Why your ad reports and signed-case reports disagree

We define the events before reconciling the numbers.

When the agency reports conversions and the managing partner reports signed cases, Gadient Consulting first establishes what each number means. A form submission, repeat call, unique inquiry, qualified opportunity, and executed agreement are separate events. We do not force them into a matching total.

We create a measurement dictionary with the event, trigger, system of record, responsible role, and exclusion rule. We inspect the actual configuration with the agency or administrator because a dashboard label alone does not establish what fires the event.

Google Ads distinguishes qualified and converted leads and supports deeper outcomes recorded outside the platform. We use that distinction to design meaningful measurement where the firm’s implementation permits it. A platform conversion remains a configured event, not proof of a retained case.

Source: Google Ads: qualified leads and converted leads

We trace a defined cohort across the systems.

We select an inquiry period and assemble a reconciliation register using stable record identifiers where available. Each row connects the acquisition record to intake, agreement, and matter status. We identify duplicates, repeat contacts, spam, reopened inquiries, and unmatched records rather than hiding them in an adjustment total.

Tracked calls, unique inquiries and signed matters measure different stages. We connect each interaction to its inquiry and each inquiry to its eventual outcome. That reconciliation lets leadership distinguish workload, demand and acquisition results.

We assign exceptions to the right owner: the agency investigates an event trigger, the CRM administrator checks record creation, intake resolves missing statuses, and finance confirms the expense population. The register retains unresolved items and the evidence needed to close them.

• Which system owns the unique inquiry record?
• What creates or updates the record?
• How does it connect to the agreement and matter?
• Who investigates unmatched outcomes?

We prevent source corrections from erasing the journey.

We separate original acquisition source, later interactions, referral details, and the prospect’s self-reported source. These fields answer different questions. A later branded search should not silently replace a recorded referral, and a staff member’s guess should not become verified campaign attribution.

Our field map specifies which system writes each value, when updates are allowed, and how history is preserved. We review a new record, returning caller, duplicate merge, and manual correction with the administrator before accepting the configuration.

Unknown remains visible until supported evidence resolves it. Where a correction is justified, we retain the original value, corrected value, evidence, reviewer, and date. That creates a defensible trail for the next budget discussion.

For a deeper look at reconciliation, explore law-firm marketing attribution.

We put the acquisition clock beside the signature clock.

We separate a calendar-period activity view from an acquisition-cohort view. The first shows work and signatures occurring this month. The second follows inquiries acquired in a defined period as they develop. Both help management, but they cannot be substituted for one another.

Google’s conversion-lag documentation explains why recent advertising results can change as later outcomes arrive. In firm reporting, we show the observation cutoff, pending opportunities, and cohort age. We compare similar maturity before treating a movement as a channel improvement or decline.

The practical deliverable is a scorecard that labels its date basis on the page. We also agree when outcomes are refreshed and who investigates late changes, so an updated total does not look like an unexplained reporting error.

Source: Google Ads: conversion lag reporting

Apply the same population and timing checks to cost per signed case.

We deliver an exception-backed leadership scorecard.

Our reconciliation note states definitions, date basis, matched records, exclusions, unresolved differences, and ownership. It distinguishes evidence strong enough for a decision from data that still needs repair. A report can support a routing correction while remaining too incomplete for a precise source-level budget shift.

We manage the remediation queue between reporting cycles. Closing a ticket requires a record-level check of the correction, not simply confirmation that someone changed a setting. We then monitor whether the same exception recurs.

The limitation is straightforward: we cannot reconstruct evidence that was never collected with certainty. In those cases, we preserve uncertainty and improve future capture. If your reports disagree, start with one acquisition period and the underlying exports. Our attribution engagement turns that bounded reconciliation into a repeatable reporting process.

Discuss the work with Gadient Consulting in a consultation about this workflow.

Use the reconciled records in a monthly marketing review.