GA4 revenue doesn't match your Shopify payouts
You compare GA4's revenue to what actually hit your bank, and they are miles apart. Before assuming GA4 is wrong, know this: they are measuring different things, and a few specific gaps explain almost all of the difference.
They are not the same number by design
- Gross vs net: GA4 usually reports order value including tax and shipping; your payout is net of fees, discounts and sometimes tax. Different base, different total.
- Refunds: unless you send refund events, GA4 keeps the original revenue while your payout drops.
- Currency: multi-currency stores can report in mixed or converted currencies, inflating or deflating totals.
Then the real faults on top
- Missing purchases: the checkout gap means GA4 never saw some orders, so GA4 is lower.
- Duplicate purchases: a double-firing tag makes GA4 higher. See duplicate conversions.
- Consent: unconsented sessions are modelled or missing.
How to reconcile properly
Pick a definition (gross or net) and make GA4 and Shopify report the same one, wire up refunds, and separate currencies. Once the by-design gaps are removed, any remaining difference is a genuine tracking fault worth fixing, because every store makes ad decisions on this number.
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