Pie and doughnut charts in Excel - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a visual report showing the sales distribution by product category for the last quarter. They want both a pie chart and a doughnut chart to compare the proportions easily.

📊 Data: You have sales data for five product categories with total sales amounts for the last quarter.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a pie chart and a doughnut chart that display the sales distribution by product category. The charts should have clear labels and a legend.

Sample Data

Product Category	Sales Amount
Electronics	45000
Clothing	30000
Home & Garden	15000
Sports	10000
Books	5000

1

Step 1: Enter the sales data into two columns: 'Product Category' in column A and 'Sales Amount' in column B, starting from row 2.

Expected Result

Data is organized with categories in A2:A6 and sales amounts in B2:B6.

2

Step 2: Select the range A2:B6 containing the product categories and sales amounts.

Expected Result

The data range is highlighted and ready for chart creation.

3

Step 3: Insert a Pie Chart: Go to the Insert tab, click on 'Pie Chart', and select the first 2-D Pie option.

Expected Result

A pie chart appears showing the sales distribution by product category.

4

Step 4: Add data labels to the pie chart: Click the chart, then click the '+' icon, check 'Data Labels', and choose 'Percentage'.

Expected Result

Each slice of the pie chart shows the percentage of total sales it represents.

5

Step 5: Insert a Doughnut Chart: With the same data range selected, go to Insert tab, click 'Pie Chart' dropdown, and select 'Doughnut'.

Expected Result

A doughnut chart appears showing the sales distribution by product category.

6

Step 6: Add data labels to the doughnut chart: Click the chart, then click the '+' icon, check 'Data Labels', and choose 'Percentage'.

Expected Result

Each segment of the doughnut chart shows the percentage of total sales it represents.

7

Step 7: Add a chart title to both charts: Click on each chart title area and type 'Sales Distribution by Product Category'.

Expected Result

Both charts have clear titles describing the data shown.

Final Result

Pie Chart: Sales Distribution by Product Category

  Electronics 45%
  Clothing 30%
  Home & Garden 15%
  Sports 10%
  Books 5%

Doughnut Chart: Sales Distribution by Product Category

  [Electronics 45%] [Clothing 30%] [Home & Garden 15%] [Sports 10%] [Books 5%]

(Each segment labeled with percentage and legend showing categories)

✓Electronics is the largest sales category with 45% of total sales.

✓Clothing is the second largest category with 30%.

✓Books have the smallest share at 5%.

✓Pie and doughnut charts visually show the sales proportions clearly.

Bonus Challenge

Create a combined chart sheet that places both the pie chart and doughnut chart side by side for easy comparison.

Show Hint

Use the 'Move Chart' option to create a new chart sheet and arrange both charts next to each other.