Why Aren't My Reports Matching Shopify? - Part 1

We often get questions about Report Toaster reports not matching numbers seen in Shopify.

As you might expect, our reports should match Shopify exactly when comparing compatible data. So below are some tips for troubleshooting data that seems to be mismatched.

Make Sure the Date Ranges Are the Same

The most common scenario is that the reports in the two systems are not using the same date range.

The easiest way to start is to run both reports for "Last Month" to make comparisons. This limits the possible data to a reasonable time period while also ensuring that data isn't changing as new orders are being placed.

Compare Filters

Another cause of data mismatch is differing filters between Report Toaster and Shopify. Please make sure you are using the same filters on both reports.

Use Compatible Datasets

When comparing reports for accuracy, it's best to compare "apples to apples". Avoid comparing a product level report to a sales channel report.

It may be that the grand totals can or will be the same in the end, but this isn't ideal for troubleshooting.

Start with Some Basic Comparisons

The fastest way to validate Report Toaster's data is to use some basic reports.

We suggest starting with the Shopify Total Sales over time report, which can be found in the Sales category in their Reports section: 

Note that this report was run for "Last Month" to show a full month of sales and payments. This report can then be directly compared to Report Toaster's Financial/Finance Summary report:

As you can see, this report matches the Sales section of the Shopify report exactly when also run for "Last Month". 

Gift Card Sales

Finally, one important thing to note is that Shopify does not include Gift Card Sales into their Sales figures whereas we do in our reports. 

So if you're seeing a difference between the Gross Sales figures in the Shopify Sales reports and ours, be sure to factor this in accordingly. 

If you're looking at a Sales report and you do want to exclude these things to better align with Shopify's numbers, then you can do this very easily by using a filter.

The filter we have in question is called Exclude Tips, Gift Cards and Cancels and you can choose from the dropdown the items you want to exclude from the report. 

For example, if you wanted to match Shopify, generally we recommend you choose Exclude Tips, Gift Cards and Cancels? not one of, Gift Card.

Comparing individual orders 

Finally if you are still seeing a difference in the numbers, then it's time to narrow down the set of data. 

To do this, we recommend narrowing down the data to a small, complete set (e.g. try a single day)

You can then add Order Name to both reports (see here for how to do this in Report Toaster). This will let you find any orders where the numbers are different and likely be able to determine any potential causes from there. 

We Are Here to Help!

If you still think there are discrepancies between Shopify's data and what you are seeing in Report Toaster, please email us to support@cloudlab.com 

Please provide us screenshots (or better yet, a direct csv export of the Shopify Total Sales over Time, ideally with Order name added). This will help us identify any potential causes as we can't access your Shopify admin. 

For Part 2 of this article series, covering how Shopify applies discounts to items that already include tax, click here.

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