# Chart Recreation Prompts for Claude in Excel Use these prompts in Claude in Excel to recreate each chart. Before using, make sure your financial model data is in the workbook. Replace `[SheetName]` and `[Range]` placeholders with your actual sheet names and cell ranges. --- ## Chart 1 — Revenue Build (Stacked Bar Chart) **Prompt:** > Create a stacked bar chart on a new sheet called "Revenue Build Chart" that shows revenue composition over time. > > - **Data source:** Use the revenue breakdown data from `[SheetName]` — the x-axis should be the time periods (months or quarters) in `[Row/Column with dates]`, and each stacked segment should be a different revenue stream/category from `[Rows/Columns with revenue categories, e.g. Existing Revenue, New Logos, Expansion, etc.]`. > - **Chart type:** Stacked column chart. > - **Colors:** Use a dark professional palette — navy (#1B2A4A), teal (#2E8B8B), forest green (#2D6A4F), slate blue (#4A6FA5), and muted gold (#C4A35A) for the segments. Stack from largest on bottom to smallest on top. > - **Formatting:** Y-axis in dollar format with abbreviated labels (e.g. $1M, $5M). X-axis showing each period label. Add a chart title "Revenue Build". Include a legend at the bottom. Gridlines should be light grey and subtle. White background. > - **Optional line overlay:** If there is a "Total Revenue" or "Growth Rate %" row, overlay it as a line on a secondary axis. > - **Size:** Make it presentation-ready — roughly 800x500px equivalent, clean with no clutter. --- ## Chart 2 — Revenue Waterfall / Bridge **Prompt:** > Create a waterfall chart on a new sheet called "Revenue Bridge Chart" showing how revenue moves from one period to the next. > > - **Data source:** Use the bridge/waterfall data from `[SheetName]` — this should include: Starting Revenue (or Beginning ARR), then incremental items like New Logos, Expansion, Upsell (positive, in green), and Churn, Contraction, Downsell (negative, in red), ending with Ending Revenue (or Ending ARR). > - **Chart type:** Waterfall chart (if available), or a stacked bar chart formatted to look like a waterfall with invisible base bars. > - **Colors:** Green (#2D6A4F) for positive additions, Red (#C0392B) for negative losses, Dark navy (#1B2A4A) for the total/anchor bars (start and end values). > - **Formatting:** Y-axis in dollar format. Each bar should have its value label displayed above/below the bar. Connector lines between bars (thin grey). Chart title: "Revenue Bridge". Clean white background, minimal gridlines. > - **Size:** Presentation-ready, roughly 800x450px equivalent. --- ## Chart 3 — ARR Bridge (Horizontal Stacked Bars) **Prompt:** > Create a horizontal bar chart on a new sheet called "ARR Bridge Chart" showing the ARR movement components. > > - **Data source:** Use the ARR bridge data from `[SheetName]` — categories should include: Beginning ARR, New Business, Expansion, Churn (negative), Contraction (negative), Ending ARR. > - **Chart type:** Horizontal bar chart. Each category is its own bar. Positive items extend right, negative items extend left (or are shown in red extending right with negative labels). > - **Colors:** Green (#2D6A4F) for positive items (New Business, Expansion), Red (#C0392B) for negative items (Churn, Contraction), Dark navy (#1B2A4A) for anchor totals (Beginning ARR, Ending ARR). > - **Formatting:** Dollar-formatted value labels on each bar. Category labels on the left. No gridlines. Chart title: "ARR Bridge". Clean white background. > - **Size:** Presentation-ready, roughly 700x400px equivalent. --- ## Chart 4 — Cohort Retention Heatmap **Prompt:** > Create a cohort retention heatmap table on a new sheet called "Cohort Heatmap". > > - **Data source:** Use the cohort data from `[SheetName]` — rows should be cohorts (by month or quarter of acquisition), columns should be periods since acquisition (Month 0, Month 1, ... Month 12+), and cell values should be retention rates (%) or revenue retention amounts. > - **Format:** This should be a formatted Excel table (not a chart). Each cell should show the value as a percentage or dollar amount. > - **Conditional formatting / heatmap:** Apply a 3-color scale — dark green (#2D6A4F) for high values (100% or highest), yellow/amber (#F39C12) for mid values, and red (#C0392B) for low values. The color should smoothly gradient between these. > - **Formatting:** Bold the cohort labels in the first column. Header row should be dark navy (#1B2A4A) with white text. Add a title row at the top: "Cohort Revenue Retention". Numbers formatted as percentages or abbreviated dollars as appropriate. > - **Size:** Auto-fit column widths. Freeze the first row and first column for easy scrolling. --- ## Chart 5 — P&L Summary (Grouped Bar + Margin Line) **Prompt:** > Create a grouped bar chart on a new sheet called "P&L Summary Chart" comparing key P&L line items across periods. > > - **Data source:** Use the P&L summary data from `[SheetName]` — the x-axis should be time periods (quarters or years), and the grouped bars should represent: Revenue, COGS (or Cost of Revenue), Gross Profit, Total Operating Expenses, and EBITDA (or Net Income). > - **Chart type:** Clustered (grouped) column chart, with an optional line overlay for Gross Margin % or EBITDA Margin % on a secondary axis. > - **Colors:** Revenue in navy (#1B2A4A), COGS in slate (#7B8D9E), Gross Profit in teal (#2E8B8B), OpEx in muted orange (#E67E22), EBITDA in green (#2D6A4F). Margin line in gold (#C4A35A), dashed. > - **Formatting:** Y-axis in dollar format (abbreviated). Secondary y-axis in percentage format if margin line is included. Chart title: "P&L Summary". Legend at the bottom. Light grey gridlines, white background. > - **Size:** Presentation-ready, roughly 900x500px equivalent. --- ## Chart 6 — Cash Flow Waterfall **Prompt:** > Create a waterfall chart on a new sheet called "Cash Flow Waterfall" showing the cash flow bridge. > > - **Data source:** Use the cash flow data from `[SheetName]` — this should include: Beginning Cash Balance, then Operating Cash Flow items, Capital Expenditures (negative), Financing Activities, and Ending Cash Balance. > - **Chart type:** Waterfall chart (or simulated waterfall using stacked bars with invisible bases). > - **Colors:** Green (#2D6A4F) for cash inflows, Red (#C0392B) for cash outflows, Dark navy (#1B2A4A) for anchor totals (beginning and ending cash). Use a lighter green (#A8D5BA) for sub-items if there are multiple operating items. > - **Formatting:** Y-axis in dollar format. Value labels on each bar. Thin connector lines between bars. Chart title: "Cash Flow Bridge". White background, minimal gridlines. > - **Size:** Presentation-ready, roughly 800x450px equivalent. --- ## Chart 7 — KPI Dashboard (Multi-Metric Summary) **Prompt:** > Create a KPI dashboard layout on a new sheet called "KPI Dashboard" with multiple small charts and metric callouts. > > - **Data source:** Pull key metrics from `[SheetName]` — metrics should include items like: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Lifetime Value (LTV), LTV/CAC Ratio, Payback Period (months), Net Revenue Retention (NRR %), Gross Margin %, Burn Rate, and Cash Runway (months). > > - **Layout:** Create a grid of metric cards — each card should have: > - The metric name (bold, dark navy text) > - The current value (large font, prominently displayed) > - A small sparkline or trend indicator (up/down arrow with green/red coloring) > - Prior period value for comparison > > - **Formatting:** Use alternating light grey (#F5F5F5) and white backgrounds for cards. Metric values in their appropriate format (dollars, percentages, multiples, months). Green (#2D6A4F) for positive trends, Red (#C0392B) for negative trends. > > - **Optional mini-charts:** If possible, add small line charts (sparklines) next to each metric showing the last 6-12 periods of trend data. > > - **Size:** Designed to fit on one printable page or slide. Title at top: "Key Performance Indicators". --- ## General Tips for Claude in Excel - Always specify the exact sheet name and cell range where your data lives. - If Claude creates charts that don't look right, ask it to "adjust the chart colors to [hex codes]" or "change the chart type to clustered column". - For waterfall charts: if Excel's native waterfall isn't available, ask Claude to "simulate a waterfall using a stacked bar with an invisible base series". - For the heatmap: this is best done as conditional formatting on a table, not as a chart object. - To make charts presentation-ready for copy-paste into PowerPoint, ask Claude to "remove the chart border, use a white background, and make the title 14pt bold".