Forecasting developments, such as sales, costs, and profits, presents a tremendous opportunity for businesses like yours to scale.
Forecasting refers to all the tools and techniques you can use to predict metrics, such as the revenue generated. The technique we’ll be talking about in great detail is data visualization.
Why?
Data visualization is the lifeblood of a reliable and solid business forecasting plan. Some of the best-suited charts for business forecasting includes:
Tools, such as Google Sheets, lack ready-made Bar Chart Futures for your data stories.
But you can transform the spreadsheet into a reliable tool by installing third-party add-ons to access visually appealing and ready-to-use Bar Chart Futures in Google Sheets.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
Before jumping right into the how-to guide, we’ll address the following question: what are Bar Chart Futures, and when should you use them?
A Bar Chart Futures is a graph that displays forecast insights using rectangular bars or columns.
You can use the visualization design to inform your decision-making process.
The chart is useful for looking at data sets and making comparisons. For example, it’s easier to see items taking the largest chunk of your budget using a visualization design, such as a Bar Chart.
Also, a Bar Chart Futures can display trends over time, or reveal patterns in periodic sequences.
Bar charts can also represent more complex categories using stacked or grouped bar charts. For example, if you had two houses and needed budgets for each, you could plot them on the same x-axis with a grouped bar chart, using varying colors to represent each house.
Data in the chart is represented using vertical or horizontal bars aligned with the values of each category.
And this means the length or height of each bar is proportionally equivalent to the corresponding data points. The bar chart can be plotted in clusters to show more than one metric in some instances.
Bar Graphs are an effective way to compare items between different groups. Besides, it can display comparison insights into your raw and bulky data.
Bar Chart Futures provide a visual presentation of categorical data. Categorical data is a grouping of data into discrete groups, such as months of the year, age group, shoe sizes, and animals. These categories are usually qualitative.
In a column (vertical) bar chart, categories appear along the horizontal axis, and the height of the bar corresponds to the value of each category.
Bar Chart Futures have a discrete domain of categories and are usually scaled so that all the data can fit on the chart.
When there is no natural ordering of the categories being compared, bars on the chart may be arranged in any order.
Remember, the longer the bar, the greater its value. The visualization design consists of two axes. On a vertical Bar Chart, the horizontal axis (or x-axis) shows the data categories. The vertical axis (or y-axis) is the scale. The colored bars are the data series.
The visualization design can be horizontal or vertical.
The greater their length or height, the greater the value of the bars. Bar charts are among the techniques used to present data visually so that the reader may readily recognize patterns or trends.
Bar Charts usually present categorical, discrete, or continuous variables grouped in class intervals.
Also, they consist of an axis and a series of labeled horizontal or vertical bars. The bars depict frequencies of different values of a variable or simply the different values themselves. The numbers on the y-axis of a vertical bar chart or the x-axis of a horizontal bar chart are called the scale.
When developing bar charts manually, draw a vertical or horizontal bar for each category or value. The height or length of the bar will represent the number of units or observations in that category (frequency) or simply the value of the variable. Select an arbitrary but consistent width for each bar as well.
Use the chart, especially if your goal is to display information segments. Vertical bar charts are useful to compare different categorical or discrete variables, such as age groups, classes, schools, etc.
Bar Chart Futures are also significant in displaying time series data. The space for labels on the x-axis is small, but ideal for years, minutes, hours, or months.
Vertical Bar charts are an excellent choice for emphasizing a change in magnitude. Use the chart if your goal is to display the following:
Bar Charts are made up of 3 significant attributes, namely:
Keep reading because we’ll address the following in the coming section: how to visualize data using Bar Chart for business forecasting?
Modern-day businesses generate a tremendous amount of data.
Almost all businesses have an online presence to target the ever-growing internet community. The data generated in offline and online operations are gold if you dig deeper into it using tools.
The insights you’re likely to uncover can help you forecast future performances, such as profitability and management of costs. And this is where Bar Chart Futures come into play.
Bar Chart Futures provide a visual presentation of categorical data. Categorical data is a grouping of data into discrete groups, such as months of the year.
Keep reading because, in the coming section, we’ll highlight easy-to-follow Bar Chart Futures examples.
A Double Axis Line and Bar Chart is one of the Bar Chart Futures examples that uses two axes to display relationships between two varying metrics. The visualization design can display a ton of information using limited space.
Take a look at the table below. Can you provide reliable insights into the data below?
| Year | Sales | Profit Margin % |
| 2011 | 16.52 | 7.9 |
| 2012 | 16.42 | 8.3 |
| 2013 | 16.17 | 9 |
| 2014 | 15.57 | 4.6 |
| 2015 | 16.48 | 9 |
| 2016 | 16.34 | 6.8 |
| 2017 | 14.99 | 7.9 |
| 2018 | 17.26 | 9.6 |
| 2019 | 13.67 | 6.9 |
| 2020 | 12.32 | 4.3 |
| 2021 | 11.28 | 5.6 |
Note the difference after visualizing the table above. You can easily point out low-hanging insights.
A Sentiment Trend Chart is one of the Bar Chart Futures examples you can use to display insights into market opinion towards your brand over time.
The chart combines a line and bars to display insights into varying metrics.
Take a look at the table below. It has data from a hypothetical YouTube channel.
| Videos | Likes | Dislikes |
| March | 36405 | 17641 |
| April | 36137 | 18853 |
| May | 30712 | 18294 |
| June | 33374 | 5412 |
| July | 34059 | 15268 |
| August | 39846 | 15689 |
Let’s take a look at the resulting chart below. You can easily point out the YouTube video with a significant negative sentiment level.
A Pareto Bar Graph is one of the Bar Chart Futures examples that’s made up of bars and a line graph. Each value is displayed in descending order by bars, and the line represents the cumulative total.
The chart is named based on the Pareto principle, which, in turn, derives its name from Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist.
The left vertical axis is the frequency of occurrence, but it can alternatively represent cost or another key metric. The right vertical axis is the cumulative percentage of the total number of occurrences, total cost, or the total of a key metric. The cumulative function is a concave function because the values are in decreasing order.
The purpose of the Pareto Chart is to highlight the most important among a (typically large) set of factors.
In quality control, Pareto charts are useful for finding defects to prioritize the greatest overall improvement that’s why many businesses use Pareto Chart in Quality Control process. It often represents the most common sources of defects, the highest occurring type of defect, or the most frequent reasons for customer complaints.
Take a look at the table below. How easy is it to deduce meaningful insights?
| City | Profit |
| Los Angeles | 4723 |
| Chicago | 9550 |
| Houston | 3908 |
| Phoenix | 7023 |
| Philadelphia | 13631 |
| San Antonio | 7125 |
| San Diego | 11934 |
| Dallas | 14444 |
| San Jose | 7653 |
| Austin | 13531 |
Note the difference after visualizing the data above.
Dallas, Philadelphia, Austin, San Diego, Chicago, San Jose, and San Antonio are the cities driving about 80% of profits.
A Grouped Bar Graph is one of the Bar Chart Futures examples you can use to display insights into two or more key data points.
Take a look at the table below:
| Products | Achieved | Targeted |
| Rolex | 1005 | 1387 |
| Patek Philippe | 667 | 620 |
| Omega | 1421 | 1145 |
| Audemars Piguet | 1091 | 1061 |
| Piaget | 1408 | 1342 |
| Cartier | 968 | 742 |
Notice the difference after visualizing the data above.
So how can you access the ready-made and visually appealing charts we’ve just highlighted?
Google Sheets is one of the most used tools for visualizing data because it’s easy to use.
However, if Google Sheets is your go-to tool, you cannot access ready-made and visually stunning Bar Chart Futures, such as Pareto Bar Graph.
But this does not mean you should ditch this freemium data visualization tool.
Did you know you can supercharge your Google Sheets with add-ons to access visually stunning and ready-to-go Bar Graphs?
Yes, you can increase the functionality of your tool and access a ready-made Bar Chart in Google Sheets for your data stories.
The add-in we recommend you to use is ChartExpo.
So, what is ChartExpo?
We recommend this tool (ChartExpo) because it’s super easy to use.
You don’t need to take programming night classes to extract insights from your data. ChartExpo is more of a ‘drag-and-drop tool,’ which means you’ll only need to scroll your mouse and fill in respective metrics and dimensions in your data.
The Bar Chart Futures generator comes with a 7-day free trial period.
The easy-to-use tool produces charts that are incredibly easy to read and interpret. And it allows you to save charts in the world’s most recognized formats, namely PNG, PDF, and JPG.
In the coming section, we’ll use ChartExpo to visualize data using one of the Bar Chart Futures examples (Double Axis Line Bar and Chart).
| Year | Sales | Profit Margin % |
| 2011 | 16.52 | 7.9 |
| 2012 | 16.42 | 8.3 |
| 2013 | 16.17 | 9 |
| 2014 | 15.57 | 4.6 |
| 2015 | 16.48 | 9 |
| 2016 | 16.34 | 6.8 |
| 2017 | 14.99 | 7.9 |
| 2018 | 17.26 | 9.6 |
| 2019 | 13.67 | 6.9 |
| 2020 | 12.32 | 4.3 |
| 2021 | 11.28 | 5.6 |
Between 2011 and 2013, the profit margin surpassed the sales value. However, the profitable streak declined in 2014 before bouncing back briefly in 2015.
The visualization design simplifies the data analysis process because it can handle bulky and complex data efficiently.
Besides, the chart can help you uncover and track significant changes in your data over time.
Ensure bars are aligned with a zero-value baseline. And this is because a baseline makes it easier for readers to compare bar lengths. It also adds the element of reliability.
Order the bars either in ascending or descending order to help your audience decode insights easily.
Bar Graphs are an effective way to compare items between different groups. Besides, it can display comparison insights into your raw and bulky data.
The visualization design provides a visual presentation of categorical data.
For example, it’s easier to see items taking the largest chunk of your budget using the chart.
Charts play a critical part in crafting a compelling data narrative. Besides, they act as a backdrop that audiences can use to refer to insights.
Our brains interpret image content faster than numbers and texts. So, for you to create a persuasive data story, you’ve got to incorporate suitable and relevant Bar Charts.
Forecasting developments, such as sales, costs, and profits present a humongous opportunity for businesses like yours to scale.
Forecasting refers to all the tools and techniques you can use to predict metrics, such as the revenue generated. The technique we’ll be talking about in great detail is data visualization.
Why?
Data visualization is the lifeblood of a reliable and solid business forecasting plan. Some of the best-suited charts for business forecasting include Double Axis Line and Bar, Sentiment Trend, Pareto Bar, and Grouped Bar Charts.
Data visualization tools, such as Google Sheets, lack ready-made Bar Chart Futures you can use to craft data stories.
We recommend installing third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, into your Google Sheets to access ready-made and visually appealing Bar Charts Futures.
ChartExpo is an add-on with insightful and easy-to-interpret Bar Charts for forecasting, plus many more visualization designs. You don’t require programming skills to visualize your data using the application.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access ready-made and visually appealing Bar Charts Futures for your data story.
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