How to Draw Target Line in Excel Graph (with Easy Steps)

While working in Microsoft Excel with the sales-related worksheets, sometimes we need to draw a target line of sales for earning a profit for a company. Drawing a target line in an Excel graph is an easy task. This is a time-saving task also. Today, in this article, we’ll learn three quick and suitable steps to draw a target line in an Excel graph effectively with appropriate illustrations.

Download Practice Workbook

Download this practice workbook to exercise while you are reading this article.

Introduction to Target Line in Excel Graph

To indicate how performance compares to a goal, one may add a target or goal line to an Excel bar graph.  This line travels horizontally for horizontal bar graphs and vertically for vertical bar graphs. A person or organization can use target lines as benchmarks to visually assess the effects of their activities and determine whether any revisions are necessary.

For instance, if a sales team’s daily sales quota is 160, the goal line can be drawn on the Y-axis starting from that number. This lets them know if they achieved their daily sales goal.

3 Quick Steps to Draw Target Line in Excel Graph

Let’s say, we have a dataset that contains information about several Sales representatives of XYZ group. The Name of the Sales representatives, their sales in several months, and the sales target are given in columns B, C, D, and E respectively. From our dataset, we will set the target of sales as $65,000.00, and make a target line in an Excel graph. To do that, We will use the Insert ribbon as well as the Chart Design ribbon. Here’s an overview of the dataset for our today’s task.

Step 1: Make a Dataset with Proper Parameters

In this portion, we will create a dataset to draw a target line in an Excel graph. We will make a dataset that contains the sales in several months by the sales representatives. We set $65,000.00 as the target sales for the sales representatives. So, our dataset becomes.

Read More: How to Make Line Graph in Excel with 2 Variables (With Quick Steps)

Similar Readings

• How to Make a Double Line Graph in Excel (3 Easy Ways)
• Combine Bar and Line Graph in Excel (2 Suitable Ways)
• How to Add a Marker Line in Excel Graph (3 Suitable Examples)
• Draw a Horizontal Line in Excel Graph (2 Easy Ways)
• How to Make a Single Line Graph in Excel (A Short Way)

Step 2: Create Graph from Dataset in Excel

Now, using Insert ribbon, we will import a graph from our dataset. This is an easy task. This is a time-saving task also. Let’s follow the instructions below to create a graph in Excel!

• First of all, select the range of data to draw a graph. From our dataset, we select C4 to E14 for the convenience of our work.

• After selecting the data range, from your Insert ribbon, go to,

Insert → Charts → 2-D Column

• As a result, you will be able to create a graph using the dataset which has been given in the below screenshot.

Read More: How to Make Line Graph with 3 Variables in Excel (with Detailed Steps)

Step 3: Draw Target Line in Excel Graph

The crucial thing in our today’s article is to draw a target line in the Excel graph. We can easily draw a target line in the Excel chart using our dataset. Let’s follow the instructions below to learn!

• Drawing an target line, from your Chart Design ribbon, go to,

Chart Design → Type → Change Chart Type

• Hence, a Change Chart Type dialog box will appear in front of you. From the Change Chart Type dialog box, Firstly, select the Combo Secondly, select the Line option from the Clustered Column drop-down list.

• After that, press the OK option.

• After completing the above process. You will be able to draw a target line in an Excel graph which has been given in the below screenshot.

Read More: How to Make a Line Graph in Excel with Multiple Variables

Things to Remember

👉 #N/A! error arises when the formula or a function in the formula fails to find the referenced data.

👉 #DIV/0! error happens when a value is divided by zero(0) or the cell reference is blank.

Conclusion

I hope all of the suitable steps mentioned above to draw a target line in an Excel graph will now provoke you to apply them in your Excel spreadsheets with more productivity. You are most welcome to feel free to comment if you have any questions or queries.