The Investment Flow Sankey Diagram is a Cockpit Insights widget that visualizes how your budget moves from total enterprise costs down through portfolios, sub-portfolios, and projects, into a Capex/Opex split, and finally into named cost categories. The width of each flow band represents the dollar amount moving along that path.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
- Why Does the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram Matter?
- How Do I Use the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
- What Happens When You Use the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
- What Are the Best Practices for Using the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
- Related Articles
- What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
What Is the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
The Investment Flow Sankey Diagram is a widget titled Investment Flow by Cost Category, added to a Cockpit page from the Customize page under Portfolios and Projects → Cockpit. Its subtitle frames the question it answers: "How does budget flow from enterprise investment down to CapEx and OpEx?"
The diagram is organized into six columns, read left to right, each representing a stage the money passes through. A node in each column shows a label and a dollar amount, and the flow connecting one node to the next is drawn wider or narrower depending on how much money passes along it.
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Budget | The enterprise-level starting figure, for example a Total Costs node. |
| Portfolios | Individual portfolios and each one's share of the total. |
| Sub Portfolios | Sub-portfolios beneath each portfolio. |
| Projects | Individual projects drawing from a portfolio or sub-portfolio. |
| Capex/Opex | The Capital Expenditure and Operating Expenditure split of the money reaching this stage. |
| Cost Category | Named cost categories under each Capex or Opex bucket, for example Custom development, Employee salaries, or Software subscriptions. |
Why Does the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram Matter?
Seeing where money actually goes lets you instantly spot where the biggest chunks of capital are allocated, since the diagram makes size differences visible at a glance rather than requiring you to compare numbers in a table. That visibility supports smarter investment prioritization decisions.
Without this view, tracing how a single enterprise budget figure eventually breaks down into specific cost categories, and how much of that breakdown is Capex versus Opex, would mean cross-referencing portfolio, sub-portfolio, project, and expense records separately.
How Do I Use the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
Step 1: Add the Widget to Cockpit
- Navigate to Portfolios and Projects → Cockpit.
- Click the Customize button.
- On the Customize page, find and select Investment Flow by Cost Category, then confirm to add it to your Cockpit view.
Step 2: Set the Filter and Period
- Use the Filter dropdown and the All dropdown at the top of the Insights page to scope what the dashboard displays.
- Use the period selector, for example Q1-2025, +12 more, along with its previous and next arrows, to move across periods.
Step 3: Read the Flow
- Follow the columns left to right: Budget, Portfolios, Sub Portfolios, Projects, Capex/Opex, and Cost Category.
- Compare the width of different flow bands, a wider band represents a larger dollar amount than a narrower one.
Step 4: Expand for a Closer Look
- Use the expand icon on the widget to open it in an enlarged view.
- Use the ... icon on the widget for further options.
Note
The subtitle under the widget's title states the exact question it answers: "How does budget flow from enterprise investment down to CapEx and OpEx?"
What Happens When You Use the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
| Scenario | What Happens |
|---|---|
| You read the total on a Capex or Opex node. | It equals the sum of the individual Cost Category flows beneath it, so the two figures reconcile against each other. |
| You compare two flow bands of different width. | The wider band represents a larger dollar amount, since flow width in the diagram is scaled to the amount it carries. |
| You move to a different period using the period selector's arrows. | The diagram's nodes and flows update to reflect the data for the newly selected period. |
What Are the Best Practices for Using the Investment Flow Sankey Diagram?
- Scan for the widest bands first, since those represent your largest cost concentrations and are usually the most consequential place to focus a review.
- Check that a Capex or Opex node's total reconciles with the sum of its Cost Category flows, since a mismatch is a faster way to spot a data issue than auditing individual project budgets.
- Use the period selector to compare how flows shift across quarters, rather than only reviewing a single period in isolation.
- Pair this diagram with the underlying Budget Request and Fund Request records when a flow looks unexpected, since the Sankey diagram shows the aggregate picture rather than individual transaction detail.
Related Articles
Frequently Asked Questions
Flow width represents the dollar amount moving along that path, so wider bands correspond to larger allocations and narrower bands to smaller ones.
The period selector shows the active period, for example Q1-2025, +12 more, and its arrows let you move between periods one at a time.
Cost Category nodes are named categories under the Capex or Opex bucket they roll up to, for example Platform Design & Architecture, Custom development, or Employee salaries.
The widget is added from the Customize page under Portfolios and Projects → Cockpit, where you find and select Investment Flow by Cost Category.
Execute your strategy with confidence
Connect OKRs, tasks, and teams in one place with Profit.co
