Display financial information in a chart

Owned by Denise McGettigan
Last updated: Jan 18, 2024
7 min read

Visually explore and interact with your financial information in a chart format. Switch between different types of charts and configure how the data displays in each one. Select different rows of data and watch the chart instantly update. Add the chart to a dashboard to share key metrics with your team.

Charts are available in all financial statements except for the Trial Balance and they work and they work well alongside the levels and column groups features. Charts are particularly useful when the statement grid has a lot of columns and you are only interested in one row or a few rows - rather than scrolling across multiple columns, you can visualize the row(s) instead.

Open the chart pane

Click the Chart button in the top right corner above the grid. The chart pane slides out from the right of the screen, displaying data for the selected row(s) and the Chart button turns green. If you did not have any rows selected, by default, the first row is selected for you.

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The chart panel is split into two parts; the chart at the top and the configuration options underneath.

Interact with the grid and chart

The chart panel sits to the right of the grid, as illustrated in the image above, so you can view the data in two formats at the same time, and interact with them simultaneously. You can take the following actions:

  • Scroll across the grid to view the data on the far right whilst keeping the chart in view. If you want a better view of the grid and a minimal view of the chart panel or vice versa, click and drag the divider to the left or right as required.

  • Select one or more rows in the grid and the chart will update accordingly. The chart’s Data tab gives you options for dealing with multiple rows. See Select and focus on accounts and groups in a financial statement to learn about the different ways to select rows.

  • Click an item in the chart legend to remove the corresponding data from the chart, then click the legend item again to display it in the chart. For example, if your chart displays the current, previous, and budget data streams, you might want to remove the previous stream, so you can compare the current and budget more easily.

  • Change your view of the grid and watch the chart update accordingly. Your row selections are retained. For example, you might want to apply a different period or display all periods. See Change your view of a financial statement to learn about the different ways to change the layout and the contents of a statement.

  • Change the chart type and configure the chart options (see below).

Change the chart type

Click the buttons below the chart to instantly switch to a different type of chart: Bar/Line, Bullet, Gauge, Pie (Donut), Value card, and Waterfall. Phocas remembers the last chart type you used, so the next time you open the chart pane, the same chart type is automatically applied. When you change the chart type, the chart configuration options change accordingly.

Configure the chart options

A range of configuration options are available for each chart, organized into three tabs. As you try out the different options, the chart updates accordingly. This interaction helps you find the chart type and configuration combination that best meets your analysis requirements.

Text

The text settings are available for all chart types:

  • Title - Edit the default title, which automatically comes from the selected row(s).

  • Description - Add a description of the chart, which displays as a subtitle. You can use this area to add commentary about the financial information, for example “in line with prior year”. This information displays wherever the chart ends up, such as a dashboard or favorite.

Data

The available data options depend on the chart type you selected. Expand the sections below for information on each setting.

Determine how to treat the values in the selected rows. This option is available when you select multiple rows in the grid. The count of the selected rows is specified in the label.

  • The following options are available for all chart types:

    • A total - (Default option) Display the values in the rows as a total in the standard chart format.

    • An average - Display the average value of the rows in the standard chart format.

  • The following options are available in In Bar/Line charts only:

    • Stacked bars - Display the data for the individual items stacked on top of each other, in one bar. When you hover over a section of the stacked bar, that item is highlighted and its data displays in a tooltip. This option is useful when you want to compare the relative contribution of items, such as accounts or counties, over time.

    • Separate items - Display separate bars for each of the selected items, grouped by period. When you hover over a bar, that item is highlighted, and its data displays in a tooltip.

    • Stacked charts - Display the data for the selected items in separate ‘charts' within the one chart. The charts are synchronized, so when you hover your mouse over an element in one chart, the same element in the other charts is also highlighted. This option is useful when you want to compare items that have a dependency. For example, if you want to compare the performance of the Revenue, Cost of Sales and Gross Profit accounts across the financial year. Stacked charts look great in full-screen mode when you are making presentations and they work really well when you are viewing the information in a matrix format.

Determine the data streams that display in the chart for the selected row(s). The available options depend on the columns you have enabled in the grid.

  • In Bar/Line charts, each data stream is selected by default and therefore, displays in the chart. Clear the checkboxes of the streams you don’t want to include.

  • In the other charts, the Current data stream is selected for you by default. Select a different stream as required.

Add label data points to the data streams. This setting is available when you enable a data stream to display in the chart (above setting).

  • In Bar/Line charts, select the checkboxes of the data streams for which you want to add a label.

  • In Bullet, Gauge, and Waterfall charts, select the Label each point checkbox, then select the required value from the list.

Add trend lines to the data streams. This setting is available when you enable a data stream to display in the chart (above setting).

Select the comparison data stream and either:

  • Leave the default option All the same color selected.

  • Use conditional formatting to determine when a value is a better result (Higher is better, Lower is better or Closer is better) and enter the percentage parameters. The color coding helps you to quickly identify is a value is good or bad. For example, the more revenue you have the better it is, so if there is a 10% increase in the revenue value it displays in green, if there is a 10% decrease it displays in red and if there is any other movement within the 10% range it displays in yellow.

Layout

The layout settings are available for all chart types. You can:

  • Switch between a vertical (default) or horizontal layout of the bars in the chart.

  • Allow non-zero scale in the chart. When selected, this setting takes off the zero scale, to highlight the differences or emphasize trends. Not available in the Waterfall chart.

  • Change the location of the chart legend. By default, it displays in the top right corner but you can move this to the right of the chart or remove it altogether.

View the chart in full-screen mode

You might want to view a chart in a larger scale if you are using it in a presentation, so the audience can see the data more clearly.

Click the Full screen button on the top right of the chart pane. To exit out of full-screen mode, press the Esc key.

Add the chart to a dashboard

See Add financial analysis to a dashboard.

Close the chart pane

Click the Chart button in the top right corner to hide the chart panel from view.