Using Charts

Getting Started

Global Functions

Administration

Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A)

xP&A Video Tutorials

User Roles in Lucanet xP&A

Lucanet xP&A User Interface

All Steps at a Glance

Basic Concepts and Elements

Creating a Model

Integrating Data

Modeling Your Data

Viewing and Visualizing Data

Using Dashboards

Using Scenarios

Using Charts

Importing or Exporting Charts

Using Tables

Using Views

Comparing Versions or Scenarios in Charts and Tables

Using Time Aggregation and Relative Comparisons

Working with Models

Using Comments and Descriptions

Comparison: xP&A vs. Excel Performance

Consolidation & Financial Planning

ESG Reporting

Disclosure Management

XBRL Tagger

Lease Accounting

Banking & Cash Management

Data Collection

Tax Compliance & Reporting

Glossary

Charts can be used to visualize your data, either within the Spreadsheet workspace or the Dashboard workspace. Charts are useful if you want to visualize several variables.

The most commonly used chart types are bar or line charts, or a combination of both. An instruction on how to use and edit them is described below.

But there are also other chart types available, depending on the purpose of the chart.

For better collaboration with others, you can import charts from other models, and copy or export them as an image.

To create a chart:

In the spreadsheet workspace:

Right-click a variable and choose

Create chart.

Click the

Charts

icon in the top-right corner

to open the

Charts

side panel and choose

New chart.

In the Dashboard workspace, click the + icon at the bottom left.

Choose the desired chart type from the list of available visualization options:

Shows the available charts and tables to visualize data: Available are from top to bottom: Text, bar, line, table, KPI, Listogramm, Pie, Static bar, editable table, import chart — Visualization options

To add the variables you want to visualize, drag & drop them onto an existing chart from the Spreadsheet workspace (when you have the charts side panel open).

You can edit a chart

In the toolbar of the

Spreadsheet

workspace, by clicking the

Charts

icon

In the

Dashboard

workspace

The options to edit a chart can be found in the toolbar at the top right of the chart visual:

A table in the spreadsheet is displayed. The toolbar is highlighted in red. — Table settings toolbar

The following options are available for charts of type Bar and Line:

You can use the three-dot menu to:

Copy

the chart as an image

Download

the chart as an image

Clear annotations and highlights

from the chart

Add a

description

Delete

the chart

Shows the options of the three dot menu of a chat or table that can be opened in the top right corner of a visual — Three-dot menu

You can use the roll-up/drill-down column drop-down to determine how variables are displayed across time (e.g. quarterly, yearly), and toggle between them easily.

The time aggregation settings in the toolbar of a chart are displayed. — Time aggregation settings of a chart

See section Time Aggregation in Aggregation Functions if you want to change how a variable aggregates into quarters or years (the default setting is sum).

To open the setup options, click the edit icon in the top-right corner of a chart visual and go to the Setup tab:

The Setup tab of the chart settings is displayed. — Chart setup options

The following setup options are available:

You can easily add, rename, reorder (by drag&drop), and delete variables in the Series section.

You can also choose, instead of adding variables one-by-one to a chart, to add the entire group or section to the chart. The chart always stays in sync with the spreadsheet when variables get added or removed from a group or section.

Variable's Setup Details

By double-clicking on a variable in this section, you can:

Change the

color

of the bar or line for this variable

Plot variables on the

left or right axis

Plot one variable as a

line

, and another as a

bar

Remove the

dimensions breakdown

(see below explanation on Dimensions breakdown)

Add

scenarios

and

versions

for the variable

Display the variable's

value

and/or

growth rate

as a

label

Open the

advanced

setting options

Shows the details that can be edited by clicking on a variable in the Series are. Shown is the Setup tab. — Variable's setup details

You can use this section to display certain data points in the chart and assign a color to them:

Targets

Events

Vertical

Today

line

Last actual date

line

By default, the chart will display the entire model date range. If you would like to shorten the date range, you can select a custom start and/or end date for the chart here.

If a variable is broken down by a Dimension, then by default, xP&A will keep the breakdown. If you wish to 'aggregate away' the underlying dimension items, you can do so by clicking the variable and clicking the minus icon in the Dimensions breakdown section.

The 'Series' section is displayed. The detail view of a variable is displayed. The variable and the 'Dimension breakdown' section of the variable detail view are highlighted in red. — Deactivating the dimension breakdown for a variable

In this section you can add filters to the table, e.g. a time filter or a filter to arrange different versions and/or scenarios next to each other.

To open the display options, click the edit icon in the top-right corner of a chart visual and go to the Display tab:

The Display tab of the chart settings is displayed. — Chart display options

The following display options are available:

You can use this option to enable a drill down on underlying integrated data (transactions).

Anyone viewing the dashboard will be able to view these underlying details. Note that this information may be sensitive.

You can use this option to switch between visualization as stacked bars or separated bars.

You can use this option to switch between visualization as stacked bars or lines.

You can use this option to plot variables on the left or right axis.

You can use this option to display the variable's value and/or growth rate as a label

To open the advanced setting options, click the edit icon in the top-right corner of a chart visual and go to the Advanced tab. The following advanced options are available:

The Advanced tab of the chart settings is displayed. — Advanced chart options

Apart from Bar and Line charts, there are other chart types available that can be used depending on the purpose of the data visualization:

Text is useful for providing context alongside your models and dashboards (e.g. variance analysis, model reforecast reasoning etc).

When you choose this option, a text field is displayed. In this text field you can:

Type and format text like you normally would in any other text editor

Add hyperlinks and ordered lists

Reference live variable values by typing / (e.g. /Revenue), then choose which time step you want to reference (last actual date, today, and final).

Note

Last Actual Date

will be the default option when a Last Actual Date exists in the model. This means that when you refresh your data (and have a new Last Actual Date), your variable references within a text on dashboards will auto-update, too.

Mention people in text by typing.

Note

: This does not notify them via email, rather it is a way to name others within commentary where relevant

Add headings using the following shortcuts: # Heading (big heading), ## Heading (medium heading), ### Heading (small heading)

A KPI chart lets you see a big number for the value of a variable, or set of variables. Use it to draw attention to important outputs of your model.

Distribution charts are useful to plot variables that have uncertainty. Create a chart, then go to the chart settings, and click static, then choose Distribution.

The Listogram chart is useful for visualizing things like: Revenue by Geography, Opex spend by Team/Vendor, Payroll spend by Department/Country etc.

With a listogram, you can

Sort a variable by its dimension items, and easily discern which items are the largest/smallest, and their relative proportion to the whole.

Show the breakdown as a percentage or a value, and you can also limit the number of items shown (e.g. if you only want to see the top 10).

Pie charts are best used when you want to show parts of a whole in a simple, instantly digestible way, e.g. a breakdown of revenue by dimension, where a pie chart makes it easy to observe which dimension represents the highest proportion, or to compare two variables.

A Static bar chart shows a snapshot comparison of categories at a single point in time. It is designed for variable comparisons, not trends, e.g. to compare different revenue in the same time period.

A Waterfall chart is a powerful visualization tool that allows you to drill into the differences between variables, versions, or scenarios, making it an excellent choice for storytelling and analysis, such as the difference between starting ARR and ending ARR, budget vs. actuals, or default vs. aggressive scenarios.

Waterfall charts consist of a starting bar, an ending bar, and intermediate bars that break down the difference between them.

This chart type supports multi-bridge or multi-step waterfalls, where the ending bar of one bridge becomes the starting bar of the next.

To set up a waterfall chart, go to the Setup tab and configure the following:

Select the time granularity of the data you would like to visualize.

In the Bars section:

Set the

start value

by selecting the desired variable (e.g., Total Revenue) and adjust the

time period

if needed (e.g., total revenue for 2025).

Set the

end value

by selecting the target variable (e.g., Net Profit). The

time period

will default to match the start value.

Add

intermediate values

as needed (e.g., Cost of Goods Sold, Operating Expenses) to show the breakdown of changes.

If you recorded values as positive values but want to visualize them as negative values (and vice versa), click on the value and activate the option

Invert value

Optionally, customize the labels for each bar.

If models are linked, you can easily import charts from one model into another, just like you can import variables:

Click the + icon on the bottom left in your dashboard and select Import chart.

Click the model from which you want to import a chart and select or search for the desired chart.

The imported chart will appear alongside your other charts, the only difference being its title is Blue.

Note that if you are giving people access to only the model that imports charts, they will not be able to view the charts properly UNLESS you give them access to the underlying variables and data that the chart leverages. You can do this either by:

Importing the variables or data that the chart utilizes into the model you are sharing with them

Giving them access to the sub-models directly

Last updated on Aug 16, 2023

Options for Bar and Line Charts

Other Chart Types

Importing Charts

Overview

Creating a Chart

Editing a Chart

Options for Bar and Line Charts

General Options

Three-dot menu

Time aggregation

Setup Options

Series

Targets and events

Date range

Dimensions breakdown

Filters and controls

Display Options

Enable drill-down

Show stacked bars

Display as

Axes

Labels

Advanced Options

Other Chart Types

Text

KPI

Distribution

Listogram

Pie

Static Bar

Waterfall

Importing Charts

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