# How we count

> The rules behind AndOr analytics: visits, orders, consent, sampling, value added and currency.

Source: https://backtrackhq.com/docs/analytics/how-we-count/

These are the rules behind every number in AndOr analytics. The same
rules show in the app under **How we count**, below the metric cards on
the **Analytics** page and in the **How offers work** window on the
**Upsell offers** tab.

Knowing them helps you trust the numbers, and explains why they may not
match another report to the cent.

## Open the notes in the app

Under the metric cards you see a short note line, for example "All
amounts in USD, before refunds. Discount orders update daily." Click
**How we count** at the end of it to open the full notes.

(Screenshot: The How we count notes open under the metric cards)

## Nothing to set up

AndOr needs no web pixel and installs none. There is nothing to set up
in Shopify's **Customer events**. No numbers after a day? The app says:
"Check that the AndOr app embed and blocks are on in your theme."

## Orders

### Which orders count

**What it is:** "Orders that count: orders with an AndOr upsell offer,
an AndOr discount, or a discount shown by an AndOr widget. Each order
counts once."

- An order counts for an offer when it had the offer's item or its
  discount.
- Shopify's own discounts and other apps' discounts don't count.
- An order with a gift and an order goal is still one order in the
  cards.

**Why it matters:** your numbers only show what AndOr did, not your
whole store.

**How to use it:** to see all your sales, use Shopify's own reports.
Use AndOr to judge your AndOr deals.

### Refunds

**What it is:** revenue is before refunds. "If an order is refunded or
changed later, we still count its first total."

**Why it matters:** the app can show a little more than you kept after
returns.

**How to use it:** if you have many returns, check them in Shopify
before you judge an offer on revenue alone.

### Delays

**What it is:**

- Upsell offer orders can take a few minutes to show.
- Discount orders update once a day.

**Why it matters:** today's discount numbers may look low until the
daily update.

**How to use it:** for same-day numbers, use **Shopify's discount
report**. The link is in the **How we count** notes.

### 90 days kept

**What it is:** orders are kept for 90 days. So:

- Order numbers start 90 days back. The notes say, for example,
  "Orders are kept for 90 days, so order numbers start on" and a date.
- A comparison period that starts more than 90 days ago shows no order
  changes: "The comparison period starts more than 90 days ago. Orders
  are kept for 90 days, so order changes are not shown."

**Why it matters:** you can't look back further than 90 days. The
Free plan shows the last 7 days.

**How to use it:** to keep a longer history, use
[Export CSV](https://backtrackhq.com/docs/analytics/export-csv/) once a month and save the
file.

## Visits

### What a visit is

**What it is:** "A visit is one shopper session that saw at least one
offer."

- A shopper who comes back the next day counts twice.
- **Add rate** is visits where the shopper added an offer item, out of
  all visits that saw an offer.

**Why it matters:** visits are the base of every rate. A rate is only
as good as its visit count.

### Visits per offer, per place

**What it is:** "An offer row counts a visit once per place it showed,
like the product page and the cart. So the rows can add up to more
than your total visits."

Example: a shopper sees a goal offer on a product page, then in the
cart. The **By placement** table counts one visit for **Product page**
and one for **Cart page**. Your total visits count it once.

**How to use it:** read each row on its own. Don't add rows up to get
a total. Use the cards for totals.

### Consent

**What it is:** "Shoppers who decline analytics are not counted."
Visits only count shoppers we could track. Orders count every shopper.

**Why it matters:** the last step of the funnel and the **Conversion
rate** can look high. Some orders come from shoppers whose visits we
could not count.

**How to use it:** watch the trend of a rate over time, not its exact
value.

### Busy periods

**What it is:** in a very busy period, some numbers are estimated from
a sample. The page then says: "Busy period: some numbers are estimated
from a sample."

**Why it matters:** an estimate is close, not exact. Small numbers can
move a bit.

**How to use it:** nothing to do. Your offers keep showing to
shoppers.

## Money

### Added revenue

**What it is:** the extra revenue your promotions and upsell offers
bring in. It is the value AndOr adds to your store. See
[Added revenue](https://backtrackhq.com/docs/analytics/metrics/#added-revenue) for how each
deal counts.

Added revenue is not a limit. Plans aren't priced by it. Plans count
your store's orders a month. See
[Plans and billing](https://backtrackhq.com/docs/get-started/plans-and-billing/).

### Value added is not revenue

**What it is:** "Value added to carts: the price of items added
through an offer, counted on every add. It is not money you received."
Many carts never check out.

**How to use it:** use **Revenue from offers** for real sales.

### Currency

**What it is:** all amounts are in your store currency, for example
"All amounts in USD." AndOr never converts currencies.

**Why it matters:** if you sell in several currencies, every amount
still shows in your one store currency, so the numbers add up.