Insyt
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Part of a whole

Waterfall / bridge chart

Shows how successive additions and deductions transform an opening amount into a closing amount.

  • Chart
  • Contribution
  • Deviation

What it answers

How do additions and deductions explain the ending total?

Shape
Floating signed bars and total bars
What it shows
Sources of increase and decrease.

Example: Nord Signal AB

The question

How does Nord Signal get from revenue to operating profit?

Nord Signal from revenue to operating profit, 2025

Nord Signal from revenue to operating profit, 2025Nord Signal 2025 in SEK million: revenue 618.0; minus staff 252.0; minus site leases, power and maintenance 73.74; minus network and cloud 38.0; minus depreciation 96.0; minus other 46.0; operating profit 112.3 (18%).SEK million0200400600700618Revenue-252Staff-73.7Sites-38Network-96Deprec.-46Other112.3Op. profit
Nord Signal from revenue to operating profit, 2025Nord Signal 2025 in SEK million: revenue 618.0; minus staff 252.0; minus site leases, power and maintenance 73.74; minus network and cloud 38.0; minus depreciation 96.0; minus other 46.0; operating profit 112.3 (18%).SEK million0200400600700618Revenue-252Staff-73.7Sites-38Net-96Dep.-46Other112.3Profit
Nord Signal 2025 in SEK million: revenue 618.0; minus staff 252.0; minus site leases, power and maintenance 73.74; minus network and cloud 38.0; minus depreciation 96.0; minus other 46.0; operating profit 112.3 (18%).

Nord Signal AB is a fictional company created for Insyt.

The misleading version

Same question, drawn badly

A bridge that does not reconcile

A bridge that does not reconcileRevenue 618.0 minus staff, sites, network and depreciation gives 158.3. The other costs of 46.0 are missing.SEK million0200400600700618Revenue-252Staff-73.7Sites-38Network-96Deprec.158.3End value
A bridge that does not reconcileRevenue 618.0 minus staff, sites, network and depreciation gives 158.3. The other costs of 46.0 are missing.SEK million0200400600700618Revenue-252Staff-73.7Sites-38Network-96Deprec.158.3Endvalue
Revenue 618.0 minus staff, sites, network and depreciation gives 158.3. The other costs of 46.0 are missing.

What goes wrong. One step is missing, so the end bar shows 158.3, not the reported 112.3. A waterfall must reconcile to the figure it explains.

When to use it

Use it when

Reconciling additive changes.

Avoid it when

Nonadditive ratios or changes that do not reconcile.

How to read it

Read opening total, follow signed changes, then confirm the closing total.

Note

Mark totals separately from incremental changes.

The data you need

Layout
Long table
Fields
Order: integer; Label: text; Amount: signed number; Type: Start/Change/Total
One row is
One ordered opening amount, additive change or total. What is the grain?
Rules
Keep order explicit. Treat total rows as totals, not changes. Opening plus changes must equal closing.
Optional
Optional subtotal rows and positive/negative colours.
Preparation
Validate the input grain and missing values. Keep order explicit. Treat total rows as totals, not changes. Opening plus changes must equal closing.
Units
Use the measured variable's stated unit consistently. No denominator is implied unless the value is a rate or proportion.
Example of the input layout: Long tableA long table: one row per observation, few columns. New data adds rows.OrderLabelAmountTypeAABBC
A long table: one row per observation, few columns. New data adds rows.

Worked example

Opening 100,+25,-10 gives closing 115. Draw floating change bars between the totals.

OrderLabelAmountType
1Opening100Start
2Increase25Change
3Decrease-10Change
4Closing115Total
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