Pie Chart
What information do you want to show? This is always the first question you must ask yourself when creating a chart. For example, if you want to show what percentage each salesperson contributes to the bottom line, try a pie chart, which is great for showing how parts relate to a whole. Or maybe you'd prefer to show how each salesperson's been doing over the course of the year. In that case, a line chart might work best. That way you could plot each person's sales numbers through time and see who's improving.
QuickBase offers the following chart types:
If you want to show proportions, use a pie chart. How many dentists recommend sugar-filled gum? One out of four, or 25%. Illustrate that figure with a pie chart. Or maybe you need to see what share each of your products represents to your total business. For example, if you own a music store, your pie chart might look like the one illustrated below, which shows the percentage each instrument type contributes to total sales.
Pie Chart
If you want to compare values, try a bar chart. Which month was the best for business? Compare them all with a bar chart. If you want, you can break down bar chart numbers even further. For example, in addition to comparing music store sales for each month, you can include details like sales for each instrument within each month.
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Bar Chart |
Bar Chart with Series |
... is the same format as a bar chart, but turned on its side. If you prefer a report like the one below go horizontal.
Horizontal Bar Chart
Stacked Bar
This format combines the comparison features of a bar chart with the proportional
illustration of a pie chart. For example, the image below shows monthly
sales for the music store, just like the bar chart in above. But the stacked
bar chart below breaks each bar down into percentages by instrument, just
like a pie chart would. The percentages "stack" up to form the
total bar.
Stacked Bar Chart
Horizontal Stacked Bar
Like the horizontal bar chart pictured above, this format just turns a
regular stacked bar chart on its side.
This format helps you track changes through time. Have sales of various instruments been increasing or declining? A line chart can show you in a flash. The image below tracks each instrument's sales over the period of a few months. You can click a square to see the records that comprise that figure.
Line Chart
FAQ - Why are some portions of my
lines dotted?
When QuickBase is connecting the dots on your line chart, some
numbers may be missing. Whenever a line chart encounters a missing value,
it tells you so with a dotted line. In the line chart above, there are
no organ sales for March. QuickBase doesn't know if this is missing data
or a true zero. It treats it as a zero, but lets you know that it has
no actual value for that x-axis point with a dotted line.
Area charts offer the time-tracking qualities of a line chart and toss in a dash of pie chart proportion measurement. Should the music store continue to carry string instruments? What percentage of sales do string instruments represent and how have they performed over time? An area chart like the one below can help you see the numbers clearly.
Area Chart
