Overview

The Pipeline Waterfall chart answers one question: “Why did my pipeline change?” It compares your open pipeline at two points in time, classifies each deal based on what happened between those points, and shows the net dollar impact of each type of change. The result always balances: your starting pipeline plus every gain minus every loss equals your ending pipeline. The chart is denominated in USD.

How to Read the Pipeline Waterfall Chart

Bars appear left to right in a fixed order. The first and last bars are gray and show your opening and closing pipeline totals. Everything in between explains the movement. Bar colors:

Gray - Start and End. Absolute totals, not changes.
Green - Deals that added to your pipeline:
- Created (new deals)
- Pulled In (existing deals that entered the window)
- Amount Increased (deal values that went up)
Red - Deals that reduced your pipeline:
- Amount Decreased (deal values that went down)
- Pushed Out (anticipated close date moved outside the window)
- Lost (closed lost)
- Won (closed won - removed from open pipeline)

The chart balance:

Start + (Created + Pulled In + Amount Increased) - (Amount Decreased + Pushed Out + Lost + Won) = End

Data labels above each bar show the net dollar amount in compact format (e.g., $42k, $1.2M).

Pipeline Waterfall chart example showing green increase bars and red decrease bars

In the example above, the pipeline started at $19k, gained $422k from new deals and amount increases (+$417k created, +$5k increased), and lost $394k through pushed-out deals (-$140k), lost deals (-$158k), and closed-won deals (-$96k), ending the quarter at $42k.

Waterfall Buckets

The chart uses ten buckets. A deal can appear in more than one bucket when multiple things changed during the period - for example, a deal that was pulled into the window and then closed lost will appear in both Pulled In and Lost.

Bucket	What it means	Bar color	Amount contribution
Start	Open deals with a close date inside the window at the start of the period. Your opening balance.	Gray	= Start Amount
Unchanged	Open deals in-window at both snapshots with no amount change. Contributes $0 - hidden from the chart, visible in table view only.	None	= 0
Created	New deals created during the period with a close date in the window.	Green	= End Amount
Pulled In	Existing deals that were not in the starting pipeline but entered it during the period. Covers: close date moved into the window, deal reopened, or deal reopened then closed.	Green	= Start Amount
Amount Increased	Tracked deals whose net amount went up between the two snapshots.	Green	= End Amount - Start Amount
Amount Decreased	Tracked deals whose net amount went down between the two snapshots.	Red	= End Amount - Start Amount (negative)
Pushed Out	Deals whose close date moved outside the window and are still open at the end of the period.	Red	= -End Amount
Lost	Deals that became Closed Lost during the period and were relevant to the pipeline.	Red	= -End Amount
Won	Deals that became Closed Won during the period. Won deals are removed from open pipeline.	Red	= -End Amount
End	Open deals with a close date inside the window at the end of the period. Your closing balance.	Gray	= End Amount

The Two Time Filters

The Pipeline Waterfall requires two date filters that serve different purposes. Understanding both is essential before interpreting the chart. Snapshot Date answers: When did changes happen? This is your observation window. The lower boundary is the “before” snapshot; the upper boundary is the “after” snapshot. The chart reconstructs each deal’s stage, amount, and close date at each boundary using field history. Close Date Window answers: Which deals are we tracking? This defines the group of deals you care about, based on their anticipated close date. Only deals whose close date falls inside this range - at the start snapshot, the end snapshot, or at any point during the period - are included. Example:

Snapshot Date: March 1 - March 31
Close Date Window: Q2 2026 (April 1 - June 30)

This shows everything that happened during March to deals expected to close in Q2. A deal that moved its close date from April into July during March would appear in the Pushed Out bucket. Both filters default to This Quarter when you create a new report.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Creating a Pipeline Waterfall Report

Go to Reporting.
Click Create - Report.
Select Pipeline Waterfall as the chart type.
The report opens with Snapshot Date and Close Date Window both set to This Quarter.

The waterfall chart shows the aggregated amounts with signs for each bucket, from positive (created, pulled in, amount increased) amounts on the left to negative amounts to the right.

For general report setup (saving, naming, adding to dashboards) see Building Reports from Datasets.

Adjusting Filters

Click Filters - Add condition.
Select Snapshot Date and set the period you want to analyze (e.g., last month, last quarter).
Select Close Date Window and set the deals you want to track (e.g., this quarter, next quarter).

Filter panel showing Snapshot Date and Close Date Window both set to This Quarter

Optional Filters

Filter	What it does
Pipeline	Scope to a specific pipeline. When absent, uses the default pipeline.
Owner	Filter by the current opportunity owner.
Forecast Category	Filter by the opportunity’s current rep forecast category.
Forecast Leadership Category	Filter by the opportunity’s current leadership forecast category.
Stage Default Forecast Category	Filter by the forecast category derived from the opportunity’s current stage.
Opportunity	Narrow to a single specific opportunity.

Drilling Down Into a Bucket

There are two ways to further explore each bucket:

To view aggregated data, select Table view in the top right corner.
To view what opportunities make up a bucket, hover over any bar and click. Each row is one opportunity. Click any column header to sort.

These columns appear by default:

Column	What it shows
Opportunity Name	The deal name
Start Amount	The deal’s amount at the start snapshot
Amount Changed	The signed dollar contribution to the waterfall bar
End Amount	The deal’s amount at the end snapshot
Start Stage	The deal’s stage at the start snapshot
End Stage	The deal’s stage at the end snapshot

To add more columns, use Additional Fields in the report builder. How Amount Changed is calculated per bucket:

Bucket	Amount Changed
Start	= Start Amount
Created	= End Amount (Start Amount is 0 - deal did not exist yet)
Pulled In	= Start Amount
Amount Increased	= End Amount - Start Amount
Amount Decreased	= End Amount - Start Amount (negative)
Pushed Out	= -End Amount
Lost	= -End Amount
Won	= -End Amount
Unchanged	= 0
End	= End Amount

Styling Options

Under Styling in the report builder:

Option	Default	What it does
Show data labels	On	Displays compact USD amounts above each bar (e.g., $42k, $1.2M)
Show legend	On	Shows the Increase / Decrease / Total color key
Show grid	On	Horizontal grid lines behind the bars
Show tooltips	On	Hover a bar to see the exact dollar value

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Can one deal appear in more than one bucket?

Yes. A deal appears in every bucket that applies to it. For example, a deal that was pulled into the window and then closed lost during the same period appears in both Pulled In and Lost. The signed amounts are additive, so the waterfall balance still holds.

What if a deal's amount changed several times during the period?

The chart shows net change only - the deal’s amount at the start snapshot compared to its amount at the end snapshot. Intermediate changes are not surfaced individually. For example: a deal that went $100k - $150k - $120k shows as Amount Increased with a +$20k delta.

Why does the Unchanged bucket not appear on the chart?

Unchanged deals contribute $0, so there is no bar to render. Switch to Table view to see Unchanged deals and their deal count.

Why does a Pushed Out or Pulled In deal show Start Amount of zero?

This happens when a deal’s close date entered the close date window mid-period rather than being in-window from the start. Because the deal was not part of the starting pipeline, it had no amount recorded at the start snapshot, so Start Amount is $0.

Why can't I change the dataset for this chart?

The Pipeline Waterfall chart type is pre-wired to the Pipeline Waterfall dataset. The bucket logic, signed amounts, and chart rendering depend on that dataset’s structure and cannot be decoupled from it.

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Pipeline Waterfall Chart

Overview