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How to create waterfall chart in Excel?

Author Sun Last modified

The waterfall chart is usually made for clearly viewing and understanding how a start value is affected by a series of intermediate positive or negative values and get the finally value, which is very useful. It can be used for the cash flow, the inventory audit and so on. Here are the steps to create a waterfall chart in Excel.

Create and make a waterfall chart in Excel

Clicks to create a horizontal waterfall chart with a handy tool

arrow blue right bubble Create and make a waterfall chart in Excel

For instance, here we make a waterfall chart about the cash flow during a year.

1. To create a waterfall chart, firstly, you need to arrange and type your data as below screenshot:
A screenshot of data preparation for a waterfall chart in Excel

Tip: Base 1000 is a calculated amount for a series, you can change it as you need.

2. In the following cells, type these formula:

A2: =" "

F3: =G3, press Enter;

B4: =SUM(B3,E3:F3,-D4), press Enter, then drag the fill handle to fill the range B4:B15 (you can change the range as you need).

D4: =-MIN(G4,0), press Enter, then drag the fill handle to fill the range D4:D15 (you can change the range as you need).

E4: =MAX(G4,0), press Enter, then drag the fill handle to fill the range B4:B15 (you can change the range as you need).

C16: =SUM(B15,E15:F15,-D16).

Then you can see the data has been set as below:
A screenshot of arranged data for creating a waterfall chart in Excel

3. Select the range A1: F17 (except the Flow column in my case), and click Insert > Column Chart > Stacked Column. See screenshot:

A screenshot of the Stacked Column chart option in Excel
Arrow
A screenshot of the initial chart created for a waterfall chart in Excel

4. Click the Base column (the dark blue bricks) in the chart, and click Format > Shape Fill > No Fill. See screenshot:

A screenshot of the No Fill option under the Shape Fill menu
Arrow
A screenshot of a waterfall chart with the Base column made invisible

5. Select the Start column in the chart, and click Format > Shape Fill, and select the same color as the color of the End column in the chart. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the color options under the Shape Fill menu
Arrow
A screenshot of matching the Start column's color to the End column in a waterfall chart

6. Select a column and click Format > Format Selection to open the Format Data Series dialog. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the Format Selection option on the Excel ribbon

7. In the Format Data Series dialog, adjust the Gap Width axle to meet your need and click Close to close the dialog. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the Format Data Series dialog for adjusting gap width in Excel

Attention: If you are using Microsoft Excel 2013 or later versions, a Format Data Series pane will appear on the right side after clicking Format > Format Selection. You can adjust the gap width in this pane. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the Format Data Series pane in Excel new versions for a waterfall chart

Then you can see the waterfall chart has been made as below:
A screenshot of the completed waterfall chart in Excel

arrow blue right bubble Clicks to create a horizontal waterfall chart with a handy tool

If you want to quickly and easily to create a waterfall chart without formulas, you can try Kutools for Excel’s Horizontal Waterfall Chart feature, which creates a horizontal waterfall chart in just a few clicks.

In Kutools for Excel’s Charts group, it provides dozens of smart and beautiful chart templates for you, all of them only need clicks to create in seconds.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...

Make your data as below screenshot shown:
A screenshot of data arranged for a horizontal waterfall chart

1. Select the data, click Kutools > Charts > Difference Comparison > Horizontal Waterfall Chart.
A screenshot showing the Kutools Horizontal Waterfall Chart option

2. In the Horizontal Waterfall Chart dialog, check Chart option in the Chart Type section, and in the Select Data section, the data ranges have been auto filled in the Axis Labels and Data range textboxes. Checking all settings are right, click OK.
A screenshot of the Horizontal Waterfall Chart dialog

Then the horizontal waterfall chart will be created.
A screenshot of the completed horizontal waterfall chart using Kutools

If you want to quickly export images or shapes from workbook to a folder, please try to use the Kutools for Excel’s Export Graphics as shown in the following screenshot.

A screenshot showing Kutools Export Graphics feature in Excel

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