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

      • Marketing Automation Requirements Questions

        I would like to set up a multi-email drip campaign- please see the structure below and confirm if I can achieve this set up in Zoho marketing automation. Where applicable, highlight gaps and workarounds. Thanks Drip email campaign- Can I create one drip

      • Question about using custom_fields in Storefront Add-to-Cart API (error 2003 – required details)

        Hi everyone, I’m working with the Zoho Commerce Storefront API, specifically the Add to Cart endpoint: POST /storefront/api/v1/cart According to the documentation, this endpoint supports a custom_fields parameter for adding line-item custom data. I’m

      • Can a project be cloned?

        Good afternoon, greetings. I would like to ask if it's possible to clone a project in Microsoft Project. I found a way to do it using templates, but I'm not sure if there's a direct way to clone a project. Thank you in advance for your attention, and

      • Timesheet Tasks in Zoho Books: associate to service item

        How do we associate a service item to timesheet tasks in Zoho Books? For example: Joe spent 5 hours on project:task1 which is Service Item#1 (Income:Service1). When the invoice is issued thru the Project Invoice section, this is not available. When the

      • Task/Activity indicator in SalesPipeline overview has disappeared

        I Just logged in my ZOHO CRM first 2026 checking my salespipeline overview , Every record card used to show an indication that there was an open task (Yellow if the expiry date was close, red if the expiry date was today and grey when it had expired).

      • Tip #56- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Hearing- 'Insider Insights'

        As we begin the new year, it’s a great time to focus on making our tools more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varying lighting conditions, and users with diverse accessibility needs.

      • Zoho Desk Android app update: Table view for All Departments view, custom button

        Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9.25) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, we have introduced Table view for the 'All Departments' view in the ticket module. We also have supported an option that allows tickets in the Table view to be sorted

      • What's New - December 2025 | Zoho Backstage

        In December, Backstage introduced a focused set of updates that improve how you manage registrations, communicate with attendees, and track participation. These enhancements are designed to give organizers greater flexibility and clearer control across

      • Add multiple users to a task

        When I´m assigning a task it is almost always related to more than one person. Practical situation: When a client request some improvement the related department opens the task with the situation and people related to it as the client itself, the salesman

      • A Roundup of Zoho Sprints 2025

      • Sorting Custom Date in API isn't working w pagination limit

        How can we sort a custom field with DATE using pagination? Starting at page=1 then moving to page=2 with a limit of 10 each, its all messed up and even shows some of the same records as page 1? https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/INVOICE_MODULE/search?criteria=(FM_Contact_ID:equals:1234)&sort_by=Invoice_Date&sort_order=desc&per_page=10&page='

      • SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

        We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration

      • Enhancement in Role and Profile mapping of agents in Sandbox

        Hello everyone! We have brought in a modification in the way users are mapped to a particular role and profile in Sandbox. What has changed? When agents are copied from production to Sandbox: If a user's current role and profile is available in Sandbox,

      • The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook

        My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital

      • Decimal places settings for exchange rates

        Hello, We are facing issues while matching vendor payments with banking feeds. As we often import products/services exchange rate comes into play. Currently, ZOHO allows only six digits for decimal places. We feel that conversions like JPY to INR require

      • Zoho removed ability to see all Scheduled Reports!

        If you are not the owner of a scheduled report, Zoho recently removed the capability to see each scheduled report. As an admin who relies on seeing all scheduled reports being sent, this is a terrible update. Now I cannot see ANY scheduled reports...even the ones I am being sent!!  This should be a setting for admins to control.  This is a bad update.

      • Automate Backups

        This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.

      • GCLID and Zoho Bookings

        Is there anyway to embed a Zoho Bookings signup on a landing page and pass the GCLID information? More specifically, can this be done using auto-tagging and not manual tagging the GCLID? I know Zappier has an integration to do this but is there a better

      • Merge Items

        Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.

      • Create PO from an invoice

        We are a hardware and software sales company which receives orders over the internet. We drop ship most of our products from a warehouse outside of our company. Our orders get sync'd into Zoho from our store via onesaas as invoices. It would be great

      • Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books

        Can I implement Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books? Example, use case could be, Agent confirms from client that payment is done, but bank only syncs transactions tomorrow. in this case, Agent can update invoice status to done, and

      • Resetting auto-number on new year

        Hi everyone! We have an auto-number with prefix "D{YYYY}-", it generates numbers like D2025-1, D2025-2, etc... How can we have it auto-reset at the beginning of the next year, so that it goes to D2026-1? Thanks!

      • The Social Wall: December 2025

        Hello everyone! As we wrap up the final edition of the Social Wall for 2025, it’s the perfect time to look at what went live during December. QR code generator From paying for coffee to scanning metro tickets, QR codes are everywhere and have made everyday

      • Custom AI solutions with QuickML for Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone, Earlier, we introduced Custom AI Solutions in CRM that let you access QuickML for your custom AI needs. Building on that foundation, we’ve now enabled a deeper integration: QuickML models can be seamlessly integrated into CRM, and surface

      • Helper Functions and DRY principle

        Hello everyone, I believe Deluge should be able to use 'Helper functions' inside the main function. I know I can create different standalones, but this is not helpful and confusing. I don't want 10000 different standalones, and I dont want to have to

      • Introducing workflow automation for the Products module

        Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin's Products module. The Products module in Bigin now supports Workflows, enabling you to automate routine actions. Along with this update,

      • Zia Formula Expression Generator for Formula fields

        Hello everyone! Formula fields are super useful when you want your CRM to calculate things for you but writing the expression is where most people slow down. You know what you want, but you’re not fully sure which function to use, how the syntax should

      • Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration

        Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside

      • Wrapping up 2025 on a high note: CRM Release Highlights of the year

        Dear Customers, 2025 was an eventful year for us at Zoho CRM. We’ve had releases of all sizes and impact, and we are excited to look back, break it down, and rediscover them with you! Before we rewind—we’d like to take a minute and sincerely thank you

      • Restrict Users access to login into CRM?

        I’m wanting my employees to be able to utilize the Zoho CRM Lookup field within Zoho Forms. For them to use lookup field in Zoho Forms it is my understanding that they need to be licensed for Forms and the CRM. However, I don’t want them to be able to

      • Unknown table or alias 'A1'

        I would like to create a subquery but i am getting the following error: Unknown table or alias 'A1' used in select query. This is the sql statement:  SELECT A1.active_paying_customers, A1.active_trial_customers, A1.new_paying_signup, date(A1.date_active_customers), 

      • in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null i want to show as blank

        in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null ,i want to show as blank instead of showing null. input.Billing_Address.address_line_1 = ifNUll(input.Customers_Name.Address.address_line_1,"");

      • Question about upgrade and storage space Zoho Notebook

        After upgarding my Zoho Notebook plan, I am running into the following issue. I just upgraded from a free Zoho Notebook subscription to Pro Lite after I got a notification in my Window Zoho Notebook desktop app saying that I had run out of space. However,

      • Printing to a brother label maker

        I see allot of really old unanswered posts asking how to print to a label maker from a zoho creator app. Has their been any progress on providing the capability to create a customized height & width page or print template or whatever to print labels?

      • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

        Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

      • Track online, in-office, and client location meetings separately with the new meeting venue option

        Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce meeting enhancements in Zoho CRM that bring more clarity and structure to how meetings are categorized. You can now specify the meeting venue to clearly indicate whether a meeting is being held online, at the

      • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.32.0)

        Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce the latest updates to Trident, which are designed to reinforce email security and protect your inbox from evolving threats. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. Deliver quarantined emails. Organization admins

      • Marketing Tip #5: Improve store speed with optimized images

        Slow-loading websites can turn visitors away. One of the biggest culprits? Large, uncompressed images. By optimizing your images, your store loads faster and creates a smoother shopping experience leading to higher sales. It also indirectly improves SEO.

      • SMS to customers from within Bigin

        Hi All, Is there anyone else crying out for Bigin SMS capability to send an SMS to customers directly from the Bigin interface? We have inbuilt telephony already with call recordings which works well. What's lacking is the ability to send and receive

      • Admins cannot see each others' Scheduled Reports?!

        Very frustrating that as an admin I cannot see what my reports my fellow admins have created and scheduled.  After asking about this on the help chat, I was told the issue is trust and security.  By giving someone Admin status, it means we trust them with those responsibilities. Please change this, it is not a good process to have to bother other users to change a report or change users within a report.

      • Next Page