Designed Growth · Resources
Meta ROAS looks fine. Revenue doesn't.
Meta credits a sale to an ad inside an attribution window, estimates some results it can't observe, and sees only the events you send it. Your books see booked calls and closed sales. Read the report against them, not instead of them.
Who this is for
Owners whose Meta report and books disagree.
You already invest in Meta. Ads Manager shows a healthy return. The calendar and the quarter don't.
The return looks calm.
ROAS holds steady in a month when closed work didn't move.
Nobody checked the setting.
No one can say which window, or which event, the number is built on.
The pixel stops at the form.
Meta sees the lead. It never hears which leads booked, closed, or went quiet.
What Meta counts by default
7 days
Meta's default click window for new ad sets, paired with a 1-day view window. A sale inside either window can be credited to the ad.
Source: Meta Business Help Center, facebook.com/business/help/1997130013754737 · checked 2026-10-19
How we read it
Read the setting. Then believe the books.
- 01
Check the setting.
We confirm the attribution setting on every ad set and compare windows side by side, so no month is judged on a wider window than the last.
- 02
Name the event.
We list what the pixel counts as a result: a page view, a form, a purchase. A form is a step. A closed sale is the outcome.
- 03
Send back what happened.
Booked calls and closed sales go back to Meta from the CRM through the Conversions API, deduplicated with the pixel.
- 04
Judge on the books.
Each month, Meta's results sit next to booked calls and closed revenue from the CRM. Spend stays where the sales show up.
FAQ
Reading Meta's numbers
Why does Meta report a good ROAS while revenue stays flat?
Because Meta measures something smaller than revenue. It credits results to ads inside an attribution window, estimates some results it can't observe, and counts only the events your pixel or Conversions API sends. A lead can be counted, even given a value, and never become a sale. Revenue lives in your CRM and your books.
What is Meta's default attribution setting?
For new ad sets, Meta's default is 7-day click or 1-day view. A result can be credited to an ad if it happens within seven days of a click, or within a day of someone seeing the ad without clicking. Check the setting on each ad set before you compare one month or campaign with another.
What is a view-through conversion on Meta?
It's a result Meta credits to an ad someone saw but didn't click. Meta uses a last-touch model: if nobody clicked, credit goes to the last ad viewed. That person may already have been on their way to you. Treat view-through results as a question to test, not as revenue the ad earned.
Does Meta estimate some of the conversions it reports?
Yes. Meta says it uses statistical modeling to estimate conversions when data is missing or partial, for example because of people's privacy choices. Modeled results can appear in reported results and breakdowns. That makes the report a fuller estimate. It is still not a count of the calls you booked or the sales you closed.
How do I get booked calls and closed sales into Meta?
Send them from your CRM through Meta's Conversions API. Meta describes it as a connection between marketing data from your server, website platform, app, or CRM and Meta, including offline conversions. Run it alongside the pixel, deduplicated, so a booked call or a closed sale becomes a result Meta can see and optimize toward.