Why Your Numbers Never AgreeThe cheat sheetThe cheat sheet

One-page cheat sheet: how GA4, Google Ads, Meta, your shop and your lead list each count a conversion, side by side.

What you get (+1 bonus)

Five sources, side by side.
GA4, Google Ads, Meta Ads, your shop and your lead list or CRM in one table, so you can see how each one counts a conversion before you compare them.
Seven columns that explain gaps.
For each source: default attribution and window, whether views count, which date a conversion is reported on, modelled conversions, the time zone and the typical reasons for a gap.
Three rules for using it.
Use your shop or lead list as the record for money and leads, line up dates, time zone, attribution and revenue definition, then track the ratio each month.
+1 bonus
An AI skill for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot
that walks the ten reasons for two numbers that disagree and says how much of the gap each one explains in your own numbers.

Free · about 15 seconds

Who it's for, and who it's not for

A shop owner at a kitchen table on a Monday morning compares a printed order list with a laptop screen, pen in hand.

Who it's for

Shop owners and lead-gen teams who keep Meta, Google Ads and GA4 open next to their orders or lead list and want each one's counting rules side by side.
Agencies and freelancers who need a quick reference when a client asks why Google Ads, Meta and the shop or CRM show different numbers.
Anyone about to compare two numbers in a report or a meeting who wants to line up dates, time zones and attribution before drawing a conclusion.

Who it's not for

Anyone who wants each reason explained in depth. The cheat sheet is a reference table; the ten reasons, the trust table and the monthly routine are in the full explainer.
Shops on platforms other than Shopify and WooCommerce looking for their exact defaults. Those cells say "varies - check your settings", and so do the ones for your CRM.

What's inside

PDF · 1 page

Honest note

The cheat sheet shows each platform's defaults as documented in October 2026, and your own settings may differ. Meta's attribution is set per ad set, so check yours in Ads Manager. Shop platforms other than Shopify and WooCommerce, and CRMs, read "varies - check your settings". A gap the table can't explain may be broken tracking, and that's a job for whoever implements your tracking.

Free · about 15 seconds