Discrepancies between Facebook and your backend (e.g., Shopify, CRM, GA4) are common and usually caused by:
Key Reasons:
Attribution windows differ: Facebook defaults to a 7-day click / 1-day view, while your backend uses last-click or real-time attribution.
Cross-device activity: Users may click an ad on one device (e.g., mobile) and convert later on another, causing tracking gaps.
Privacy restrictions: iOS updates, ad blockers, and cookie consent banners can block tracking (especially Meta Pixel).
Event duplication or missing events: If your Pixel and CAPI aren’t deduplicated properly, Meta may drop events or double count them.
How to Reconcile:
Use UTM parameters to track Facebook traffic in Google Analytics or backend tools.
Align your attribution windows as closely as possible across platforms.
Check Meta Events Manager to confirm pixel and server events are firing and properly deduplicated.
Use GA4 DebugView or custom reports to compare the same conversions across both platforms for the same time window.