When Google says I got 20 conversions, did I really?

Bottomline compares platform-reported conversions against actual orders in your payment processor and accounting software to show you the real count.

Am I making budget decisions based on fake numbers?

Bottomline recalculates your ad budget using verified revenue from your books instead of inflated platform claims, so every dollar goes where it actually works.

If I doubled ad spend, would I actually get double the results?

Bottomline tracks your actual return curves by channel so you can see where spend scales linearly and where you hit diminishing returns.

Can I trust the reports my marketing agency sends me?

Bottomline cross-references agency-reported metrics with your accounting and payment data so you can verify their claims independently.

Which of my numbers are solid and which are shaky?

Bottomline grades every metric by data source and verification method, so you always know which numbers to trust and which to question.

Are my ad platforms lying to me?

Google Ads says it drove $38K in sales. Meta says $29K. Your books show $52K total. That's $15K of phantom revenue. Here's why every platform inflates, and how to catch them.

7 min read

The short answer

Not lying, exactly. But not telling the full truth. Every ad platform uses attribution models designed to make their ads look as effective as possible. Google, Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn all take credit for conversions they only partially influenced. When you add their claims together, the total regularly exceeds your actual revenue by 30-60%.

The $15,000 gap between what platforms claim and what your books show

Here is a scenario that plays out in thousands of businesses every month. You spend $8,000 on Google Ads and $6,000 on Meta Ads. Google reports $38,000 in attributed revenue. Meta reports $29,000. Combined, your ad platforms claim they generated $67,000.

But when you open QuickBooks and run a Profit and Loss report for the same month, total revenue is $52,000. That is $15,000 less than what the platforms claim. Where did the extra $15,000 come from? Nowhere. It is double-counted, inflated, or imagined.

This is not a bug. It is how platform attribution works. And if you are making spending decisions based on those inflated numbers, you are likely overspending on channels that are not performing as well as they appear.

Three ways ad platforms inflate their conversion numbers

View-through attribution.Meta's default setting counts a conversion if someone saw your ad (not clicked) and purchased within 1 day. If someone scrolled past your ad in their feed and then bought from you after a Google search, Meta still claims that sale. To check this setting: go to Meta Ads Manager → Columns → Customize Columns → Comparing Windows. You will likely see “1-day view, 7-day click” as the default.
Last-click cannibalization. Google Ads takes full credit when the last click before purchase was a Google ad. This includes branded search campaigns where someone types your exact company name. They were already going to buy. The ad just intercepted them. To see this: go to Google Ads → Tools & Settings → Measurement → Conversions and check which attribution model each conversion action uses.
Cross-platform double counting. There is no deduplication between platforms. One customer can trigger a claimed conversion on Google, Meta, and TikTok simultaneously. Nobody subtracts the overlap because no single platform can see what the others are claiming.

How to verify ad platform claims against your real revenue (step by step)

1
Export conversion value from Google Ads
Go to Google Ads → Campaigns. Click Columns → Modify columns. Add Conv. value (Conversion value). Set the date range to last month. Note the total at the bottom.
2
Export conversion value from Meta Ads Manager
Go to Meta Ads Manager → Campaigns. Click Columns → Customize Columns. Add Purchase Conversion Value. Match the same date range. Note the total.
3
Add up all platform-claimed revenue in a spreadsheet
Include every ad platform you run. Sum their claimed revenue numbers. This is what your platforms collectively say they generated.
4
Pull actual revenue from QuickBooks or Xero
In QuickBooks: Reports → Profit and Loss, same month, note Total Income. In Xero: Accounting → Reports → Profit and Loss, note Total Revenue.
5
Compare and calculate the inflation gap
Subtract actual revenue from claimed revenue. Divide the difference by actual revenue. Example: ($67K claimed - $52K actual) / $52K = 29% inflation. That is how much your platforms are collectively overclaiming.
6
Cross-check conversion counts against Stripe or your payment processor
Google says 340 conversions. How many actual charges did Stripe process? If Stripe shows 280 successful payments, 60 of those conversions never turned into real money. This is the most concrete check you can run.

What this verification costs you in time every month

The full process takes 30 to 45 minutes per month. You need to log into every ad platform, export conversion data, log into your accounting software, pull revenue, and do the math in a spreadsheet. This is on top of any time you already spend reviewing campaign performance.

Total time: 30-45 minutes per month. Requires logins to every ad platform, your accounting software, and your payment processor. Most businesses skip this entirely and keep spending based on inflated numbers.

Or let Bottomline catch the inflation automatically

Bottomline connects to your ad platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads) and your accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero) once. Every month, it compares what each platform claims against what actually showed up in your books and shows you the gap.

Platform truth check

Platforms claimed

$67,200

Your books show

$52,000

Inflation gap

29% overclaimed

Google Ads$38,000~$29,400

Meta Ads$29,200~$22,600

From a real Bottomline report. Platform claims crossed against verified revenue from your accounting software.

No spreadsheets. No manual logins. Every month you see exactly how much each platform is inflating its numbers, so you can reallocate budget based on reality instead of platform spin.