Last Updated: 16/07/2026
Charts are one of the fastest ways to turn raw numbers into a story anyone can understand at a glance. In this DCP Web Tutorial, we walk through exactly how to build a simple, professional-looking bar chart using LibreOffice Calc – no prior spreadsheet experience required.
Step 1: Set Up Your Spreadsheet
Open LibreOffice Calc and start with a blank spreadsheet. Create a header row for your cost type, then add four columns representing time periods – in this example, First Quarter, Second Quarter, Third Quarter, and Fourth Quarter (i.e., the year broken into 3-month increments).
Down the left-hand column, list out the categories you want to track. For a business example, this could include:
- Office costs
- Mobile phone
- Internet
- Travel
- Staff wages
- Bookkeeping
You could just as easily swap these out for personal expense categories like gas, electric, rent, food, or travel – the method works the same either way.
Step 2: Format the Cells as Currency
Highlight the four quarterly columns, right-click, and choose Format Cells to set them as currency. This ensures your figures display consistently (e.g., £) before you start entering numbers.
Step 3: Enter Your Data
Fill in the values for each cost type across the four quarters. Some costs – like office rent – tend to stay flat every quarter, while others (like travel or wages) naturally fluctuate. Varying the numbers slightly across quarters makes for a more realistic, informative chart.
Step 4: Highlight Your Data Range
Click and drag from the top-left header cell (Cost Type) across the entire data range, including all headers and values. This selection tells LibreOffice which cells represent your titles and which represent your data series.
Step 5: Insert the Chart
With your data selected, go to Insert > Chart. LibreOffice will open the Chart Wizard and automatically detect your headers and data series (steps 1 and 2 of the wizard are pre-filled for you).
By default, it suggests a column chart – ideal for this type of comparative, time-based data. Bar charts and column charts use the same underlying logic; the only difference is orientation (horizontal vs. vertical).
Step 6: Customise Chart Elements
In the Chart Elements step, you can:
- Add a chart title (e.g., “Yearly Cost 2018”)
- Choose where the legend appears (left, right, top, or bottom)
- Label the X-axis (e.g., “Cost Type”)
- Label the Y-axis (e.g., “Amount”)
Click Finish, then click outside the chart to deselect it.
Step 7: Resize and Reposition
Click the chart once more to select it, then drag its corners to resize it and reposition it anywhere on the page. Your finished chart will now clearly visualise how spending shifts across each quarter – for example, showing wages trending upward as you hire more staff.
Final Thoughts
That’s all it takes to build a clean, readable bar chart in LibreOffice Calc 6. From here, experiment with different chart types (pie, line, area) to see which best represents your specific dataset – whether it’s personal budgeting or full business reporting.
