Recently, a client shared data with me that is clearly a pivot table and wanted me to make another pivot from it using Excel. This is a common and annoying problem we all face when working with Excel. Today, let me share my approaches for creating a pivot from another pivot report using Excel.
Option 1: If you have access to “original” data
Ha, I know, but we can dream eh? So, if you do have access to the original data from which the pivot is generated, just use that data and make the new pivot as you want.
If you need help creating a pivot report in the first place, learn the process here.
Option 2: Making a Pivot from Another Pivot when you don’t have access to original data
Tbh, this is the real scenario for most of us. We have a pivot and don’t have access to the data that was used to make it. Now we need to make another pivot. In this case, follow the below steps.
Pivot from Another Pivot – FREE Excel Template
I created a free Excel template to guide you thru the process with sample data. Download it here and use the sample data to understand the process better.
Step 1: Select and name your pivot range
- Select the entire pivot table (including any headers) in Excel.
- Go to the name box (next to formula bar on the left)
- Type the name “pivot_range”
- Pro tip: If you have multiple pivots, you can use names like “pivot_range1”, “pivot_range2”
See this illustration for the step.
Step 2: Go to Data Ribbon and load up the “pivot” to Power Query
- Keep the pivot table selected
- Go to Data Ribbon
- Click on “From Table/Range” option in the Get & Transform Data area
This will load the Power Query Editor with your Pivot Table Data.
Step 3: Let’s “unpivot” the Pivot Table with Power Query
Now that our “pivot table” is in Power Query, we can “unpivot” it and create a regular table. This can be used to make our new pivot table.
Here is a snapshot of how the Power Query editor looks with the pivot_range data.
[optional step] Promote headers if needed
Depending on how your source Pivot is setup, you may need to adjust the column headings in Power Query. For example, in my case, I need to promote the headers. To do this, click on “Use First Row as Headers” button in the Home ribbon of Power Query editor.
See below illustration.
Step 4: Replace “null” with value from above
In my sample pivot, you can see that Rep name is not printed in all rows, just the first row. This shows up as null in the Power Query editor for rest of the rows. We just need to fill these down based on the top value.
- Select the column(s) with this problem
- Go to “Transform” ribbon in Power Query Editor
- Click on “Fill” and select Down to fill down all the nulls with the value from above
Step 5: Remove rows with “totals” & “sub-totals”
We don’t need totals or sub-totals any more. We will calculate them in the new pivot as needed. For now, let’s remove all the rows and columns that have totals.
- Select the first column that has “total” labels
- Click on “filter” button
- Uncheck any total labels.
- Repeat the steps for any other rows that need this clean-up step.
- Pro tip: Use Text Filters > Does not contain to filter out all rows with “total” word in them.
Step 6: Remove Grand total / Sub-total columns (if any)
Let’s also remove any “grand total” columns and “sub-total” columns from our pivot report. Right click on the column with totals and select “remove” to take this column out.
Step 7: Unpivot the data
Finally, our pivot report is ready to be unpivoted.
- Select the column(s) with row labels. In the above example, I selected “representative” and “day of week” columns
- Pro Tip: Hold SHIFT or CTRL to select multiple columns in one go.
- Right click on the column headings of either column.
- Select “unpivot other columns”
- This should reshape the pivoted data to unpivoted format.
- See this quick demo (GIF):
Step 8: Rename the new “attribute” & “value” columns
Double click on the newly added “attribute” and “value column headers to rename them to appropriate labels. In my case, I named them – Gender & Calls.
Step 9: Load the data back to Excel so we can make the pivot
Ok. We are done. Just load the data back to Excel. To do this, go to “Home” ribbon and click on “Close & Load” button.
Step 10: Create the Pivot from the loaded data
Once the data is in Excel, just select any cell in the data, go to Insert > Pivot Table (shortcut: ALT N V T) and set up the pivot as per your needs. In my case, I needed the pivot report with number of calls by Day of Week & Representative. So here is how I made it (see the quick video demo).
Things to keep in mind:
The Power Query based approach to create pivot from another pivot is great, but you need to keep a few things in mind.
- Doesn’t work for averages: If your original pivot table has “averages” instead of “sums”, the new pivot will not be correct. This is because you will make the mistake of “averaging averages”. This technique works great for sums & counts only. Any other measures like average / median / min /max, you need “actual” data to make the new pivot.
- Power Query steps can get complicated: If your original pivot has a very complex, nested layout, then the PQ steps needed to “transform” data can be complex (but not impossible). I suggest learning how to use Power Query to solve such issues. Refer to this article or video to start your PQ journey.
- Needs refresh for data changes: If your original Pivot table changes (new values or new rows / columns), you need to update the “pivot_range” named range and refresh the power query data.
- To update the named range: Go to Formula ribbon in Excel and click on “Name Manager”. Select the name “pivot_range” and edit it. Adjust the cell references as per your newly updated pivot.
- To Refresh Power Query: Right click on the Power Query data you have loaded in Step 9. Select “Refresh’ to update the loaded data with new changes. Now go to the pivot you made (in step 10) and refresh that too (you guessed it right! Right click and Refresh).
What to do if you get an error (in Power Query):
Errors can happen either during the initial process (steps 3 to 9) or when you refresh the power query connection. Solving the error depends on your exact pivot table layout and what changes were made. But here are the most likely reasons for the error.
- Column names have changed: You will get error if your columns (in the original pivot) were changed between updates. Adjust the names in the original pivot or go to Power Query editor, locate the step where the error is happening and adjust the names there.
- Data type issues: If for some reason, your original pivot’s values are read by Power Query as “text”, it can create issues. Right click on the columns with numbers and explicitly convert them to numbers in PQ.
- Layout changes: If your pivot layout changes (say, instead of 2 columns, it now has 3 columns of row labels), then your refresh will fail. You need to select one more column before unpivoting (step 7).
- Other issues: Leave a comment with the issue / error you are facing so I can help.
Pivot from Another Pivot – FREE Excel Template
I created a free Excel template to guide you thru the process with sample data. Download it here and understand the process better.
In conclusion:
Power Query in Excel offers an elegant, simple and easy way to deal with the annoying issue of using “pivot tables” as data source. I had plenty of success with this method and I hope will too. If you do have any questions or face issues during the process, leave a comment.
66 Responses to “Budget vs. Actual Charts – 14 Charting Ideas You can Use”
[...] Update: Check out the results at Budget vs. Actual Charts [...]
Hi there:
I'm interested in understanding exactly how contestants #'s 1, 8 got their surplus or shortfall to show up at the top of the bar (is this overlapped or stacked somehow) and change colour? I hope this makes sense. I've tried to find samples and I can see contestant 8 (cuboo) may have used something called graphomate but I can't use this.
I need to create a bar chart that shows budget, and actual variance whether it be a surplus or a shortfall and I would like make it look like option 1 or 8 above but haven't a clear idea how to do it...any help would be greatly appreciated!
Regards..Linwe
[...] heute können alle Beiträge auf “Pointy Haired Dilbert” gesichtet und bis zum 12.04. bewertet werden. Falls mein Vorschlag - Nr. 8 - gefällt, freue ich [...]
Danken Sie Excel friend!
#6 is the best here. Simple, no extraneous visual effects.
I was all set to vote for #9...until I noticed its lack of y-axis labels. So I have to go with #6 also.
I think #6,#9 is enough .
#9 is my favorite
Nice data/ink ratio 😉
I agree with Jon - #6 for me.
8 & 14
I go for # 9 (simple) and #14 (complete)
I go for cuboo #8
cheers
#6 for overview at a glance / top management
#8 for deeper analysis / those who need more detailed information
#14 although I think you only need the bottom panel and I then would stack the Center charts vertically to make Center comparisons easier.
#10 gets my vote.
If there is a second place, then #14
denise
Hi, if I was not wrong, Samples 3,4 and 5 were created using Tableau software and not Excel. For more information on Tableau you might want to visit http://www.tableausoftware.com/. It was initially designed by Prof. Pat Hanrahan and his PhD students. I am not their salesperson but I thought someone might want to know more about this particular technology.
Hi Tin Seong Kam:
Thanks - I have looked at Tableau before. I have also found the means to reproduce something similar to chart 8 without using graphomate, and also chart 7. I proposed chart 9 as well but the overlap is confusing to some.
I am really not too concerned about showing actual budget figures but the variance in $ and % is important for my particular use. That is why I gravitate to the charts that seem to easily tell us that we have a surplus or a shortfall.
Thanks!
Linwe
11, 6, 9 (presque pareil)
7 pour la clarté
cuboo #8 ist my favorite
best regards...
8
8 is fantastic
I prefer N#8 - N# 1,7 & 8 use the settings of Rolf Hichert...
6 : The GURU (read "Jon Peltier ") has spoken,
SOO easy on eyes!
Hi Chandoo,
I liked Cuboo's submission. So #8 gets my vote.
Regards,
Sumit
Number 8 by far. Even though it's not part of the data display, the comments feature sells me. Variance explanations are as important as the actual variances.
I visually prefer #8, but #3 is really easier to understand, even if it lacks a lot of information (inverting budget/actual), legend, etc...
[...] All in all there are several great entries suggesting a good variety to present budget vs. actual performance. Go check them out. [...]
[...] reshape, zoo by learnr A reader of a Pointy Haired Dilbert blog enquired about best ways to visualise budget vs. actual performance. In response PHD challenged his blog readers to contribute their visualisations made using Excel or [...]
anyone willing to post their xls for these? Some really excellent exmaples.
To avoid the summary execution of the person presenting these to an executive team these charts must handle overspending as well as underspending, be comprehensible in 5 seconds and show the key fact clearly. The key fact isn't budget or actual - it's the magnitude of the gap!
Therefore:
#14 for nailing the key fact and being able to handle overspending. The winner therefore.
#6 for nailing speed-reading and being able to handle overspending, but somewhat obscuring the key fact. Second place.
#8 for nailing information depth and aesthetics. Third place.
I really wanted #8 to win, but that's the technician's view not the end-user's.
[...] Todas as contribuições podem ser vistas no seguinte endereço: Budget vs. Actual Charts – 14 Options You can Use Posted on April 5th, 2009 http://chandoo.org/wp/2009/04/05/budget-vs-actual-charts/ [...]
Social comments and analytics for this post...
This post was mentioned on Twitter by NancyJHess: I like to explore fav tweets of those I follow. Here is one from DutchDriver http://twurl.nl/17eiap Creative visual charts: Budget vs Actual...
number 8
clean, full of info, qualitative as well as quantitative
Hi,
I Like 4 chart in above as per the following ratings:-
no 1# -> 14***
no 2# -> 7***
no 3 # -> 8**
no 4# -> 1.3**
I will be greateful if someone can send me the process of making all above 4 charts.
Virender
[...] Budget vs. Actual Values in Charts – 14 more options [...]
[...] Budget vs. Actual – 14 charting options [...]
Does anyone know what type of chart #6 is (chart name?)? Also, how do I create this is Excel 2007?
@Shazbot
I'd call it a Column and Bar chart, but don't get hungup on names
To make it try this:
Setup the chart as a Clustered Column Chart
Change the Series so there is 100% overlap, ie: One column is in front of the other
Change the Budget series to a line chart
Set the line color to none
Set the marker style to a Flat Line
Change the marker width to make it the same width as the bar
Change colors and other chart properties to suit
Does anyone have an idea on how to create chart #1?
Thanks
Caroline, please see the german page: http://www.hichert.com/de/software/exceldiagramme/55
there you can find the original example for nr1.
best regards,
stefan
Caroline
This is a Clustered Stacked Column Chart
Which has the column under the Shortfall/Excess colored the same as the Budget
Have a look here
http://chandoo.org/forums/topic/question-about-budget-v-actual
&
http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/clustered-stacked-column-charts/
Hi,
Is it possible to get the source files like the other visualisation challenge (on sales).
Thanks,
Vijay
Dear Chandoo,
I discovered your site by pure chance and I am really thrilled about it and I am learning a lot.
Is it possible to post the source file for this visualisation challenge?
Thanks,
Vijay
[...] Budget vs. Actual Charts in Excel [...]
Dear Chandoo,
How do I create Chart #10 (comparing Budget vs Actual Performaces) by cost center by quarter without the cumulative performance. Do you have an actual example that I could use?
Thanks,
Greg
HI
Does anyone can help me to a to create chart #7? I'm beginer in excel , I started to work two weeks ago and my boss ask me to follow the budget/actual until the end of the year.
SO I really need your help.
Thanks in advance
p.s Sorry for my english ( i'm french)
@OKI, Greg
I have made a mockup of #7 and #10
It is available at:
http://chandoo.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Bud-Act-visualizaion-challenge-7+10..xlsx
#10 is a straight, Pivot Chart/Table but the data has been rearranged to get it into the pivot table
#7 is 2 charts, being a simple Bar Chart and a Scatter Chart with 100% Error Bars
I have used Named Formulas for the two charts.
HELLO Hui
Thanks you very much for your hepl , i really appreciate
Have I nice week
Hi,
I was wondering how can you replicated chart 1.3? The bars looked like there overlapped on two different axis?
Tony
I think 1 & 3 are good.
Hi Chandoo,
Please can you provide a link of the excel sheet for 1. Chart "3 colors and everything is clear"
I would like to drill into the spreadsheet and learn the secrets as how the chart was made.
Many thanks,
Sawan
@Sawan
It is probably 12 seperate charts, I will assume snapped to the underlying cells to ensure they are the same size
The left 3 Charts have a vertical Axis
The bottom 4 Charts have a horizontal Axis
The remainder have no axis
The remaining text maynot be part of the charts but is probably cell content
Saludos,
Como puedo descargar estos maravillosos ejemplos para estudiarlos y analizarlos deseo aprender a realizar este tipo de graficas en Excel.
Gracias,
Dear Chandoo and Hui,
Please would you help me (step by step if possible) to create Chart #8?
Many thanks in advance!
Dear Chandoo,
I think chart #8 is really great. Would really appreciate if you can show basic step to create it.
Thanks 🙂
Hi all,
Is there any step by step tutorial to recreate the the chart #1 please?
Would really appreciate if someone could show me how it done.
Regards
Sawan
Can someone tell me how do you create chart number 2? Thanks!
Am I the only one that can not display any of the images? Would love to take a look at these. This is the ONLY page on the whole website I have had this issue with. 🙁
Dear All,
how can i create chart # 7? is there any link where i can subscribe to your website by paying a certain amount. i want to learn some good excel techniques.
please let me know.
Cant see the images 🙁
Where can I find the link to download some of the above charts?? these are extremely usefull chart and would like to utilize the same.
Waiting for the reply.
Thanks..
I am interested for # 1,6,7,8,9,10,11 its very exciting for me .
Hi,
Just wanted to check, is there any possibility that pivot table or drop down work in power point?
Regards
Satyapal
@Satyapal... you can only use static images or slide animations in Power Point. Not features like pivot tables or drop downs. However, you can embed the entire workbook (or sheet) in a presentation. When clicked this will just open Excel so your users can play with the data.
Is there any instalment kind of facility available for joining the online course of Rs.12000/-.
Regards
Ramesh N
Hi,
I badly want to replicate #10. Can someone help me.. I've checked google to help but I can't figure out how to add the total 🙁
Regards,
Tim