A Waterfall Chart is an effective way to visualize the cumulative effect of sequential positive and negative values, especially when analyzing changes in financial data like profit and loss statements, sales figures, or expense breakdowns. In this article, we will guide you on how to create a Waterfall Chart using Jedox.
What is a Waterfall Chart?
Before we dive into the steps, it’s important to understand the basics of a Waterfall Chart. This type of chart shows how a value changes as positive and negative values are added to the initial starting point. Typically, a waterfall chart starts with a bar that represents the initial value, followed by bars that represent positive and negative changes, and ends with a final cumulative value.
Use Cases for Waterfall Charts:
- Financial Reporting: Show breakdowns of revenue, costs, and profit changes over time.
- Budgeting: Track actual versus budgeted performance, and isolate the factors driving the variance.
- Sales Analysis: Display how individual deals contribute to the overall sales figure.
Steps to Create a Waterfall Chart in Jedox
Step 1: Prepare Your Data
To create a waterfall chart in Jedox, the first step is to have your data organized properly. Ensure that your dataset includes:
- Start Value: This could be the initial total (e.g., beginning balance, initial revenue).
- Incremental Values: These are positive or negative values that contribute to the final total.
- End Value: This is the final cumulative value after all changes.
An example data structure could look like:
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Opening Balance | 10000 |
| Sales Increase | 2000 |
| Cost of Goods | -1500 |
| Operational Expenses | -500 |
| Final Profit | 10500 |
Step 2: Create a New Report
- Login to Jedox and navigate to the “Designer” section.
- From the Jedox Web Interface, go to the Designer section and click New Spreadsheet to create a report.
- Choose the “Charts” widget.
- Select the Waterfall Chart type.
- In the Data Source section, map your dataset to the chart. Select the columns representing your categories (e.g., Sales, Costs) and the values (positive or negative amounts).
- Ensure that you have:
- Starting point: Your opening balance (e.g., 10000).
- Increments/Decrements: Individual items such as increases in sales and decreases in costs.
- Final total: Your closing value (e.g., 10500).
Step 3: Customize the Chart
Jedox allows you to customize your Waterfall Chart with various settings to ensure the best visual representation of your data.
- Bar Colors:
- You can change the colors for the positive and negative values for better clarity.
- Assign one color for gains (e.g., green) and another for losses (e.g., red).
- Bar Labels:
- Activate the labels to show exact figures on each bar. This is especially helpful to provide context and additional detail for each change.
- Cumulative Total:
- Make sure to display the cumulative total as a separate bar (often a different color) to represent the final value in your sequence. In our case we present only 3 column.
Step 4: Review and Save the Chart
- Review the layout to ensure that the bars represent the data accurately.
- Check that the total cumulative effect of the waterfall chart aligns with the final values in your dataset.
- Once satisfied, click Save and give your report a meaningful name.
Step 5: Use and Share the Waterfall Chart
After creating your waterfall chart, you can:
- Embed it into dashboards or Canvas to be used alongside other visual reports in Jedox.
- Share it with team members or stakeholders via export options like PDF or Excel.
Best Practices for Waterfall Charts in Jedox
- Label Bars Clearly: Ensure each category (e.g., Sales, Costs, Profit) is clearly labeled so viewers can understand the flow of values.
- Focus on Key Drivers: Include the most important positive and negative changes to avoid overwhelming the audience with too much data.
- Ensure Consistent Time Periods: Make sure that the data represents changes over the same period to avoid confusion.
Conclusion
Waterfall Charts in Jedox offer a clear and concise way to analyze changes in key values over time. They help in understanding how incremental changes, both positive and negative, contribute to the final outcome, making them especially useful for financial, budgeting, and operational analysis. By following the steps outlined above, you can create a visually compelling and informative waterfall chart in Jedox that will enhance your data analysis capabilities.
If you are willing to learn more of Charts and their creation check out Charts in Jedox. To download report example click here.