Revenue to profit
Every cost between the top line and the bottom line.
Start at revenue, subtract each cost as its own falling step and land on net profit. The tallest red step is where the margin actually goes.
Open in the editorWaterfall chart
Walk from a starting value to a final total through gains and losses, the classic P&L bridge chart.
In-depth guides
Waterfall Chart Maker for Bridges and WalksBuild a waterfall chart online: EBITDA bridges, variance walks and budget gaps. Import CSV, edit with AI and export SVG or PNG free.Waterfall chart vs bar chartThe same P&L drawn as bars and as a waterfall. Bars compare independent things; a waterfall explains how one number became another.
8 waterfall chart examples
Cash flow bridge
Opening cash to closing cash, one movement at a time.
The finance team's favourite chart: it explains a bank balance without a single sentence of commentary. Collections push it up, payroll and suppliers pull it down.
Open in the editorBudget variance
Where the plan and the actuals diverged.
Plan on the left, actual on the right, and every reason for the difference in between. Overspend and savings sit on the same scale, so no one can round away a miss.
Open in the editorHeadcount change
Hires, leavers and transfers across the year.
A people version of the cash bridge. It answers 'we grew by twenty' with the churn underneath it, which is usually the more interesting number.
Open in the editorInventory movement
Stock in, stock out, and what is left on the shelf.
Purchases and sales rarely balance, and shrinkage is the step nobody plans for. Putting all three on one bridge makes the closing count auditable.
Open in the editorUser growth bridge
New, churned and reactivated users this quarter.
Net growth is one number and it hides everything. The bridge shows that a healthy-looking quarter was carried by reactivation, not acquisition.
Open in the editorMargin walk
What moved gross margin year over year.
Three percentage points of margin, decomposed into price, mix and cost effects. This is the chart that turns a board question into a one-slide answer.
Open in the editorProject cost breakdown
Budget consumed phase by phase.
Every phase eats a slice of the budget and the last bar is what remains. Run it mid-project and the remaining bar becomes a very honest status report.
Open in the editor