Actual vs Target Variance Charts in Excel with floating bars

So we are making this awesome Excel variance graph, the easiest actual vs target chart with floating bars, in 5 steps under 1 minute:

Excel Actual vs Target chart in 30 seconds or less!

Download this Excel workbook containing sample data and follow the steps in this tutorial to learn the technique better.

Step 1: Have an active cell inside data and Hit CTRL+A to select the data and then hit ALT+F1 to insert clustered column chart instantly.

Step 2: Having the chart active, go to design tab > click change type button. A new window will pop up. Select combo from the list on the left > change chart type for target series line with markers > Click OK.

Step 3: Right-click on the line series in chart > Click Format data series > From the bar on the right click Fill and line icon > Under line select No line

Step 4: Click Marker > Expand Marker options > Click Built-in > From the drop-down select the marker you like, I went with dash as its more visible on the chart. Increase the size to 15.

Step 5: Remove the chart elements you don’t need. I removed almost everything from title, label, and gridlines to have the following result:

Blazing fast charting in Excel! I mean accountants and analysts have a lot to rejoice and this is one example 🙂

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