View financial information in a chart
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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 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.
Watch these videos:
Phocas Demo: Visual storytelling (also shows sparklines)
Click the Chart button in the top right corner above the grid. The chart panel 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.
The chart panel is split into two parts; the chart at the top and the configuration options underneath.
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 data to learn how 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).
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 panel, the same chart type is automatically applied. When you change the chart type, the chart configuration options change accordingly.
A range of configuration options (settings) 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.
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.
The available data options depend on the chart type you selected. Expand the sections below for information on each setting.
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.
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 panel. To exit out of full-screen mode, press the Esc key.
See Add financial analysis to a dashboard.
Either click the Close button in the top-right corner of the chart panel, or click the Chart button in the top-right toolbar.
