> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.moleculedata.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.moleculedata.com/understanding-your-data/why-your-numbers-dont-match.md).

# Why your numbers don't match

Meta says 40 sales, Shopify says 25. Here is why, and which number to trust for which decision.

Meta says 40 sales. Google says 12. Your Shopify admin shows 25 orders. Nobody is lying — the three numbers are answers to three different questions.

Sorting this out is the reason Molecule Data exists, so it is worth five minutes before you look at any report.

## Three numbers, three jobs

**Platform ROAS** — shown in Molecule as **Channel ROAS**. This is what the ad platform reports about itself: its own conversions, counted with its own rules. Each platform sees only its own ads.

**Molecule ROAS** — your real Shopify revenue, with every order counted exactly once and credited to the channel that earned it.

**Molecule Net ROAS** — the same revenue after VAT, shipping and returns are taken out. This is the money the business actually keeps.

## Why the platforms always add up to more than your store

* **Each platform only sees its own ads.** A customer clicks your Facebook ad on Monday and your Google ad on Thursday, then buys. Facebook records a sale. Google records a sale. Your store has one order. Molecule counts it once.
* **Views count, not only clicks.** Meta's default settings credit a sale up to 7 days after someone clicks an ad, and up to 1 day after someone merely saw it without clicking.
* **Every platform uses a different window.** The same order can fall inside one platform's window and outside another's.
* **Different clocks and currencies.** Platforms report in their own timezone and currency. Your store closes its day in your shop's timezone.
* **Some conversions are estimated.** When tracking is missing, platforms fill the gap with modelled numbers.

None of this is dishonest. A platform is measuring its own contribution and has no way of knowing what the other platforms did. It is just not the same question as "how much money did my store make?"

## How Molecule counts

{% hint style="info" %}
Molecule starts from your Shopify orders — the same orders you actually get paid for — and counts each one exactly once. The UTM tags on your ad links, plus the visit history Shopify itself records for each order, decide which channel gets the credit.
{% endhint %}

That is why Molecule's totals reconcile with your Shopify admin and the platforms' totals do not.

## When you need to look at both

Platform numbers are not useless — they are the only view of what the ad platform's own algorithm can see, and that is what it optimises against. Comparing the two is a diagnostic in itself:

| What you see                          | What it means                                                                                 | What to do                                            |
| ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Platform ROAS high, Molecule ROAS low | The platform is claiming buyers it did not create — or your UTM tracking is broken            | Check your UTM setup before you believe either number |
| Molecule ROAS high, platform ROAS low | The platform cannot see its own conversions, so it will optimise badly and hold back delivery | Fix tracking. This is not a reason to cut the budget  |
| Both move together                    | The channel is behaving the way it reports                                                    | Make your decision on Net ROAS                        |

## The rule of thumb

{% hint style="success" %}
Use the **platform's** numbers to compare one ad against another **inside** that platform.

Use **Molecule Net ROAS** to decide where the money goes and how hard to scale — it is the only number tied to your actual margin.
{% endhint %}

Scaling is where this matters most. Platform ROAS reacts to your ads, but it also moves when a platform changes its modelling or another channel starts touching the same buyers. Net ROAS moves when your business makes more money. That is the number to grow.

## Next

[How attribution works](/understanding-your-data/how-attribution-works.md) — what a touch is, and how Molecule decides which channel earned an order.

[Net ROAS](/understanding-your-data/net-roas.md) — what "net" removes, and the break-even number every shop should know.