Reading the Expenses Category Breakdown Bar
Understand the stacked bar chart at the top of the AskBiz Expenses tab — how to read proportions, what the colours mean, and how to click a segment to filter.
Key Takeaways
- The stacked bar represents 100 percent of total expenses in the current filter period, split by category.
- Each colour segment corresponds to one expense category, and the segment width shows its share of total spending.
- Tapping a segment activates the matching category chip filter and shows only that category in the list below.
What the Bar Shows
The Category Breakdown bar is a full-width horizontal bar at the top of the Expenses tab. It is a stacked proportional chart — the entire bar always represents 100 percent of total expenses for the current view. The bar is divided into coloured segments, each representing one expense category that has at least one recorded expense. The width of each segment is proportional to that category's share of total spending. A category that accounts for 40 percent of total expenses will occupy 40 percent of the bar's width. Categories with very small shares may appear as thin slivers.
Reading the Colour Legend
Each expense category has a consistent colour throughout the AskBiz dashboard. The category colours follow a fixed palette: Payroll is typically the darkest shade (often dark indigo or charcoal) because it tends to be the largest expense for most businesses. Rent/Lease uses a medium shade. Lighter and more saturated colours are assigned to smaller categories like Meals and Entertainment or Supplies. A colour legend or tooltip is available by tapping and holding a segment, which displays the category name and the exact percentage and total amount for that segment.
Free — no card needed
See this in action for your business
AskBiz tracks these metrics automatically — just connect your data and start asking questions.
Start for free →How the Bar Responds to Filters
The breakdown bar responds dynamically to any active filters you apply in the filter toolbar. If you set a date range filter to show only the current month, the bar recalculates to represent only expenses within that month. If you activate a category chip filter, the bar does not change because the bar's purpose is to show relative proportions — filtering to a single category would make the bar 100 percent that category and lose its usefulness. The bar therefore reflects the date range and search filters but remains independent of the category chip.
Tapping a Segment to Filter
You can tap any colour segment in the breakdown bar to instantly filter the expense list to that category. When you tap a segment, the corresponding category chip in the filter toolbar activates (highlighted in its active colour), and the expense list updates to show only expenses in that category. This interaction is a shortcut — instead of scrolling through the chip row to find and tap the Marketing and Ads chip, you can tap the Marketing and Ads segment in the bar directly. To deactivate the filter, tap the highlighted chip in the chip row, or tap another segment in the bar to switch to a different category.
Using the Bar to Spot Overspending
The most practical use of the breakdown bar is as a quick visual health check. Glance at the bar at the start of each week. If Payroll, Rent/Lease, and Software/SaaS make up the expected proportions, your cost structure looks normal. If you see a segment that looks larger than usual — for example, Travel has grown noticeably compared to last month — tap that segment to drill into the individual transactions and understand what drove the increase. This kind of visual pattern recognition is much faster than scrolling through a list of individual entries.