How an order gets its credit
The credit is the source or creator ThanksTo names for an order. To see why one order got its credit, open it from Orders and read the top of its page.
The steps
Section titled “The steps”ThanksTo goes down this list for each paid online order and stops at the step that gives an answer.
- Tracked visit. The shopper came through one of your links, an ad or another website.
- Shopify data. ThanksTo didn’t see the visit, or saw only a Direct visit, so it uses the source Shopify recorded.
- Discount code. A code linked to a creator on the creator’s page credits that creator.
- Survey answer. Otherwise, the source or creator the shopper named in the survey on your Thank you page, if ThanksTo knows that source or creator.
- Repeat customer. Otherwise, the creator of the customer’s last order that had a creator, within 30 days. This step is off until you turn it on in Settings.
A Direct visit means ThanksTo saw the shopper, but no link. It still counts as a visit, so the order stays Direct, and steps 4 and 5 only run when ThanksTo saw no visit at all. Orders with no answer show as Not tracked.
Credit is an estimate from the data ThanksTo has, not proof of what made someone buy. Some orders can’t be credited, and that’s normal.
A link comes ahead of a code. If the credit has no creator, a linked code adds one: an order from Google that used a creator’s code goes to that creator, with Google as the source.
The 30 and 90 day rules
Section titled “The 30 and 90 day rules”- 90 days. ThanksTo looks at the visits from the 90 days before the order. Older visits never get the credit.
- 30 days. A visit through a creator’s link in the last 30 days comes ahead of all others. If there are several, the latest one wins.
- No such visit? The latest visit with a source wins. If every visit was Direct (ThanksTo saw no link), the order is Direct.
| Before buying, the shopper | Credit goes to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Opened a creator’s Instagram link, came from ChatGPT 5 days later | The creator (Instagram) | Inside the 30 days. |
| Opened a creator’s Instagram link, came from ChatGPT 40 days later | ChatGPT | Past the 30 days. |
| Came from ChatGPT, came from Instagram 3 days later | The latest visit wins. | |
| Came from a TikTok post, typed your address 17 days later | TikTok | A Direct visit doesn’t take the credit. |
| Came from Instagram 100 days ago, typed your address today | Direct | Older than 90 days. |
What “helped” means
Section titled “What “helped” means”
“It helped” and Last visit from mean the shopper’s last visit came from somewhere other than the credit. That source gets no part of the sale.
An order counts once
Section titled “An order counts once”Each order has one credit, so the rows in Sales by channel add up to your sales.
One credit can name a creator and a source, such as jane (Instagram). The order then shows under the creator on Creators and under the source in Analytics, so don’t add them together.
AI sales works differently: an order can count on AI assistants even if another source has the credit.