> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clickflare.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ClickFlare Numbers Do Not Match the Ad Platform

> Why ClickFlare, your ad platform and your affiliate network each report different figures, and how much of a gap is normal.

ClickFlare says one thing, the ad platform says another, and the network says a third. Some difference is expected — these systems count different events at different moments. The question is whether the gap you are seeing is normal or a symptom.

## Some discrepancy is structural

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="They count different things" icon="circle-info">
    The ad platform counts a **click on the ad**. ClickFlare counts a **visit that reached your tracking link**. Every visitor lost in between — back button, slow connection, redirect blocked — is a click the platform counts and ClickFlare never sees.

    A gap of a few percent in this direction is normal and not fixable.

    See [Understanding ClickFlare Events](/docs/en/getting-started-with-click-flare/understanding-clickflare-events).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="They count at different times" icon="clock">
    Platforms attribute a conversion back to the time of the *click*. ClickFlare records it when the postback *arrives*. For an offer with a long conversion window, the same conversion lands on different days in the two systems.

    Always compare a range wide enough to absorb the lag, never a single day.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Timezones differ" icon="globe">
    Your ClickFlare workspace, your ad account and your network each have their own timezone. A day boundary in one is mid-afternoon in another. Two systems can both be right and still disagree on every single day while agreeing on the week.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Platforms restate figures" icon="chart-simple">
    Ad platforms revise spend and conversions after the fact as invalid traffic is filtered. Yesterday's number is not final. Networks likewise reverse conversions that later fail validation.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## When the gap is a real problem

Investigate when the difference is large, one-directional, or sudden.

| What you see                                               | Where to look                                                                                        |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ClickFlare shows **far fewer clicks** than the platform    | Redirect or domain problem — see [Clicks not tracked](/docs/en/troubleshooting/clicks-not-tracked)        |
| ClickFlare shows **no conversions** while the network does | The postback round trip — see [Conversions not showing](/docs/en/troubleshooting/conversions-not-showing) |
| Conversions arrive **with no campaign attached**           | The click ID is not surviving the trip — same page                                                   |
| **Cost is zero or frozen**                                 | See [Cost not pulling](/docs/en/troubleshooting/cost-not-pulling)                                         |
| Revenue is present but **wrong per conversion**            | See [Payout or revenue wrong](/docs/en/troubleshooting/payout-or-revenue-wrong)                           |
| The gap **appeared suddenly**                              | Something changed — a token, a domain, an integration's authorisation                                |

## How to compare properly

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick a settled range">
    Use a period that ended at least a day ago, so both systems have finished restating. Avoid today.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Align the timezones">
    Set the ad platform and ClickFlare to the same timezone before reading either. This alone resolves a large share of reported discrepancies.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Compare like with like">
    Match ad-platform clicks against ClickFlare visits, not clicks. ClickFlare's click metric counts the move from lander to offer, which is a different event entirely.

    See [How Click Tracking Works](/docs/en/getting-started-with-click-flare/how-click-tracking-works).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check one campaign, not the account">
    Account-level totals hide which campaign is responsible. Narrow to a single campaign before drawing conclusions.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Three-way mismatches

When a third system is involved — an optimisation tool, a reporting layer, a revenue partner — each additional system adds its own attribution window and timezone. Compare them in pairs rather than all at once, and establish which pair actually disagrees before changing anything.

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="How conversion tracking works" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/docs/en/getting-started-with-click-flare/how-conversion-tracking-works">
    What ClickFlare records, and at which moment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multicurrency" icon="money-bill" href="/docs/en/tracking/multicurrency-support-in-click-flare-how-it-works">
    How conversion between currencies affects reported figures.
  </Card>
</Columns>