The term speedometer is very well known in the automobile industry, however in today’s tutorial, we are going to take a look at how to create Speedometer Chart using google sheets.
Creating visually appealing presentations is a key to a successful business meeting. Indeed, traditional excel charts will certainly boost your confidence but that’s not enough.
In a world increasingly saturated with data and information, visualizations are a potent way to break through the clutter, tell your story, and persuade people to action, says Adam Singer – Analytics Advocate at Google.
As may of you already know, Microsoft Excel does not have a built-in speedometer chart to get you started quickly.
However, excel enthusiasts had put a lot of effort to build one with the help of combo charts, here is a great article about building Gauge chart in excel.
Speedometer Chart – Get started:
Step #1
Head over to Google sheets website and click on → Go to Google Sheets button
Step #2
Login with your Gmail Account credentials
Step #3
Click on → New Spreadsheet button
Let’s start with an example:
In this example, we will use speedometer chart to present Budget vs Actual Revenue data for a business review, so our data looks like below.
Step #1
Select B1: B2 → Click on insert from the menu bar → Chart → Under chart types select Gauge chart → Click on insert
Step #2
Select the Chart → On the right-hand top corner → click on drop down → Select Advanced editor
Step #3
i) On the chart editor section first you need to fill in Gauge range, in our example maximum range will be 200,000 i.e. Budget.
ii) Then you need to define colored ranges → #2 , we have set from 150,000 to 200,000 as a Green area, please change according to your requirement.
iii) Now we need to define median range for Orange color → #4  we have set from 75,000 to 150,000
iv) The last one is a Red range, in which you need to define starting and ending point → #6 & #7 we have set 0 to 75,000
After all the adjustments you can see speedometer chart will somewhat look like below.
v) Click on update to exit from the editing mode
Multiple variant Gauge chart :
For better illustration, we also can use multiple variant Speedometer charts to have a side by side comparison.
For example, if you want to present Forecast number along with Actual data, you have to follow below instructions.
Step #1
We have added another column right after ‘Budget’ column in our table and named as a ‘Forecast’
Step #2
Select B1:C2 range → Insert → Chart → Chart types → Gauge Chart → Insert
Step #3
From Chart dropdown → Advanced Editor → Customization
Step #4
Gauge range → add 200,000 as a max range (as that is our budget)
Step #5
Colored ranges → use same criteria as our first chart → Click insert
after all the changes your chart should look like below.
Similar to the above, you can also add multiple charts for side by side comparison, in case if your data is not perfectly correlated to each other, you may consider using a single chart.
So, what next:
After all your customizations you can simply export your graph as an image and use it in your presentations.
Steps to export Speedometer chart as an image:
Step #1
Resize chart area according to your requirement
Step #2
From the chart drop-down → click on Save image
Step #3
Save your workbook for any other customizations/changes
Also read: 10 tips to create excellent excel reports
Conclusion:
Most of the times business reviews are very stressful. You need to convey your message as quickly as possible to your reviewers with the help of quick notes and eye-catching charts.
Indeed, it’s very true, one picture is equal to 1000 words, so why would you want to waste your time writing lengthy paragraphs to explain?
Instead, you can leverage built-in speedometer charts to impress your reviewer.
So, act now!
Let me know your comments.
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