How to Create a Waterfall Graph for EBITDA

An EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) waterfall chart provides a clear, step-by-step visualization of how individual financial components, such as Gross Margin and Operating Expenses, contribute to the final EBITDA value. It enables stakeholders to quickly identify positive and negative impacts on earnings, making it a useful tool for variance analysis, performance tracking, and executive reporting.

To create a waterfall graph for EBITDA, do the following:

1. Navigate to Dashboards.

2. Click Add. The dashboard canvas appears.

   

3. Enter a name for the dashboard.

4. Drag and drop the Waterfall chart to the canvas.  The dashboard editor appears.

   

5. Select the Classic chart option.

   

6. Enter a name for the X-axis.

7. Click ADD to add relevant members of the Account dimension to the X-axis. In this example, we have selected OpEx and Gross Margin as dimension members.

8. Enter a name for the Y-axis.

9. Click ADD to add relevant members of the Time dimension to the Y-axis. In this example, we have selected 2018 as the dimension member.

10. (Optional Step) Click ADD to add another dimension-level filter. In this example, we have selected members of the Scenario dimension to filter and view data based on different scenarios for the year 2018.

    

11. Click the Apply Changes icon. The dashboard displays the EBITDA components (Gross Margin and OpEx) as separate bars flowing into the Total bar.

12. Click Save. The waterfall chart for EBITDA is saved successfully.