8.5 Combo Chart with a Secondary Axis
When two measures have very different scales (sales in ₹ lakh vs order count in thousands), use a combo chart.
Steps in Excel
- Select Month, Pune and Orders (Pune) columns (Ctrl-select non-adjacent columns).
- Insert › Charts › Insert Combo Chart › Create Custom Combo Chart…
- Pune → Clustered Column; Orders (Pune) → Line with Markers and tick Secondary Axis › OK.
- Add axis titles: + › Axis Titles › "Sales (₹ lakh)" and "Orders".
- Match colours: the line colour = its axis label colour to help reading.
Worked example. Pune sales (columns) and orders (line): in November both peak, but the AOV (sales ÷ orders) is also higher – Diwali baskets are bigger.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
After adding a secondary axis, many students can't tell which series is on which axis, and the manager misreads it. Give both axes titles and match the colours. Don't cram three or four measures into one combo – two are enough.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
Secondary axis लावल्यावर कोणती series कोणत्या axis वर आहे हे बऱ्याच students ना कळत नाही, आणि manager चुकीचा अर्थ काढतो. दोन्ही axes ला titles द्या आणि रंग match करा. तीन-चार measures एकाच combo मध्ये घुसडू नका – दोन पुरेसे.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
Secondary axis लगाने के बाद बहुत से students को समझ नहीं आता कि कौन सी series किस axis पर है, और manager गलत मतलब निकाल लेता है. दोनों axes को titles दो और रंग match करो. तीन-चार measures एक ही combo में मत ठूँसो – दो काफ़ी हैं.
Practice task
Create a combo of Nagpur sales (columns) and Nagpur average delivery minutes (line, secondary axis) for six months, with axis titles.