Visualize your data with a new set of charts: Treemap, Butterfly, Sankey, and Cluster charts in Zoho CRM

Visualize your data with a new set of charts: Treemap, Butterfly, Sankey, and Cluster charts in Zoho CRM

Dear customers,

When it comes to analytics, it's not just about the numbers; it's about understanding the story behind them. 

With that philosophy in mind, we’re excited to introduce a line of representations to the existing array of chart types in Zoho CRM: Treemap, butterfly, sankey and cluster charts. Let's go!

Treemaps

Treemap charts are used to visually represent hierarchical datasets in a rectangular layout. It aligns its parent categories as larger tiles with their sub-categories nested within them. The size of each tile is proportional to its corresponding value, making it easy to compare different segments within the hierarchy.

This is how a treemap chart looks:


These structured data representations help you understand overall performance and contributions, as well as compare participating entities at a glance.
 
Unlike traditional bar charts or pie charts, treemaps can be used if your datasets are large and exhibit parent-child relationships.
 
Here are some examples to better understand their usage:
 

Comparing revenue distribution between functions

A company's revenue is distributed among its functions before it gets further disbursed to its employees. Treemap charts can be used to depict this distribution and compare it between functions. As you can see below, the hierarchy can be represented as a treemap to compare it directly with other functions:


The hierarchy at the top shows just the numbers and levels, but the treemap chart represents the numbers proportionally, allowing leaders to visualize the difference in distribution.
 
Interpretation: As you can easily see in the treemap, sales and marketing receive the same amount of revenue, while engineering is given significantly more than the other two.

Likewise, with treemap charts, you can:
  • Compare popular lead sources with lead counts is the measure and lead source being the participating entity—a classic single-grouping configuration.
  • View cost savings achieved across departments. With the departments as the grouping parameters and the cost saved as the measured amount, the chart lays out all the departments as tiles in proportion, based on money saved.
  • Compare ad spends across channels, where channels are the parent grouping and ad spend is the measured unit.

Butterfly

Butterfly charts are used to compare two related datasets side-by-side, resulting in a representation that looks like a butterfly or tornado.
 
Now, how does it differ from bar charts?
 
The standard bar chart can compare two entities for a given measure. Say, you are comparing the performance of Mary and Charles. The two users' data is represented using bars, and the length will denote their performances. But, when it comes to comparing their performances over a period or their contribution across different stages, a bar chart is not sufficient.
 
A butterfly chart, though, will let you visually compare Mary and Charles' contributions directly and compare their own metrics across duration or other attributes.

With butterfly charts, you can:
  • Compare revenue between two of your branches each month. With branches being compared for sum of sales revenue, grouped by closing date.
  • Compare the performance of two reps in a given quarter. Compared between two users for average of amount of deals, grouped by closing date until today.

In addition to the user-based comparison above, butterfly charts are well-suited to visualizing other types of data comparisons, like:
  • Picklist-based comparisons
  • Duration-based comparisons
  • Aggregate-based comparisons

Business scenario


Comparing the number of deals closed for each lead sources: Duration-based comparison

You can identify the productive lead source by comparing the number of deal closures for every lead source in your organization based on their closing week.


Analyzing effective sales methodology, inbound vs. outbound: Picklist-based comparison


Businesses use both inbound and outbound lead generation strategies, and each of these methods can reap different results based on the season and occasion. By comparing inbound versus outbound each month, you can identify which works best at what time.

Analyze the amount versus the expected revenue between accounts: Aggregate-based comparison


Expected revenue is a result of a deal's progression in the sales pipeline. Comparing the amount versus their expected revenue will not only help visualize the expected revenue of participating accounts but also indicate the accounts' stage in the sales pipeline.


Sankey

A Sankey Chart is designed to visualize the movement of data across different data groups. Unlike traditional charts—such as bar, column, pie, or donut—that mainly provide a static distribution of values, the Sankey Chart focuses on illustrating the flow between multiple segments or grouping fields. This makes it an ideal choice when you want to track how values (like lead counts, revenue, or deal statuses) move from one category to the next.

Info
Key features
  • Flow visualization: With the Sankey Chart, you can observe the movement of data between different groups.
  • Multiple grouping fields: This chart works best when you have at least two grouping fields. You can go even further and add a third grouping to see an even more detailed mapping of your data flow.
  • Simple configuration: The configuration for the Sankey Chart is as simple as any other chart type in Analytics. 
Business scenarios:

Imagine you’re a sales manager trying to get a better handle on your team’s performance and your company’s pipeline. You want to understand not just how many deals are coming in, but also which sources are contributing the most value—and how those deals are progressing through different sales stages.
Let’s say you want to understand which lead sources are driving the most deal activity and how those deals progress through the pipeline. You can create a Sankey chart that maps the count of deals from Lead Source to Stage.

Let’s say you want to understand which lead sources are driving the most deal activity and how those deals progress through the pipeline. You can create a Sankey chart that maps the count of deals from Lead Source to Stage.



After analyzing the chart, you might notice that Online Store brings in a high volume of early-stage deals, while sources like External Referral contribute fewer deals that are more likely to reach advanced stages like Proposal or Negotiation.

This insight helps you prioritize nurturing the most profitable channels.

Sankey charts can also be helpful in other operational scenarios where understanding transitions across stages or teams is essential:
  • Regional revenue distribution: Visualize how revenue flows across different regions, product categories, and their corresponding annual revenue. This helps you compare which regions contribute the most to each product line and where your high-value segments lie.
  • Ticket handling flow: Visualize the flow of support tickets from their origin channel to internal departments and finally to resolution statuses. This can reveal workload imbalances or common points of delay in your support process.

Cluster  

A cluster chart is similar to stacked column charts, but instead of stacking horizontally, the data is represented as vertical bars. As you create a column chart with multiple groupings, you can change the type of column chart to a cluster chart to achieve this representation.
 
In the above image, you can see the stacked column chart compares the number of lead conversions based on popular sources between countries. The stacks appearing on top of existing stacks ask you to calibrate the record count (y-axis) based on the previous stacks, which can lead to inaccurate interpretations. In this case, a cluster representation will paint a clearer picture of the analyses.

Other minor enhancements:

In addition to the three charts we mentioned above, we've also made the following minor changes:
  • Display total summary: Thus far, for all charts, each participating measure included labels. Now, to better understand overall contributions, a check box to display the total summary is provided under More options on the Chart Configuration page. Based on the configuration, the total revenue or the rolled-up quantities will be prominently displayed.


  • Merge Y-axis: For charts that use two y-axis measurements, the intention is to view the progression of one entity against these two measures. Despite the scale, if the y-axis on the left is disproportionate to the values of the y-axis on the right, the plotted graph will result in a graphically and logically incorrect representation.

    As you can see in the image below, the plot area of the sum of amount bar and the sum of expected revenue aligns close together, while, the difference between $700,000 and $40,500 is drastic, creating inaccurate interpretations.

    In this enhancement, we're allowing neighboring values of measures to merge so that the interpretation can be more visually accurate.

  • Clone components to a different dashboard: Dashboards in Analytics serve in unique ways for various audiences—there can be separate dashboards for the sales team, marketing team, engineering team, and so on, and the chances of using the same measure for reference is common. Thus, when you clone a chart, you can now determine the target dashboard in which the cloned chart can be placed.

That's about treemap, butterfly, Sankey, and Cluster charts in Zoho CRM. With Waterfall chart following suit, we will open these charts for all customers gradually. For now, these are open for customers in the US DC. 

Resource: Help document

Thanks and have a good one!

Kind regards,
Saranya Balasubramanian


      • Recent Topics

      • Can't create package until Bill created?

        I can't understand why we cannot create a package until a Bill is created? We are having to created draft Bills to create a package when the item is received, but we may not have received a Bill from the supplier. Also, Bill # is required, but we normally
      • Whats the Time out Limit for API Calls from Deluge?

        Hi Creator Devs, We are making API calls to third party server via Deluge. Getting this error message: Error at line : 24, The task has been terminated since the API call is taking too long to respond. Please try again after sometime. Whats the default
      • How to get the authorization code for domain transfer from Zoho?

        I have transferred my domain from zoho to godaddy, and that needs a authorization code. I haven't got any mail containing that. How to get the authorization code from domain transfer? Thanks, Arun
      • I have error AS101 when I try to add paypal@mydomain.com to Zoho

        Please help me with this. I tried to call the help line 4 times but don't get any response.
      • Tip #3: How to change your booking page language

        Displaying your booking page in your target audience's language can greatly increase customer satisfaction. By speaking their language, you will help customers feel more comfortable scheduling with you and create a stronger connection with them. Let's
      • How can I optimize a Zoho Site page for SEO when embedding external menu or restaurant links?

        Hi everyone, I’m experimenting with building small content hubs on Zoho Sites and want to make sure I’m doing it in an SEO-friendly way. For example, I tried creating a page that highlights restaurant menu items and linked out to a resource like this:
      • Diff signature for compose new email and replies

        Hi,   How do i have different signature for replies and new emails. its inconvenient to have one large signature for replies. Usually on Outlook we have the option to keep separate signatures for new emails and for replies.
      • Zoho Website Site Speed Up & Setting

        We are experiencing slow loading speeds on our Zoho website and would like assistance in optimizing its performance. Kindly review the site and suggest or implement necessary improvements to enhance speed, especially related to: > Caching mechanisms >
      • Clickjacking: Zoho Vault's Response

        Issue: Password manager browser extensions are found to be vulnerable to clickjacking security vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to steal account credentials, TFA codes, and card details under certain conditions. Reported by: Marek Toth, Independent
      • Refund

        Hi There, Please refund me asap possible, because of no support given. Thank you
      • No option for pick up in Zoho Books / Inventory but yes on commerce

        Is it planned to release soon on books/inventory?
      • Accessing Zoho form enteries via API

        Hi As a user I can view enteries to a form at: https://forms.zoho.com/<myOrganisation>/report/<myReportName>/records/web How do I access these entries via API? I don't have any problem with scope and getting tokens. But I have no idea what the API call
      • Blueprint Issue - Being able to set a subform field as mandatory

        I'm creating a blueprint. My record involves a subform which is only shown once field is set but the field gets set in step two of the process. My problem - I can't save the record as the subform field is set to mandatory - If I unset the mandatory field,
      • Blueprint - Mandatory file upload field

        Hi, File upload (as we as image upload) field cannot be set as mandatory during a blueprint transition. Is there a workaround? Setting attachments as mandatory doesn't solve this need as we have no control over which attachments are added, nor can we
      • Zoho Books - Include Quote Status in Workflow Field Triggers

        Hi Zoho Books team, I recently tried to create a Workflow rule based on when a Quote is Accepted by the customer. This is something which I thought would be very easy to do, however I discovered that Status is not listed as a field which can be monitored
      • Zoho Books - Show Related Sales Orders on Quotes

        Hi Books team, I've noticed that the Quotes don't show show the related Sales Order. My feature request is to also show related Sales Orders above the Quote so it's easy to follow the thread of records in the sales and fulfilment process. Below screenshot
      • Add VAT/Tax line to bank adjustments

        When categorising transactions and matching bank feeds with transactions such as customer payments, we use the "Add Adjustment" to add things like fees/bank fees. It would be useful to choose a VAT/Tax rate here. Whilst there is a bank charges option when adding a payment, this goes into the default bank charges account. We use the adjustments so that we can choose the account and separate our fees. We use different card providers and Worldpay charges VAT so we are stuck. We cannot integrate with
      • New Menu Layout Feedback

        I'd really like to see the banking item back on the top of the menu. I'm sure part of it is just because that's what I'm accustomed to. However, for a bookkeeping program, I think there's a logic to having banking be on top. Not a giant issue, but something
      • How to use Rollup Summary in a Formula Field?

        I created a Rollup Summary (Decimal) field in my module, and it shows values correctly. When I try to reference it in a Formula Field (e.g. ${Deals.Partners_Requested} - ${Deals.Partners_Paid}), I get the error that the field can’t be found. Is it possible
      • Form Accessibility

        Hi, is there an update on the accessibility standard of Zoho forms? Are the forms WCAG 2.1 AA compliant? 
      • Cannot schedule report delivery

        The only 'send option' available when exporting reports is 'immediately' The option to schedule the report is missing.
      • adding attachment in sendmail script where attachment is in a CRM field

        Hi all, I have a custom field of type 'File Upload' in one of my modules in my CRM. I want to include the file in that field as an attachment to an email - which is done from a button on  the 'Results' module. I have created a script and a button to initiate an email from that module. The Deluge scripting window has allowed me to add arguments for all the fields I need to use except for the one file upload type field. My script currently looks like the below (content of the email omitted). As you
      • [Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - AI-Enhanced Insurance Claim Management in Zoho Creator

        Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. Struggling with lengthy claim processes, a lack of visibility into
      • Not sure how to use credits to my account

        Hi I have a $50 credit to my account. I'm just wondering how I can apply that to either a current invoice or to try a new service. Any advice would be great, thanks. Kind Regards Chris
      • Control who sees Timeline and Interactions in Zoho CRM through Profiles

        The feature has been enabled for all DCs (except US, EU, and IN DCs). We will be rolling it out to the other DCs in the upcoming days. Dear All, In a CRM, not all users would require access to the history of a record. For instance, a Marketing Operations
      • Zoho Desk Integration - Add the option to send the estimate from the Zoho Desk Ticket Integration

        Hi, Currently in the Zoho Desk integration, the user is able to create an estimate from a ticket, once the estimate is created the user can see the estimate under the ticket (see screenshot below), but is not able to send that estimate from Zoho Desk.
      • Utilisation de Zoho en conformité avec l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI)

        Cher(e) client(e), Conformément à l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI) impose aux entreprises assujetties à la TVA d’utiliser des systèmes de caisse ou de gestion commerciale certifiés lorsqu’elles enregistrent des ventes à des particuliers.
      • CRM Validation Rules Support Only Single Condition

        Simply put, CRM validation rules support only a single condition for each field on "All Records". You also cannot specify additional validation rules on the same field because it has already been used in an existing validation rule. The ONLY solution
      • Unapproved Leaves are hard to distinguish in Attendance View

        This is a an unapproved leave request It appears in the Attendance view without any visual indicator if its approved or not For a whole day request this might be manageable but for hourly requests it gets very hard to know which are approved, which are
      • Performance Appraisal Probation Period

        Hello All,  Is there any possible way to create an appraisal cycle for new staff members, at the end of probation period? Many thanks!
      • Zoho Creatorの一括操作における処理の同期/非同期について

        現在、Creatorのレポート機能を利用して、複数のレコードに対して一括で処理を実行しようとしていますが、処理の実行順序について確認したいことがあります。 レポート内の複数レコードに一括で処理を実行した際、処理は同期的に行われるのでしょうか?それとも非同期的に行われるのでしょうか? 【同期処理の場合】 レコード①に対する処理が開始され、終了後にレコード②に対する処理が開始され、最後にレコード③に対する処理が実行されるように、処理が順番に行われる場合。 【非同期処理の場合】 レコード①、レコード②、レコード③の処理が一斉に開始され、それぞれ並行して処理が行われ、全処理が終了する場合。
      • Mail Delivery Failed

        Good morning,   I have just set up an account with 5 users, however each time a message is sent to 1 user a m'mail delivery failed' message is generated. See below.   Any ideas   Thanks   Rob   This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed: robb@thesmartgroup.ae mailbox is full: retry timeout exceeded ------ This is a copy of the message,
      • Delete commerce website

        I need to delete a commerce website, but the only option is to click on settings, REQUEST DELETE, choose an urgency notice, add a message....AND THEN nothing, no way to send the request. Why is nothing simple!?!?!  I just want to delete the store.  The
      • Adding external users to Zoho Social under Zoho ONE licence - how to best achieve this

        My client has a small business, and we are looking to implementing Zoho ONE with a single flexible user licence as that is all they really need and offers the best pricing for the range of modules we eventually wish to set them up with, one of which will
      • Has anyone built a custom AI support agent inside Zoho (SalesIQ/Zobot)?

        Hi all, I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI support assistant and wanted to see if anyone here has tackled something similar within Zoho. Right now, I’ve set up a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline outside of Zoho using FAISS. It
      • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

        Problem Description: One of our sales agents in our organization is unable to sign in to Zoho Mail. When attempting to log in, the following message appears: This mobile number has been marked as spam. Please contact support at as@zohocorp.com @zohocorp
      • What’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025

        Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additions
      • When Zoho Tables Beta will be open to EU data center

        Hello all, We in EU are looking at you all using and testing and are getting jealous :) When we will be able to get into the beta also? We don't mind testing and playing with beta software. Thank you!
      • Pass current date to a field using Zoho Flow

        I am trying to generate an invoice automatically once somebody submits a record in Zoho CRM. I get an error in the invoice date. I have entered {{zoho.currentdate}} in the Date field. When I test the flow, I get "Zoho Books says "Invalid value passed
      • API: Mark Sales Order as Open + Custom Status

        Hi, it's possible to create Custom Status (sub-status actually) states for the Sales Order. So you have Open, Void. Then under Open you can have Open, and create one called Order Paid, Order Shipped, etc etc...which is grouped under Open. I can use the
      • Next Page