Finance Charts Cheat Sheet by Soufyan Hamid

Key Considerations When to Use Best Practices Use Cases

Goal: Compare Categories Use for comparing To compare Label axes clearly Sales by Product
Type of Data: Categorical discrete data data sets Use consistent Expenses by
Type of Chart: Vertical/Horizontal categories. To show colors Department
Pros: Effective for showing distribution
Easy to understand Group similar Market Share by
Clearly displays data
rankings and To analyze categories Segment
Supports large datasets differences. distribution
Cons: Avoid clutter when
May not show trends well visualizing many
Clutter with many categories categories.
Bar or Column Chart
Limited for continuous data

Goal: Track Trends Over Time Ideal for displaying To visualize Use consistent time Revenue Over
Type of Data: Time Series continuous data changes over intervals Months
Type of Chart: Line trends. time Add trendlines or Stock Price Over
Pros: Shows changes and To compare moving averages Years
Clearly shows trends
Effective for forecasting
patterns over a trends Highlight significant Website Traffic
Highlights seasonality specific period. To identify events Over Days
Cons: Suitable for seasonality
May not highlight outliers forecasting and
Line Chart Data points may overlap identifying cycles.
Requires evenly spaced data

Goal: Display Composition Represents parts of a To show part- Limit to a few Expense
Type of Data: Categorical whole as to-whole categories Breakdown by
Type of Chart: Pie percentages. relationships Sort categories by Category
Pros: Limited to a small To compare size Revenue Share by
Easy to understand
Visually appealing
number of contributions Label categories Product
Emphasizes proportions categories for clarity. To highlight and percentages Market Share by
Cons: Use when showing dominant parts Company
Not suitable for many categories the distribution of a
Pie Chart Hard to compare angles single variable.
May not convey precise data

Goal: Explore Relationships Shows the To identify Use clear axis labels Sales vs.
Type of Data: Numerical (X,Y) relationship between correlations Add trendlines or Advertising Spend
Type of Chart: Scatter two continuous To visualize reference lines Employee
Pros: variables. distributions Performance vs.
Identifies outliers Choose appropriate
Useful for regression
Identify correlations, To assess data scales Salary
Easily interpretable outliers, and clusters. quality Housing Prices vs.
Cons: Useful for Square Footage
May not reveal patterns forecasting and
Limited for discrete data regression analysis.
Scatter Plot
Requires sufficient data

Goal: Monitor KPIs Represents a single To visualize a Clearly label Financial

Type of Data: Numerical (Single) value within a range or single metric thresholds and Performance
Type of Chart: Circular Gauge threshold. To highlight measure Profit Margin
Pros: Effective for presenting performance Choose appropriate
Visually striking Customer
key performance To track scale Satisfaction
Focuses on target
Easily interpretable indicators. against goals Highlight important
Cons: Emphasizes reaching thresholds
Speedometer Chart Limited for multiple metrics or exceeding specific
Not suitable for detailed data goals.
May not convey context

Goal: Track Performance Against Goals Compares a single data To visualize Clearly label Sales vs. Target
Type of Data: Numerical (X,Y) point against a range of performance benchmarks and Revenue
Type of Chart: Horizontal Bar benchmarks or targets. against goals performance
Pros: measure Expense Control
Effective for monitoring To track KPIs vs. Budget
Provides context for performance
financial performance and objectives Use color coding to
Efficient use of space Profit Margin vs.
Highlights goal attainment
and goal attainment. To assess indicate
performance Target Margin
Cons: Provides a clear visual financial health
Not suitable for comparing representation of Use appropriate
Bullet Chart multiple metrics progress and shortfalls. scale for data range
May not support complex data
Limited for detailed data

Goal: Explain Changes in Financials Illustrates how To analyze Start with a clear Income
Type of Data: Sequential Categories various factors profit & loss baseline Statement
Type of Chart: Bar contribute to a total. To track Add labels for clarity Analysis
Pros: Useful for showing budget vs. Revenue
Highlights cumulative changes Use consistent color
income statements actual scheme Breakdown by
Easy to follow
Supports multiple data sets
and cash flows. To understand Region
Cons: Highlights positive cost structure Project Cost
Waterfall Chart Not suitable for time series and negative Breakdown
Complex for many categories changes effectively.
Not suitable for small data

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