Waterfall Component
The Waterfall component renders a bridge chart where bars float up or down from the previous bar's end value, making it ideal for decomposing variance, visualising how a starting value reaches an ending value through a series of positive and negative contributions. Common uses include budget-to-actual bridge, cash flow change narrative, and earned value variance breakdown.
Presets
| Preset | Description |
|---|---|
| Budget to Actual | Opens with Budget, closes with Actual. Intermediate bars show cost element variances. |
| Cash Flow Bridge | Opening balance, cash inflows and outflows, closing balance. |
| EV Variance | BAC opening, CV and SV as steps, EAC as closing bar. |
| Cost Breakdown | Opening total, one bar per cost category, closing total. |
| Change Log | Opening approved budget, approved changes as steps, current budget as closing bar. |
Data binding
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Label field | The name of each step shown on the X axis. |
| Value field | The numeric increment or decrement at each step. Positive values raise the bar; negative values lower it. |
| Step type field | Optional field indicating whether a step is a regular increment or a subtotal anchor. |
| Sort order | The order in which steps are displayed. Can be by a sort field or by value magnitude. |
Bar types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Increment | A floating bar showing a positive change (default). Colored with the positive color. |
| Decrement | A floating bar showing a negative change. Colored with the negative color. |
| Subtotal | A bar anchored to zero showing a running total at that point. Distinct color from increment/decrement. |
| Opening | The first bar, anchored to zero. Represents the starting value. |
| Closing | The final bar, anchored to zero. Represents the ending value. |
Configure step type either through a data field or by explicitly assigning type per row in the component's step editor.
Appearance options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Positive color | Fill color for increment bars. Default: green. |
| Negative color | Fill color for decrement bars. Default: red. |
| Subtotal color | Fill color for subtotal and opening/closing bars. Default: dark gray or blue. |
| Connector lines | Lines connecting the top of each bar to the base of the next. Toggle on/off. |
| Data labels | Show the value on each bar. Position: inside top, outside top, or auto. |
| Bar width | Fraction of the category width (0.3 to 0.9). |
Others grouping
When there are many small steps that individually contribute little, enable Others grouping to collapse them:
- In Properties → Others, enable grouping.
- Set the threshold: steps whose absolute value is below the threshold percentage of the total are merged into a single "Others" bar.
- Configure the "Others" label text.
Good practice
- Keep the number of steps to ≤ 12 for readability. For longer lists, group smaller items using Others grouping.
- Always include an Opening and a Closing bar so the chart is self-explanatory.
- When a subtotal bar appears mid-chart, label it clearly (e.g., "Sub-total to Q2").
- Use data labels on all bars so the chart doubles as a data table for readers who print the report.
Related
- Advanced Charts — overview of all advanced chart types
- Cash Flow Curve — time-phased cost curves
- Earned Value — EV-specific analysis