A waterfall chart shows how a starting value rises and falls through a series of changes until it reaches a final value. It is useful for budgets, revenue bridges, cash balances, profit explanations, and any story built from plus and minus steps.
Does this affect you?
Use this for Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2016 and later, and Excel for the web. Excel 2013 and earlier do not include the built-in waterfall chart type and require a manual stacked-column workaround.
Build a waterfall chart from your data
Set up two columns: one for the step label and one for the amount.
- Create a table with labels such as Starting Balance, Sales, Rent, and Ending Balance.
- Enter increases as positive numbers and decreases as negative numbers.
- Select both columns, including the headers.
- Open Insert and choose the Waterfall chart from the Waterfall, Funnel, Stock, Surface, or Radar chart menu.
- Excel creates floating bars that show each step moving from the previous result.
- Right-click the starting bar and choose Set as Total. Do the same for the ending bar and any other fixed subtotal bars.
Setting totals correctly is important. Without it, Excel treats the value as another increase or decrease instead of anchoring it to the baseline.
Make the chart easier to read
After creating the chart, format the three bar types separately: increases, decreases, and totals. Use clear colors so readers can immediately tell what moved the number up, what pulled it down, and where the fixed totals are.
More control
Add data labels
Right-click a bar and choose Add Data Labels so each step shows its exact value. This is especially helpful when the axis scale makes smaller changes hard to read.
Change colors and layout
Select the chart and use Chart Design or the Format pane to adjust colors, title, labels, and style. Keep the formatting simple so the movement remains the focus.
Older Excel workaround
If your Excel version does not have Waterfall as a chart type, the traditional workaround is a stacked column chart with a hidden base series that lifts each visible bar to the right height. It works, but it is more fragile than the built-in chart.
Check the data direction
If a bar moves the wrong way, check whether the source value is positive or negative. Expenses, losses, refunds, and deductions usually need negative numbers.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Create a waterfall chart (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Available chart types in Office (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Change the layout or style of a chart (2024)