Flowcharting Symbols A flowchart illustrates the steps in a process. Flowcharts use special shapes to represent different types of actions or steps in a process. Lines and arrows show the sequence of the steps, and the relationships among them.
	The "terminator" symbol indicates the start or end point of a process. It usually contains the word "Start" or "End" in its descriptor.
	A box can represent a single step ("get credit report"), or an entire sub-process ("perform credit review") within a larger process.
	A printed document or report.
	A decision or branch point. Lines represent different decisions that can be made. Binary Y/N branching is common.
	Represents information, documents or materials entering or leaving the process, such as customer order document (input) or a report (output). Paper reports and on-screen output reports are sometime represented with different symbols.
	Indicates that the flow continues on another page, where a matching symbol (containing the same letter or number) has been drawn.
	Lines indicate the sequence of steps/actions and the direction of flow of the process.
Using MS Word or Excel for Flowcharting Flowcharting symbols can be found in MS Word by going to the Drawing toolbar and then looking for AutoShapes Flowchart. The same symbols are available in MS Excel on the Drawing toolbar. More specialized software is available for flowcharting.