate).

The charting can get much more granular but the risk is having directors that may get lost in a busy chart.

Your thoughts?

From data-density man in Texas

Thanks.

Comment from Jon Peltier

Time: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 3:43 pm

Cesar -

I’ve actually built something like this. It’s rather complicated. It uses the stacked column approach with several

shades each for positive and negative changes. Instead of a pattern of one bar and one gap, there are two bars and

one gap. If all items move in the same direction, the two adjacent bar stacks are identical, with the same values for

the same shaded bars. It the items move in different directions, then the first bar shows the increases and the

second shows the decreases.

Comment from Sicco Jan Bier

Time: Monday, October 31, 2011, 8:16 am

Jon,

great chart, I will use the up-down bar.

For the labels, although you explain the method it was not so clear to me. For reference of other readers and

possibly to include in the instruction: is the below how you’d do it for “Waterfall Chart with Intermediate Cumulative

Totals”?

Column A-E holds the information as proposed in the second table of the paragraph

Column F holds my label information

Column G holds my Yvalue

Formula F2:F8=MAX(B2,C2)

Formula G2=F2/2

Formula G3:G8=MIN(D3:E3)+ABS(MAX(B3:C3))/2

This distributes the value of the initial,medium and end column and the change portion of the up down bar in the

middle of all bars.

Is there an easier way that I am overlooking?

Kind regards, Sicco Jan

Comment from Jon Peltier

Time: Monday, October 31, 2011, 2:10 pm

Sicco Jan -

Yes, that’s a good way to do it, pretty much the same way that my commercial utility does it. Even though the

added series is plotted on the secondary axis, you can delete the secondary Y axis (right of the chart) and all data

will use the primary Y axis.

Comment from oscar

Time: Thursday, November 24, 2011, 9:49 am

Thanks!!! Very useful

Comment from leandro

Time: Thursday, December 22, 2011, 3:15 pm

This Web is great.

Regards,

Leandro

(brazil)

Pingback from Anonymous

Time: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 2:29 am

[...] [...]

Pingback from A Facebook Waterfall | DataRemixed

Time: Thursday, February 9, 2012, 1:44 am

[...] A great way to view this type of financial information is a “waterfall chart”. Excel guru Jon Peltier shows how to

make one in Excel here. [...]

Pingback from Daily Dose of Excel » Blog Archive » Income Statement Waterfall Chart

Time: Friday, February 10, 2012, 6:37 pm

[...] how I got there. First, I read Peltier’s post on the subject. Then I read Tushar’s page on the subject. Both are for

columns, not bars, but [...]

Comment from Carlos

Time: Thursday, March 15, 2012, 3:05 pm

This was super easy to follow and worked great. Thanks so much!

Comment from Mike C

Time: Monday, April 23, 2012, 4:38 pm

Thanks for your tips on building a Waterfall Chart with Intermediate Totals. One question. Only the Series “Up” Data

Labels are shown with the proper value. The “Down” Data Labels all show “0″. How can I get the “Down” values to

also show. Thanks, Mike

Comment from Mike C

Time: Monday, April 23, 2012, 4:46 pm

I figured it out. Thanks again!!

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