Charts

Overview

Charts enable data visualization from models and are incorporated into the platform's built-in reporting features. Since all charts within Francis are linked to dashboards that are globally accessible to all users within an organization, the charts are equally accessible.

Basics

Creating charts

To create a chart, navigate to the top bar in the Model view and select "Charts." This action will open a side drawer containing all available dashboards. If a dashboard has not been created, refer to the documentation on dashboards for guidance.

Francis supports five chart types:

• Line charts

• Column charts

• Stacked column charts

• Area charts

• Stacked area charts

To generate a chart, begin by selecting the desired chart type. Subsequently, you can create a chart by dragging rows, groups, or calculations from your model into the chart area. This will automatically generate a chart using the data available in your model.

Date ranges for charts are centrally defined at the dashboard level. Francis does not currently support setting individual date ranges for charts. To vary date ranges on charts, creating separate dashboards for different date ranges is recommended.

Comparing versions

A core capability of the Francis platform is the efficient management of versioning, which extends to working with charts. Once a chart is successfully created, navigating to Sources on the chart enables comparison with either (1) data from previous versions of your model or (2) data from a different date range than what is currently in view.

Francis provides built-in Source settings to facilitate the following views:

• The latest forecast version for the year

• Actuals for the period

• Actuals for the same period in the previous year

If you have saved versions of your model, whether by saving your anchor budget or saving forecasts throughout the fiscal year, you can access them through "Sources." This feature allows you to compare, for example, revenue expectations from your budget versus your latest forecast while also considering the most recent actuals from your accounting source.

Charts for reporting purposes

All charts that you create can be included in auto-generated reports. When downloading PDF reports, you will have the option to select individual charts for inclusion, either as part of the month-by-month or the budget variance report.