ClickUp Guide: How to Make a Waterfall Chart in Google Sheets

A waterfall chart is a powerful way to visualize how a value grows or shrinks over time, and ClickUp users often rely on this type of chart to explain complex changes in revenue, costs, and project metrics. This guide walks you through every step to build a waterfall chart in Google Sheets, plus tips to make it easier to analyze and share your data.

The process centers on using stacked column charts and custom data ranges to highlight increases, decreases, and totals. Once your chart is set up, you can reuse the same structure for different reports and connect it with workflows you track in ClickUp.

What Is a Waterfall Chart and Why Use It with ClickUp?

A waterfall chart shows how a starting value changes through a series of positive and negative steps until it reaches an ending value. Each bar represents a change, while totals are clearly separated so you can see the cumulative effect.

Teams that plan and manage work in ClickUp frequently need to explain:

• How monthly revenue grows with new customers and shrinks with churn
• How expenses add up and where savings appear
• How scope changes affect a project budget or timeline

When you build the chart in Google Sheets, you can insert the results into docs, dashboards, or presentations that support your reporting process alongside your ClickUp workflows.

Prepare Your Data for a Waterfall Chart

Before you create the chart, you need to organize your data in a table that Google Sheets can convert into a stacked column chart. The source structure comes from the detailed process described in the original tutorial on the ClickUp blog.

Step 1: List your categories and values

Create a basic table with two columns:

1. Column A: Categories, such as Start, Revenue, Costs, Adjustments, and End
2. Column B: Numeric values for each category (positive numbers for increases, negative for decreases)

For example, you might track:

• Starting balance
• Sales gains
• Refunds or discounts
• Operational expenses
• Ending balance

Step 2: Build the helper columns

To turn the simple list into a waterfall chart, you need helper columns that calculate how each bar starts and ends. Add these columns:

• Base: The starting point of each bar
• Rise: The positive part of the change
• Fall: The negative part of the change (as a positive number for stacking)
• Total: The overall starting and ending values

The specific formulas follow this pattern:

• The first row (Start) uses the starting value as the Total, with Base, Rise, and Fall set to zero.
• Each intermediate row references the previous total to calculate the new Base, then splits the change value into Rise or Fall.
• The final row (End) holds the final Total, with Rise and Fall as zero.

By the end of this step, you will have several numeric columns ready to feed into a stacked column chart.

Create the Waterfall Chart in Google Sheets

Once your table is prepared, you can build the visualization that you will later share in reports, presentations, or directly within documents you manage alongside ClickUp tasks.

Step 3: Insert a stacked column chart

1. Select the helper columns (Base, Rise, Fall, and Total) along with the category labels.
2. Go to Insert > Chart.
3. In the Chart editor, choose Column chart and set the type to Stacked column chart.

The initial chart will not yet look like a proper waterfall, but the structure is in place. You will adjust colors and visibility next.

Step 4: Format the series for a waterfall effect

Use the Chart editor to customize each series:

1. Select the Base series and change its color to None or make it fully transparent so it becomes invisible.
2. Choose a distinct color for Rise (for example, green) to show increases.
3. Choose a contrasting color for Fall (for example, red) to show decreases.
4. Use a neutral color, such as dark gray, for the Total bars representing the starting and ending values.

After you apply these settings, the chart visually steps up and down from left to right, revealing exactly how each category contributes to the final total.

Customize Labels and Layout

To make the chart easier to read when sharing with stakeholders or embedding into plans that complement ClickUp dashboards, you should fine-tune labels and axes.

Step 5: Edit the chart title and axes

In the Chart editor:

• Update the Chart title to something descriptive, such as “Revenue Changes by Stage”.
• Adjust the Vertical axis range if needed so that all bars are clearly visible.
• Format number styles (currency, percentages, or decimals) to match your dataset.

Step 6: Add data labels

Data labels help viewers quickly read exact values.

1. Under Customize, open the Series section.
2. Enable Data labels for the Rise, Fall, and Total series.
3. Change text color or size if necessary to keep labels legible over colored bars.

With labels turned on, people can understand the story at a glance without hovering or inspecting the raw data.

Use Your Waterfall Chart with ClickUp Workflows

Once you have a polished waterfall chart in Google Sheets, you can use it alongside your task management and reporting processes in ClickUp.

Step 7: Share your chart with the team

Here are several ways to share the chart:

• Download the chart as an image or PDF and add it to reports.
• Embed the Google Sheets document in internal docs or wikis.
• Capture the chart in a slide deck for stakeholder presentations.

Because the chart is still linked to a live spreadsheet, you can update the underlying values whenever new data arrives and regenerate visuals without rebuilding the structure.

Step 8: Connect analysis to ClickUp tasks

To turn insights into action, teams often pair the chart with work tracked in ClickUp by:

• Creating tasks to investigate large negative steps in the chart.
• Adding checklist items that reference specific bars, such as “Review Q3 discounts”.
• Documenting your methodology, formulas, and interpretation in a related doc or knowledge base entry.

This combination of spreadsheet visualization and structured task management keeps analysis and execution aligned.

Tips for Better Waterfall Charts

To keep your chart relevant and easy to understand, follow these practical guidelines.

• Limit categories: Too many steps make the chart noisy. Group minor line items into broader categories.
• Explain color coding: Clarify which colors show increases, decreases, and totals.
• Highlight key drivers: Use text callouts or notes near the biggest jumps or drops.
• Keep numbers consistent: Use the same currency or units throughout your dataset.

When you apply these tips, your Google Sheets waterfall chart becomes a clear narrative tool that works well alongside project and performance views you maintain in ClickUp.

Next Steps and Additional Resources

The complete, formula-by-formula process for building helper columns and configuring the stacked chart is documented in detail on the official tutorial from the ClickUp team. If you need a visual walkthrough with screenshots, refer back to the source article on how to make a waterfall chart in Google Sheets.

For broader guidance on optimizing your reporting, analytics, and productivity stack around tools like Google Sheets and ClickUp, you can find additional strategy tips and implementation support at Consultevo.

By combining a well-structured waterfall chart in Google Sheets with organized workflows in ClickUp, you gain a complete picture of what drives change in your metrics and a clear path to act on those insights.

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