SAP Analytics Cloud QRC3 2026 Funnel chart: what it is and when to use it

The Funnel chart is one of three native chart types SAP added in the QRC3 2026 release — alongside the Sankey and Gauge charts. It is purpose-built for one job that ordinary bar charts do badly: showing stage-by-stage drop-off. Here is what it is, when to reach for it, and a free template to try it on a real scenario.

What the Funnel chart is for

A funnel visualises how a quantity shrinks as it moves through the steps of a process — a sales pipeline, a hiring process, or a website conversion journey. Each stage is a band, and the narrowing shape makes the attrition at each step immediately obvious. The value is not just the final number; it is where you lose the most between two stages. That is exactly the question a stack of bars leaves you squinting to answer.

When it beats a bar chart

Reach for a funnel when three things are true: the stages are sequential (each follows the last), the measure only ever decreases down the steps, and the story you want to tell is about where the biggest drop happens. If your categories aren't sequential, or the measure can go up as well as down, a bar or column chart is still the honest choice — a funnel would imply an order that isn't there.

The three new QRC3 charts, in one line each

• Funnel — stage-by-stage drop-off (pipeline, conversion, hiring).
• Sankey — flow and volume between categories (budget allocation, resource or customer flow).
• Gauge — a single KPI against a target or threshold, ideal for summary tiles.

QRC3 also adds a Quick Builder for Charts that shortens the path from blank canvas to a well-formed visualisation, so building any of the three takes fewer manual steps. Native chart types matter beyond convenience: every visual you can build without a custom widget is one less thing to package, transport and maintain later.

Try it on a real business scenario

The clearest use of a funnel is an e-commerce conversion journey: product view → add to cart → checkout → purchase, with the drop-off exposed at each step. Our free Conversion funnel template gives you that structure — the stages, the KPIs (product-view rate, add-to-cart rate, abandonment rate, final conversion) and the dimensions — so you can drop the new Funnel chart straight onto real-shaped data instead of a blank model. It is part of the 64 free templates, no sign-up.

Where to go next

For the full quarter, see the QRC3 2026 recap (AI prompt insights, Compass simulation, search and Data Action filtering), and the previous delivered release in the QRC2 2026 breakdown. Building the model behind the chart? The template catalog has ready-made structures across 16 industries.

Note: The three new charts (Sankey, Gauge, Funnel) and the Quick Builder for Charts are part of SAP's announced QRC3 2026 scope. Rollout is staggered — confirm availability in your tenant's What's New Viewer. Independent project, not affiliated with SAP SE.