Verifying Your First Report

Once your first report has run, verify the accuracy of the data — this matters for trusting your reports going forward.

Before You Start

You should have a completed report with data in your Google spreadsheet.

Step 1: Check the structure

Check that in the report sheet:

• Column headers match the metrics you selected
• The data type in each column is correct (numbers are numbers, dates are dates)
• There are no blank rows in the middle of the data (except for fully empty days)

Step 2: Check the totals

Reconcile the key totals against the ad account interface:

1. Open Meta Ads Manager for the same period
2. Compare:
   • Total spend
   • Number of impressions
   • Number of clicks

Acceptable discrepancies

Small discrepancies are considered normal:

• Spend: up to 0.1% (rounding)
• Impressions: up to 0.5% (different data sources)
• Clicks: up to 1% (different counting methodologies)

Step 3: Check by campaign

Pick 2-3 campaigns and compare their metrics individually. This helps pinpoint an issue in a specific campaign if the overall totals don't match.

Step 4: Check the dates

Make sure:

• The report period matches what you specified
• The dates are in the timezone you configured
• There's no duplication of rows for the same day

If the data doesn't match

1. Check the timezone — this is the most common cause of discrepancies
2. Check that Meta Ads Manager has the same period and the same attribution (click/view) selected
3. Compare metrics by day rather than as totals
4. See the article Meta Ads Data Discrepancies

How to check

• All totals match the ad account within the acceptable discrepancy ranges
• The data structure is readable and clear
• There are no unexpected empty values

Related Articles

• Creating Your First Report
• Meta Ads Data Discrepancies
• Troubleshooting Reports