Analytics that agrees with the bank:
GA4, PostHog and CAPI set up once
Most teams run GA4 or PostHog from day one and still cannot answer a basic question: did this campaign pay for itself. We set up tracking against your actual orders, not against the platform's self-reported conversions, and show you the gap on day one.
Why GA4 and PostHog quietly drift from reality
A GA4 property gets installed once, during the original site build. Nobody revisits it once the business changes. A new checkout flow. A new payment provider. A subscription added on top of one-time purchases. A mobile app alongside the site. All of this quietly goes untracked. The events still fire, and the dashboard still shows numbers. Everyone assumes those numbers are right, because nothing looks obviously broken.
The gap only shows up when someone finally compares the platform’s conversion count against the order book, the bank statement, or the CRM. In one warehouse project we built, the gap was close to 85%. The analytics platform saw roughly 15% of real orders, because an order channel outside the tracked checkout had never been wired in. That is not a rare misconfiguration. It is close to the default state for any business that grew past its first simple funnel.
PostHog setups have a different failure mode. Teams turn on session replay and funnels, and generate interesting-looking charts. But they never connect any of it to revenue. So product decisions get made on engagement metrics that may have nothing to do with money.
How we fix the tracking
We start by asking what questions the business needs answered: cost per order by channel, which campaign brought a repeat buyer, whether a new feature changed checkout completion. From those questions, we build the tracking plan backward, not from a generic list of events a tool vendor suggests.
Then we audit what currently exists against your real order data, whichever system holds the truth: a store, a CRM, or a spreadsheet someone updates by hand. We show you the exact size of the gap before changing anything.
Fixing it means:
- Mapping GA4 or PostHog events to your real funnel steps
- Wiring Meta and Google Conversions API for server-side events that survive ad blockers and iOS privacy changes
- Enforcing a UTM and campaign naming convention, so channel attribution does not fall apart over time
- Building one dashboard that shows spend, orders, and return on ad spend side by side
Where a business runs both an ad-platform pixel and a product analytics tool, we make sure the two talk about the same event, the same way. A ‘purchase’ in GA4 and a ‘purchase’ in PostHog should not quietly count different things.
What we need to start
Read access to your current GA4 or PostHog property. Access to the ad accounts you run too: Meta, Google, TikTok, or others. And either an export or API access to your real order data.
If orders live in a CRM or a Telegram channel, rather than a clean database, tell us that upfront. We have rebuilt order books from messier sources than that.
A short working session with whoever owns the checkout or product flow helps us map events correctly on the first pass instead of guessing from the outside.
How we check the fix holds
Before and after: the gap between platform-reported conversions and real orders, measured in percent and in dollars of ad spend. That is the spend that was being optimized against the wrong signal. After the fix, the dashboard itself becomes the ongoing measure, checked weekly against the order data it is meant to agree with.
Cost and timeline
| Option | Price | What it covers | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch or audit | from $800 | Gap audit, GA4 or PostHog fix, CAPI wiring, one dashboard | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Monthly management | from $500 / month | Ongoing event QA, new feature tracking, monthly accuracy check | monthly, no lock-in |
| Full control, handover to your team | from $1,800 | Full documentation, training session, your team owns the setup | 2 to 3 weeks |
Where this tracking feeds into
This setup is the foundation for end-to-end marketing attribution and for marketing dashboards and reporting. Once tracking agrees with reality, a marketing stack audit is the natural next step. For the full build, see the analytics service page. On the automation side, ad performance reporting turns this same data into a daily digest. Real examples: the two-brand analytics hub and the sports nutrition relaunch, where a tracking fix came before any new ad spend.
Not sure how much of your real revenue your analytics actually sees? Get in touch and we will look at the gap in the first call.
FAQ
How much does a GA4 or PostHog setup cost?
From $800 for an audit and fix of your current setup against real orders, live in 1 to 2 weeks. A full warehouse joining ads, store, CRM and site events starts at $2,500 and is a separate, bigger project.
How long until we see the real numbers?
The audit itself takes about a week, and usually surfaces the gap immediately. Often within the first two or three days, once we compare platform events against your order export.
What budget do we need for this to be worth it?
Any store or app with regular orders benefits. But it matters most once you spend real money on ads. If you are running $1,000 or more a month in paid traffic, a tracking gap is already costing you more than the setup fee, every month.
What do you need from us?
Read access to GA4 or PostHog, your ad accounts, and an export or API access to your order data (store, CRM, or a spreadsheet). A short call to confirm which events actually matter to your business.
How do you report progress?
A before and after comparison once the fix lands, then a dashboard you can check any time. We do not send a weekly PDF nobody reads. We build the view your team will actually open.