Know Why Any KPI Changed From change to root cause — in minutes.
The WaterfallBridge algorithm quantifies every driver of the change, then AI assist explains it in plain language — not a black box.
Break down value, % and rate KPIs — revenue, margin %, conversion, retention, yield — by product, region, channel, segment, campaign or any dimension, and reveal the root cause behind every move across finance, sales, marketing, operations, and more. Why WaterfallBridge? →
From spreadsheet to answer in 3 steps
No install, no setup, no jargon. Bring your file, ask in one sentence, and read the executive summary. The AI prepares the data for you.
Bring your data
Upload an Excel or CSV file, connect a Google Sheet, or try the built-in sample — no formatting required.
Ask in one sentence
Type what you want to understand — e.g. “Why did gross margin drop last quarter?” The AI does the rest.
Get the report
See the waterfall chart, the top drivers, and a plain-English summary — ready to share or export.
⚡ Instant · 🌐 Any browser · 🔒 Your data is never stored · No credit card
Pick how you want to use it
Most people start free with Lite. Step up to the full workspace or the desktop app whenever you need more power — your account works across all three.
✨ AI · No install
Lite Online plan
Just describe what you want in one sentence — the AI Assistant prepares the data and writes the executive summary.
- Fastest way to an answer
- Works in any browser — desktop or mobile
- Free to start, no credit card
- Your data is never stored
✨ AI · No install · Online workspace
Full App Online plan
The complete spreadsheet workspace in your browser — editable grid, charts and the full Analysis Panel.
- Same AI Assistant as Lite, built in
- Everything in Lite, plus the editable sheet & charts
- Cross-platform: Windows, Mac, mobile
- Free to start, no credit card
- Your data is never stored
Windows · Excel
Desktop app Complete plan
A standalone Windows app that drives Microsoft Excel. Best for very large files and 100% on-device processing.
- Fastest local processing for large datasets
- 🔒 100% local — no data leaves your device
- Requires Windows + Microsoft Excel
Need the desktop app? Get in touch.
What Makes WaterfallBridge Different
One philosophy — pinpoint the real drivers behind every KPI change — delivered through six concrete breakthroughs that generic AI tools and traditional variance/waterfall workflows simply cannot match. All built in by default. No scripting, no spreadsheet gymnastics, no black-box guessing.
Reject Black-Box Decisions — A 100% Transparent White-Box Engine
Ask a generic AI "why did profit drop 7%?" and you get a plausible-sounding probabilistic narrative — impossible to audit, impossible to reconcile to the source numbers. WaterfallBridge is a 100% transparent white-box engine: every basis point of the change is decomposed by deterministic, closed-form math into named drivers that sum back exactly. In financial audit and core business attribution, “approximately right” is the same as wrong.
Beyond Absolute Values — Percentages and Rates Too
Every traditional waterfall tool can only decompose absolute amounts — Revenue, Cost, Profit. WaterfallBridge handles percentage and rate KPIs with the same one-click workflow: Gross Margin %, Conversion Rate, Retention, Loss Ratio, SLA, Yield, and more.
Drivers That Add Up — Exactly
When analysts manually split a percentage change (e.g. Margin %, Conversion Rate), the driver contributions almost never sum back to the headline number — leaving an "unexplained gap" that managers have to handwave. WaterfallBridge uses a mathematically reconciled algorithm: every driver's contribution sums precisely to the total change, with no residual to explain away.
Drill Any % Change Down to the SKU
Manual decomposition typically stops at one level — you see that Unit Cost hurt Margin %, but not which product, channel, or customer drove it. WaterfallBridge can drill any driver in a percentage or rate bridge down to any finer granularity, attributing the contribution to every single SKU automatically.
| Product / SKU | Price (pt) | Cost (pt) | Qty (pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkyView X1 | +1.4 | -1.1 | -1.4 |
| SkyView Lite | +1.4 | -1.1 | -0.5 |
| Gaming Beast | +0.8 | -0.6 | -0.1 |
| UltraSound Pro | +0.7 | -1.2 | +0.1 |
| Grand Total | +8.4 | -7.5 | -2.9 |
Automatic Formula Decomposition — Any KPI, Any Dimension
Just type the KPI formula (e.g. Revenue / Visits, Claims / Premium, GMV / Orders)
and WaterfallBridge parses and decomposes it automatically. Switch dimensions — product, region, channel,
customer, campaign — with a single click. Works for any industry, any KPI.
What used to take an analyst hours — or, for complex KPIs with many dimensions, even several days —
per scenario is now an instant pivot.
- 1Re-pivot the source data for the new dimension~30 min
- 2Hand-derive the variance formula for the new KPI~45 min
- 3Build the contribution table row by row~60 min
- 4Reconcile against the headline — chase the residual~30 min
- 5Redraw the bridge chart by hand~20 min
- 1Type the KPI formula (e.g.
LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin % / Churn Rate)~30 s - 2Pick Baseline & Comparison periods~10 s
- 3Choose a dimension — Product, Region, Channel, Customer…~5 s
- 4Reconciled bridge + per-item contribution table render automaticallyinstant
- 5Switch dimension to re-cut the analysis — one clickinstant
Not Just Analysis — A Free Online Spreadsheet With a Built-In Planning Loop
Most tools only analyze data after it has been finalized somewhere else. WaterfallBridge is a free, full-featured online spreadsheet and a driver-analysis engine in one place — works on any platform, no install. Upload your data (it stays in your browser), edit assumptions live, and instantly see which drivers move the result — then feed that insight straight back into the plan. The ideal closed loop for budgeting, forecasting & planning teams: change a number, find the gap, fix the plan — in seconds, not days.
Just Say It in One Sentence — AI Runs the Analysis
Not an analyst? No time to learn the workflow? You no longer have to click through anything. Describe your question in plain language and an AI assistant prepares your data, runs the Bridge, and hands you the key drivers and insights — automatically.
- "Ask AI" panel (web app): no download needed — it runs in your browser. You provide your own AI provider API key — any compatible provider works (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek). The key stays in your browser and you are billed directly by the provider for usage.
- Claude Code / Cursor / Codex (via MCP): you use your own existing subscription or plan for that coding assistant. WaterfallBridge simply connects as an MCP server.
- 1 · PrepareReshapes your file into Bridge format
- 2 · RunBuilds the Bridge with the WaterfallBridge engine
- 3 · ReadPulls the chart & contribution table
- 4 · ExplainWrites the drivers & insights in plain words
Only needed for Claude Code / Cursor / Codex (the MCP path). The in-app "Ask AI" panel needs no download — just open it in your browser and add your API key. Free, Windows-only for now.
1 · The "Ask AI" panel in the web app
Open WaterfallBridge in your browser and click Ask AI on the right. Chat in plain language and watch it prepare data, run the analysis, and summarize the results — no download or install at all.
- No install — runs entirely in your browser, on any OS
- Just add your own AI provider API key — any compatible provider, e.g. OpenAI / Anthropic / DeepSeek (stays in your browser; you pay the provider for usage)
- Great for non-technical users who just want answers
2 · From Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Already living in an AI coding tool? WaterfallBridge plugs in as an MCP server. Ask your assistant to analyze a file and it will operate WaterfallBridge for you — right where you already work.
Uses your own existing subscription/plan for that coding assistant.
Use Cases
How has our profit margin been doing over the past few quarters?
Sales increased by 10%, but overall profit margin decreased by 7pt.
That's not good. Can you give me a breakdown and analysis report of the 7pt profit margin decline? I need to know what specific products and reasons caused this decline. It would be best if you could do a comprehensive analysis by region, product type, channel, or team across different dimensions. You can compare with different time periods like last year, the year before, or our budget. This way we can identify problems promptly and solve them immediately.
If it were just revenue analysis, that would be simple enough. But breaking down the 7pt profit margin decline to specific 1000 SKUs and knowing which factors—price, discount rate, cost, etc.—contributed how many pts to the overall decline, that's not an easy task. If we add regional, product type, and channel dimensions, it becomes even more complex. Then comparing with last year, budget, and other data versions—it's almost impossible...
Do you frequently encounter similar needs in your work? Do you spend a full day, or even days or longer (for multi-dimensional analysis) to reach an analytical conclusion? Does this analysis contain a lot of manual estimation, and the final aggregation of all impact factors doesn't accurately equal the 7pt profit margin decline, requiring manual adjustments? Do you always harbor doubts about whether the calculation process is 100% correct?
Please use WaterfallBridge to complete similar analysis in just minutes, getting accurate analytical results through algorithms and decomposing revenue, profit margin changes into the impact factors, different dimensions, and scenario comparisons you desire. This helps you pinpoint problems precisely, take timely action, and improve enterprise competitiveness.
At the same time, WaterfallBridge can also calculate contribution at the lowest level of detail within each factor—for example, at the SKU level—so users can trace not only which high-level driver changed the result, but also which underlying items contributed to that change.
Who Can Use WaterfallBridge
WaterfallBridge is not just for finance. Any team that needs to explain why a KPI changed — especially percentage and rate metrics — can use it. From margin %, conversion rate, retention, and yield to offer acceptance, SLA, and completion rate, WaterfallBridge helps decompose the change across products, customers, channels, regions, cohorts, and other dimensions with full traceability.
It is especially useful when you need to:
- Explain changes in value metrics such as revenue, profit, cost, spend, or volume
- Decompose changes in percentage or rate metrics such as margin %, conversion rate, CTR, yield, discount rate, or churn rate
- Identify the contribution of detailed dimensions such as SKU, product, customer, channel, region, supplier, campaign, or site
- Produce results that tie out exactly and can be reviewed step by step
| Industry / Domain | Typical Roles | Common Analysis Questions | Core Factors WaterfallBridge Decomposes | Unique Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance / FP&A | FP&A Manager, Finance Analyst, CFO Office | Why did Revenue / Profit / Margin % change vs budget or last year? | Price, Volume, Mix, Cost, FX, Structure | Bridges both value and rate metrics (e.g. Margin %) with full traceability |
| Banking / Financial Institutions | FP&A, Treasury, ALM, Finance Manager, Bank Performance Analyst | Why did NIM or NII change? Which product, deposit type, or branch drove the shift? | Rate, Volume, Mix, Balance Sheet Structure, Product, Maturity, Currency, Branch | Decomposes NIM / NII into rate, volume, mix, and structural factors — traceable for management reporting and board review |
| Insurance | Finance Analyst, Underwriting Analyst, Actuarial Analyst, CFO Office | Why did combined ratio, loss ratio, or underwriting margin change? Which product or region drove it? | Loss Rate, Expense Rate, Premium Volume, Product Mix, Region, Channel, Claims Frequency | Decomposes ratio metrics like loss ratio and combined ratio by product, region, and structural composition |
| Marketing / Advertising | Performance Marketing Analyst, Growth Analyst, Marketing Ops | Why did CTR, CVR, ROAS, or CAC change? Which campaign or keyword drove the shift? | Traffic, Channel Mix, Device Mix, Geography, Campaign, Keyword, Offer | Explains rate metric changes and drills down to ad-level dimensions |
| E-commerce / Retail | E-commerce Analyst, Category Manager, Commercial Analyst | Why did sales, gross margin %, discount rate, or conversion change? Which SKU / store / channel contributed? | Price, Units, Discount, Product Mix, Channel Mix, Freight, Cost | Decomposes results to SKU / category / channel / region; handles high-dimensional analysis |
| Procurement / Supply Chain | Procurement Analyst, Supply Chain Analyst, Sourcing Manager | Why did spend or unit purchase cost rise? Which supplier / category / plant drove it? | Unit Price, Volume, Supplier Mix, Category Mix, FX, Logistics | Explains cost rate and procurement structure changes — not just total spend |
| Manufacturing / Operations | Operations Analyst, Plant Controller, Manufacturing Finance | Why did unit cost, yield, scrap rate, or gross margin change? | Volume, Yield, Scrap, Labor, Overhead, Material Cost, Product Mix | Superior for decomposing rate metrics like yield %, scrap %, margin % |
| SaaS / Subscriptions | RevOps, BizOps, Growth Ops, Customer Success Ops | Why did trial-to-paid, retention, churn, ARPU, or NRR change? | Customer Mix, Plan Mix, Price, Volume, Cohort, Region, Channel | Explains subscription and conversion KPI changes with structural attribution |
| Sales / Commercial Ops | Sales Ops, Business Analyst, Commercial Excellence | Why did win rate, average selling price, customer margin, or regional sales shift? | Price, Volume, Customer Mix, Product Mix, Region, Sales Team | Drills from total sales to customer / product / region contribution |
| Product / Data Analytics | Product Analyst, BI Analyst, Data Analyst | Why did engagement, activation, conversion, or retention change? | User Mix, Channel Mix, Version Mix, Region, Device, Feature Adoption | Gives more explainable answers to "why did the KPI move" than a dashboard alone |
| Customer Service / Support Ops | Service Ops, Support Analyst, Call Center Analyst | Why did SLA, resolution rate, complaint rate, or ticket efficiency change? | Ticket Mix, Channel Mix, Team Mix, Region, Product Type | Separates structural factors from execution factors in service metrics |
| Healthcare / Education / Public Sector | Operations Analyst, Planning Analyst, Program Manager | Why did operational or performance KPIs shift? | Volume, Mix, Resource Allocation, Region, Service Type | Applicable to any scenario requiring clear explanation of complex KPI changes |
| Recruitment / Talent Acquisition | Recruiter, Talent Acquisition Analyst, HR Operations, Hiring Manager | Why did interview pass rate, offer acceptance rate, or hiring conversion change? Which role, channel, or region drove it? | Candidate Volume, Source Mix, Role Mix, Region, Recruiter, Interview Stage, Offer Package | Explains hiring funnel rate changes with drill-down by role, source, recruiter, and region |
| Education / Training | Education Operations, Academic Analyst, Program Manager, Learning Ops | Why did completion rate, attendance rate, pass rate, or course satisfaction change? Which course, cohort, or campus drove it? | Student Mix, Course Mix, Cohort, Teacher, Campus, Delivery Mode, Attendance, Assessment Results | Decomposes education KPI changes across cohort, course, teacher, and campus dimensions |
| Gaming / Mobile Apps | Game Analyst, Live Ops, Growth Manager, Monetization Analyst | Why did D1 / D7 retention, payer conversion, ARPPU, or engagement rate change? Which version, country, or acquisition channel drove it? | User Mix, Version Mix, Channel Mix, Country, Device, Cohort, Content / Event Mix | Bridges game and app KPI changes beyond dashboards, with explainable contribution by version, cohort, and channel |
| Call Center / Contact Center | Call Center Manager, WFM Analyst, Service Ops Analyst | Why did abandonment rate, service level, handle time, or first-contact resolution change? Which queue, shift, or team drove it? | Call Volume, Queue Mix, Team Mix, Shift, Language, Region, Issue Type, Staffing | Separates structural mix effects from operational execution effects in service KPIs |
| DTC / Small Business / Creator Commerce | Shopify Store Owner, Creator Manager, Growth Operator, E-commerce Lead | Why did store conversion, refund rate, AOV, or product margin change? Which product, campaign, or traffic source drove it? | Traffic Mix, Product Mix, Price, Discount, Channel, Creator / Campaign, Geography | Makes advanced bridge analysis usable for smaller teams, not just enterprise analysts |
| Role | What They Care About | Value WaterfallBridge Delivers |
|---|---|---|
| FP&A / Finance Analyst | Budget vs Actual, Forecast vs Actual, YoY variance explanation | Produces fully reconciled bridges and supports complex metrics like Margin % |
| CFO / Finance Lead | Management reporting, result attribution, transparent key drivers | Clear, reviewable, and auditable path for explaining performance changes |
| Bank FP&A / ALM / Treasury | NIM, NII, loan yield, deposit cost, repricing risk, funding structure | Decomposes margin changes into rate, volume, mix, and balance sheet structure with full traceability |
| Insurance Finance / Underwriting Analyst | Loss ratio, combined ratio, underwriting margin, premium mix | Explains combined ratio changes by product, region, channel, and structural drivers |
| Marketing Analyst | CTR, CVR, ROAS, campaign performance | Contribution analysis from total result to campaign / keyword / channel level |
| E-commerce Analyst | SKU, discount, channel, category profitability | Drills from total gross margin % down to SKU / Category / Store / Channel |
| Procurement Analyst | Spend variance, supplier impact, unit cost changes | Explains cost drivers and procurement structure — beyond just showing a report |
| Supply Chain Analyst | Cost, logistics, supplier switching, structural shifts | Analyzes how structural changes affect total cost and efficiency |
| Operations Analyst | Efficiency, service levels, capacity, yield changes | Decomposes operational result changes into actionable drivers |
| Sales Ops / Commercial Analyst | Region, customer, product, and price drivers | Identifies which customers / regions / products are truly driving results |
| BI / Data Analyst | The "why" behind dashboard metrics | Provides structured KPI variance explanation beyond monitoring and alerting |
| Pricing Analyst | Impact of price changes, discounts, and mix shifts on profit | Clearly isolates price, mix, discount, and cost effects |
| Growth Analyst | Why did conversion, activation, retention, or funnel performance change? | Breaks KPI changes into structural drivers across channel, cohort, device, geography, and version |
| RevOps / BizOps | What caused shifts in pipeline conversion, ARPU, retention, or expansion? | Gives a reconciled bridge from headline KPI to customer / plan / region / channel contribution |
| Talent Acquisition Analyst | Interview pass rate, offer acceptance, source effectiveness, hiring funnel quality | Explains recruitment funnel rate changes by role, source, recruiter, region, and stage |
| Small Business Owner / Operator | Store conversion, AOV, refund rate, product profitability | Makes advanced KPI decomposition accessible without building a full BI model |
| Analysis Scenario | Common Metrics | Applicable Example |
|---|---|---|
| Budget vs Actual | Revenue, Profit, Margin %, Cost | Explain the gap between actual results and budget |
| Forecast vs Actual | Sales, GM %, Opex, Conversion Rate | Identify where and why the forecast deviated |
| YoY / MoM / WoW Variance | Revenue, Units, Spend, KPI rates | Compare drivers of change across periods |
| Price–Volume–Mix Analysis | Revenue, Gross Profit, Margin % | Decompose price, volume, and mix impact on results |
| Margin % Driver Analysis | GM %, CM %, EBITDA % | Explain percentage metric changes — not just the dollar amount |
| Contribution Analysis | SKU, Customer, Region, Channel, Campaign | Find out who is pulling up or dragging down overall results |
| Channel / Region Bridge | Sales, Conversion, Spend, Profitability | Compare performance changes across channels and regions |
| Product / SKU Analysis | Margin, Discount, Units, Mix | Understand how product mix changes affect overall KPIs |
| Supplier / Procurement Analysis | Unit Cost, Spend, Landed Cost | Analyze supplier and procurement structure impact on cost |
| Operational KPI Analysis | Yield, Scrap, SLA, Resolution Rate | Explain operational efficiency or service metric changes |
| Marketing KPI Decomposition | CTR, CVR, CPC, ROAS | Explain ad performance and traffic quality changes |
| SaaS KPI Bridge | Retention, Churn, ARPU, Trial-to-Paid | Analyze subscription and customer structure changes |
| NIM / NII Variance Analysis | NIM, NII, Loan Yield, Deposit Cost, Spread | Isolate rate, volume, mix, and balance sheet restructuring impact on net interest margin |
| Loss Ratio / Combined Ratio Analysis | Loss Ratio, Expense Ratio, Combined Ratio, Underwriting Margin | Decompose underwriting result changes by product, region, or channel |
| Recruitment Funnel Analysis | Screening Rate, Interview Pass Rate, Offer Acceptance Rate, Time-to-Hire | Explain why hiring conversion changed across role, source, recruiter, and region |
| Retention / Churn Bridge | Retention Rate, Churn Rate, Renewal Rate, Expansion Rate | Identify whether customer mix, product mix, pricing, or cohort quality drove subscription KPI shifts |
| Conversion Rate Decomposition | CVR, Checkout Rate, Trial-to-Paid, Activation Rate | Explain why the total conversion rate changed across device, channel, region, or landing page |
| Customer Service KPI Bridge | SLA, Resolution Rate, Abandonment Rate, Complaint Rate | Separate volume / mix changes from execution issues in support operations |
| App / Game KPI Analysis | D1 Retention, D7 Retention, Payer Conversion, ARPPU | Explain KPI movement by app version, cohort, event, country, or acquisition source |
| Store / DTC Performance Bridge | Store Conversion, AOV, Refund Rate, Product Margin % | Explain what changed for a small online business by product, campaign, and traffic source |
- Revenue
- Profit
- Cost
- Spend
- Units / Volume
- Headcount
- Inventory
- Margin % / GM % / CM %
- Conversion Rate
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- Engagement Rate
- Discount Rate
- Yield % / Scrap Rate
- Retention Rate / Churn Rate
- On-time Delivery Rate
- Net Interest Margin (NIM)
- Loss Ratio / Combined Ratio
- SKU / Product / Category / Brand
- Customer / Account
- Channel / Store
- Campaign / Keyword
- Country / Region / Site
- Supplier / Vendor
- Plant / Factory / Team
- Product / Maturity / Currency (Banking)
- Branch / Business Line (Banking)
Every step of the decomposition is visible and traceable — no black box.
The sum of all contributions always matches the total KPI change — no manual adjustment needed.
Not just a chart — a full bridge logic for driver and contribution analysis.
Especially powerful for Margin %, Conversion Rate, CTR, Yield %, and other ratio-based KPIs.
Analyze the contribution of individual SKUs, customers, channels, regions, suppliers, and campaigns.
Practical for teams that need fast answers, management-ready outputs, and a familiar workflow.
Not just analysis. A free, full-featured online spreadsheet: upload data (it stays in your browser), edit live, and analyze drivers instantly — perfect for budgeting, forecasting & planning.
See worked examples — revenue, margin %, conversion, retention →
New to it? Read What is WaterfallBridge?
Know why any KPI changed — in minutes
No install, no setup, no jargon. Bring your file, ask in one sentence, and read the executive summary.
Analyze your KPI free Lite⚡ Instant · 🌐 Any browser · 🔒 Your data is never stored · No credit card
Looking for the step-by-step manual? Read the Instructions →