Why Is My Invoice Not Aligned With My Reporting?
If your invoice total doesn't match what's shown in your reporting, there are a few common explanations. None of them indicate an error.
Billing and Reporting Are Two Separate Systems
Criteo Commerce Yield uses two separate systems to track spend: one for billing and one for reporting. Both draw from the same click collection pipeline, then are processed along different paths.
There can be some discrepancy between reporting and billing numbers because consistent reporting breakdowns require a higher level of detail on each click. This includes dimensional attributes such as the page type the ad was served on, the advertised product, the page category, and so on. Due to technical trade-offs, these attributes aren't captured in a small number of cases. The result is that those clicks may be excluded from some reporting breakdowns, even though they are still counted and billed correctly.
Billing and reporting also close on different schedules. Billing produces one final number once a period closes and doesn't change after that, whereas reporting continues to settle, so a number checked early in a period may look different from the final invoice. This doesn't mean anything is wrong. Reporting simply hasn't fully caught up yet.
Free Budget Shows in Reporting, But Not on Invoices
An invoice reflects only what is actually charged. If a Value Add or Credit was applied during a billing period, those amounts count as spend in reporting but won't appear on the invoice.
Value Add. Spends alongside paid budget and is included in reporting, but is not billed.
Credit. Spends before paid budget and is included in reporting, but is not billed.
If an invoice is lower than reporting shows, a Value Add or Credit is the most likely explanation.
A Note on Discounts
In Commerce Yield, you can apply a Discount to reduce the amount an advertiser is invoiced. Unlike Value Adds and Credits, a Discount is already reflected in both reporting and the invoice — so it does not cause a gap between the two. For more on how Discounts work, see Understanding Discounts.
The Invoice Is the Source of Truth
An invoice is the official record of what is charged. Reporting is designed to show campaign performance. It may show numbers that differ from an invoice, but this is a normal result of how the two systems work. When in doubt, refer to the invoice.
What to Do if You Notice a Discrepancy
When dealing with large budgets, it is possible that an invoice and reporting spend are off by a few dollars, euros, pounds, or whichever currency you operate in. Check whether a Value Add or Credit applied to the account during the period in question. If that doesn't explain the difference, contact your Criteo account team.