Running Total

A running total shows each point as the cumulative sum of all values up to that moment, instead of that interval's own value; a line that only ever rises or stays flat.

A running total is the cumulative view versus the per-period view: instead of 'how many today' it says 'how many in total so far'. Its use is where you have a cumulative goal — reaching a monthly sales ceiling, say, or counting a campaign's total sign-ups since it began. Its power is seeing progress toward a goal, but that same accumulation is its weakness: a cumulative chart always rises, so it hides a dip or a slowdown; a day with no sales just keeps the line flat, and that is not obvious at a glance. So a running total complements the per-period view rather than replacing it: one tells the total progress, the other the daily pulse. The cumulative line's slope is the per-period value, so a flattening slope means a slowdown.