Field Notes · 12 May 2026
When platform totals disagree, start with the windows
Most advertising spend attribution fights begin as date-window mismatches, not broken pixels.
Before you rebuild a pixel, print the reporting windows side by side. One export may close at midnight UTC; another may use the advertiser’s local day; a third may attribute conversions seven days after the click while finance closes on calendar months.
In our Campaign Attribution Studies we open every reconciliation memo with a window table. Teams who adopt that habit spend less time accusing the creative of “not converting” and more time deciding which window the board will accept for the period.
If your next close hinges on a contested channel, bring the raw exports to a reconciliation engagement before you commission a full study.