Department Budget Allocation Sankey Diagram: Template

Split a total budget into departments and then into what each one spends it on, with an editable Sankey. See where the money goes by team and by category. Illustrative.

A department budget Sankey follows the whole budget down two levels: first to the departments that own it, then to the categories each one spends it on. It shows who gets the money and what it buys in one picture.

A 12,000 k€ annual budget is divided between five departments. Each department's ribbon then splits across the same six categories: people, software and hardware, contractors and fees, marketing programmes, travel and events, and facilities.

Because the categories are shared, ribbons from different departments merge into the same category node. That is the view a table of department totals cannot give you: the right-hand side shows how much of the whole budget is people cost, whichever team it sits in. The figures are invented and each department's categories add up to its allocation.

How to read this diagram

  • Engineering has the largest allocation at 4,200 k€, 35% of the 12,000 k€ budget. Sales and marketing follows with 2,900 k€ (24%).
  • People cost is 7,500 k€, 62.5% of the budget, and the largest category in every department.
  • Marketing programmes (800 k€) and travel and events (350 k€) are spent only in sales and marketing in this example.
  • Contractors and fees total 1,100 k€ (9%) and appear in all five departments, so they are worth a look when you want to cut cost without touching headcount.

The data behind it

Invented budget figures in thousands of euros for an imaginary company. Each department's categories add up to its allocation.

Department Budget Allocation Sankey Diagram: Template (k€)
FromToAmount (k€)
Total budgetEngineering4200
Total budgetSales and marketing2900
Total budgetOperations2300
Total budgetCustomer support1200
Total budgetFinance and administration1400
EngineeringPeople3100
EngineeringSoftware and hardware750
EngineeringContractors and fees350
Sales and marketingPeople1500
Sales and marketingMarketing programmes800
Sales and marketingTravel and events350
Sales and marketingSoftware and hardware150
Sales and marketingContractors and fees100
OperationsPeople1200
OperationsFacilities600
OperationsSoftware and hardware250
OperationsContractors and fees250
Customer supportPeople950
Customer supportSoftware and hardware150
Customer supportContractors and fees100
Finance and administrationPeople750
Finance and administrationFacilities250
Finance and administrationSoftware and hardware100
Finance and administrationContractors and fees300

The same data as CSV

source,target,value
Total budget,Engineering,4200
Total budget,Sales and marketing,2900
Total budget,Operations,2300
Total budget,Customer support,1200
Total budget,Finance and administration,1400
Engineering,People,3100
Engineering,Software and hardware,750
Engineering,Contractors and fees,350
Sales and marketing,People,1500
Sales and marketing,Marketing programmes,800
Sales and marketing,Travel and events,350
Sales and marketing,Software and hardware,150
Sales and marketing,Contractors and fees,100
Operations,People,1200
Operations,Facilities,600
Operations,Software and hardware,250
Operations,Contractors and fees,250
Customer support,People,950
Customer support,Software and hardware,150
Customer support,Contractors and fees,100
Finance and administration,People,750
Finance and administration,Facilities,250
Finance and administration,Software and hardware,100
Finance and administration,Contractors and fees,300

How it works

  1. Enter the total and the departments

    Add the total budget as a node and flow it to each department with the allocation approved for the year.

  2. Split each department by category

    Use one shared list of categories for every department so the ribbons meet in the same node. Keep it to six or seven and group the rest as Other.

  3. Check the totals against the ledger

    Each department's categories must add up to its allocation. If they do not, the editor flags the node that is out of balance.

Frequently asked questions

Should the categories be the same for every department?

Yes, where you can. A shared list lets the right-hand side show company-wide totals by category, which is the main reason to draw this as a Sankey rather than a table.

Can I show budget against actual spend?

Use two charts in the same units and categories, one for the budget and one for the actuals. A single Sankey shows one set of amounts.

Edit this department budget Sankey

Open the template as your own chart and enter your departments, categories and amounts.

Edit this department budget Sankey

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