At Datellers, we design Power BI Custom Visuals tailored to the unique needs of our clients. One such project led to the creation of Value Bridge, an advanced waterfall chart developed for a client who needed more than the standard visuals available in Power BI.
The client wanted a way to clearly explain how cost optimization, acquisitions, and revenue growth impacted their overall enterprise value. Traditional visuals showed the numbers but fell short in telling the complete financial story. That’s where Value Bridge came in, a visual built specifically to highlight variances, cumulative impacts, and the contributions of each factor in a clear, customizable way.
Challenges
Waterfall charts do exist in Power BI, but they are not always easy to use for variance analysis or financial storytelling. Some of the common challenges are:
- Limited variance analysis: Built-in waterfall visuals struggle to show the difference between actuals versus budgets or forecasts.
- Readability issues: Standard charts display numbers but make it hard to interpret variance percentages and cumulative impacts.
- Disconnected insights: It’s difficult to clearly show how individual factors link together to affect the final total.
- Formatting restrictions: Built-in formatting is often insufficient for advanced requirements such as currency formats, custom bar colors, or conditional highlights.
These limitations make it challenging for organizations to present a compelling financial narrative using only default visuals.
Solution
- Variance Analysis: Clearly track actuals versus targets.
- Number Formatting: Flexible support for currencies, percentages, and scaling.
- Conditional Formatting: Highlight increases and decreases automatically.
- Set Bar Colors: Customize bars to align with brand or categories.
- Percentage Labels: Show relative contributions alongside values.
- Sorting Options: Reorder categories to enhance the financial story.
- Connectors: Link steps to illustrate cumulative effects clearly.
With these features, Value Bridge turns a simple waterfall chart into a financial bridge that communicates impact at every step.
Results
Organizations using Value Bridge benefit from:
- Clear storytelling – executives can see exactly how different factors build toward the final result.
- Actionable insights – easy-to-read variances guide better financial decisions.
- Efficiency – analysts spend less time on manual formatting and more time on strategy.
- Engagement – visuals that capture both numbers and context hold attention in reports and presentations.
For example, a chart can start with enterprise value, then break down cost optimization (£45,000), M&A (£65,000), and revenue enhancements (£75,000), showing their percentage impacts (31%, 51%, 60%) and leading up to the final total (£315,000, 70%). This combination of absolute values and relative percentages makes financial analysis both precise and easy to interpret.
Learn More
At Datellers, we specialize in Power BI Custom Visual Development, helping companies bring advanced reporting and analytics solutions into their workflows. Explore more about our holistic services to see how we can enhance your reporting stack.
For additional perspective, Microsoft’s documentation on Waterfall charts in Power BI explains why this chart type is so effective for business reporting.