Source Coverage Reconciliation (QA)

Source Coverage Reconciliation (QA)

1. 01

   Freeze a reporting cut-off timestamp before pulling any source

   Pick a fixed hour (for example 06:00 client-local) and record it on the report. Platforms such as DashThis and Reportz refresh on their own schedules, so an unfrozen cut-off is the most common cause of two versions of the same month.

2. 02

   Map every client KPI to a named source, field, and owner

   Write the mapping in a shared sheet: metric, platform (Google Ads, GA4, HubSpot, Stripe), exact field, and the person accountable. Klipfolio and Databox both connect to well over 100 sources, which makes unowned metrics easy to add and hard to defend.

3. 03

   Diff platform totals against native interfaces for the top five metrics

   Open Google Ads, Meta, and GA4 directly and compare spend, conversions, and sessions against the dashboard. Investigate any variance above 2% before the report leaves the agency.

4. 04

   Reconcile attribution windows and currency before flagging a discrepancy

   A 7-day click versus 28-day view setting can move conversion counts by double digits. Confirm the client's contracted attribution model and FX rate are applied identically across sources.

5. 05

   Quarantine broken connectors instead of hiding them

   When a source fails, label the tile as stale with the last successful sync time rather than deleting it. Silent removal trains clients to distrust the whole dashboard.

6. 06

   Log every correction with a date and a reason

   Keep a running change log attached to the account. It becomes the evidence trail when a client questions a number three months later.

7. 07

   Re-run the reconciliation after any template or integration change

   New tiles and renamed fields break joins quietly. Schedule a full pass within 48 hours of any structural edit to the reporting build.