The method / open to inspection
Trust the number.
Check the trail.
Trace contribution from the campaign to the order and every cost in between, with the unknowns still visible. What a concept.
Revenue is the start.
Contribution is the answer.
01 / Match the evidence
Find the order.
Follow the click.
Match a captured click identifier to its campaign, or use recorded campaign parameters when a direct identifier is missing. Deduplicate by store and order ID so a sale enters the ledger once.
Keep the source, timestamp and match method with the order. Leave orders without defensible evidence unattributed; platform-reported revenue is context, never another sale. No double dipping.
02 / Capture the cost
Five costs.
One honest number.
Record landed goods per order line, shipping and fulfilment from bills or labelled estimates, transaction processing fees, linked refunds and campaign spend for the same period.
Snapshot quantity, unit cost, currency, source and capture time at sale. A later catalogue edit must not rewrite an earlier order. Record corrections separately and label missing historical costs as estimates. Yesterday stays put.
Illustrative: $41.20 goods + $7.90 shipping + $3.17 fees + $2.40 return allowance + $18.60 ads.
03 / Follow the refund
Money comes back.
Margin moves too.
Link a refund to the original order and restate its contribution in the original sales period. In the cash view, show the refund when money leaves. Only count inventory recovery and fee credits once confirmed.
A purchase event alone cannot tell the whole refund story. Use the commerce ledger to complete the calculation, even when the ad dashboard still looks delighted. Awkward, but useful.
04 / Show the gaps
Keep the match.
Show the misses.
Order match rate is matched eligible orders divided by all eligible orders. Show revenue coverage separately, alongside the reporting period, denominator and source freshness.
In an illustrative 1,000-order period, 942 matched orders means 94.2% coverage and 58 unattributed orders. Never spread unknown revenue across winners; investigate lost identifiers and delayed syncs first. Resist the urge.
05 / Set the boundary
Better signals.
Your guardrails.
Use contribution to inform budget decisions, then set the spend limits and automation rules you authorise. Review the change log and keep inventory constraints beside the recommendation.
Attribution establishes a match, not incremental lift. Compare marginal return before moving the next dollar and hold recommendations when the evidence is thin. Permission to pause.
06 / Reconcile the clocks
Same period.
Clearer answer.
Use the stated store timezone and order date, with each platform attribution setting visible. CM1 subtracts landed goods; CM2 subtracts delivery, fulfilment and fees; CM3 subtracts advertising.
Keep taxes and fixed overhead outside contribution, and reconcile prior-period adjustments separately. Distinguish cash timing from accrual timing before comparing payback. Two clocks, remember.
Make the next dollar count
Less second-guessing.
More left over.
Bring your costs into the conversation before you raise the budget again. Radical stuff.