Graphs and charts for business data

Presenting business data visually.

Accountancy/Book Keeping5 questions
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The essentials

Graphs and charts present numerical business data visually so that trends, comparisons and proportions can be understood at a glance. Spreadsheets create charts directly from a selected data range, and the chart updates automatically when the data changes.

Key points

  • Column and bar charts: compare values across categories (for example, sales of different products). Column charts use vertical bars; bar charts use horizontal bars.
  • Line charts: show trends over time (for example, monthly sales over a year).
  • Pie charts: show parts of a whole as slices; they display a single data series.
  • Area charts: show the size of change over time.
  • XY (scatter) charts: show the relationship between two numeric variables (for example, advertising spending and sales).
  • Chart elements: chart title, axis titles, legend, data series, data labels and gridlines.
  • Steps: select the data range, choose the chart type, then add titles, labels and legend.

Exam tips

Questions usually describe the purpose (trend, comparison, share, relationship) and ask for the most suitable chart. Learn this matching.

Common mistakes

  • Using a pie chart for data over many periods; a line chart shows trends better.
  • Omitting titles and labels, which makes a chart hard to read.

Practice questions

Which chart is most suitable for showing a company's monthly sales trend over a year?Easy
The share of each department in a firm's total expenses is best shown by aEasy
A manager wants to compare the sales of five products in a single year. Which chart is most suitable?Medium
Which chart element identifies what each colour or series in a chart represents?Medium
An analyst wants to check whether higher advertising spending is linked with higher sales across 30 months. Which chart…Hard
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