Waterfall report
In short
A waterfall report is a chart or table that starts with a beginning value, such as pipeline at the start of the quarter, and shows each increase and decrease that leads to the ending value. In RevOps it is used to explain why pipeline, bookings, or forecast moved between two dates.
Unlike a snapshot report, which shows the total on one day, a waterfall explains the change. Each bar is a category of movement, such as new pipeline created, deals won, deals lost, or deals pushed out.
What a pipeline waterfall shows
- Starting pipeline: Open pipeline at the beginning of the period.
- New pipeline: Opportunities created during the period.
- Increases and decreases: Deals whose amounts grew or shrank.
- Pushed out: Deals moved to a later close date outside the period.
- Closed won and closed lost: Deals that exited the pipeline.
- Ending pipeline: Open pipeline at the end of the period.
Example
Say a team starts the quarter with 2.0 million in open pipeline. It adds 1.2 million of new opportunities, wins 0.7 million, loses 0.5 million, and sees 0.4 million pushed to next quarter. The ending pipeline is 2.0 + 1.2 - 0.7 - 0.5 - 0.4 = 1.6 million. These numbers are illustrative.
The report then raises useful questions: is slippage unusually high, or is new pipeline creation too low to replace what closes?
How to build one
Capture history
Your CRM must record snapshots of opportunity amount, stage, and close date. Without history fields or a snapshot table, you can only see the current state.
Define categories clearly
Agree on what counts as new, pushed, or lost. Document the rules so quarter-to-quarter comparisons stay valid.
Compare the same periods
Use fixed dates, such as week or quarter boundaries, and review the report on a regular cadence.
How to use it
Use it in pipeline reviews and forecast meetings to separate real growth from reshuffling. It can also reveal patterns by segment or rep, such as one team with large slippage.
Common mistakes
- No historical data: Teams try to build it from current records and cannot reconstruct earlier states.
- Inconsistent definitions: If reps edit close dates freely, slippage and new pipeline get mixed up.
- Looking only at totals: The value is in the categories, so review each bar, not just the final number.
Waterfall report FAQs
What is a waterfall report?
A waterfall report is a chart or table that starts with a beginning value and shows each increase and decrease that leads to the ending value. In sales it explains how pipeline or forecast changed between two dates.
What is a pipeline waterfall report used for?
A pipeline waterfall report helps RevOps and sales leaders see why open pipeline changed over a period. It separates new pipeline, won and lost deals, amount changes, and slipped close dates so teams can act on the real driver.
How do you build a waterfall report in a CRM?
Store snapshots or field history for opportunity amount, stage, and close date, define categories such as new, pushed, won, and lost, then compare the start and end of a fixed period. Visualize the movements as stacked bars or a table.
What is the difference between a waterfall report and a snapshot report?
A snapshot report shows totals on a single date, such as current open pipeline. A waterfall report shows how a total changed between two dates by breaking the movement into categories like new, lost, won, and pushed deals.
