Marketing vs. Accounting Numbers

Marketing reports tell the influence story, including sales tax. Accounting reports tell the money story, in the exact terms of your Terms. Both are built from the same transactions and line up at specific points.

Use Marketing reports to understand the revenue Joe influences, what it costs, and how different segments and channels perform. These figures include sales tax and use plain, everyday language.

Use Accounting reports to reconcile payouts to your bank, file sales tax, run payroll on tips, and close your books. These figures use the exact terms from your contract.

Where the two line up exactly
Net Program Cost and Effective Program Rate on the Cost of Marketing Influence Sales page match your Rewards Program Statement for the same period, down to the penny. Your Rewards Program Statement also connects the pre-tax Loyalty-Attributed Sales line to the tax-inclusive Program Transaction Volume that your contributions are calculated from.

What not to do
Don't try to reconcile a Marketing tile directly against a payout or tax filing — Marketing figures intentionally include marketplace influence and sales tax. If you're ever unsure which number to trust, start from your Rewards Program Statement.

FAQ

Marketing Revenue is bigger than my sales report — is something wrong?
No. Marketing Revenue includes sales tax and marketplace-influenced demand, while your accounting sales lines are pre-tax. They're answering different questions — check the ⓘ on each tile to see which one you're looking at.