Baptiste Noel
Growth and co-founder of Metrikia
- Master en neurosciences et neuropsychologies cliniques
- Master en entraînement et optimisation de la performance
- Créateur SaaS et de contenu, 20 000+ abonnés LinkedIn
Co-founder of Metrikia, Baptiste is building a SaaS from scratch and shares the growth journey unfiltered. A former clinical-neuroscience researcher and physical-performance coach, he built then left a coaching business generating over 70,000 EUR per month before focusing on product. He writes about growth strategy, acquisition and scaling.
LinkedInPlatform ROAS vs CRM ROAS: Two Numbers, Two Truths, One Right Decision
Platform ROAS and CRM ROAS tell different stories. Why the gap exists, what each one measures, and which of the two should drive your scaling calls.
Two ROAS Numbers, Two Realities
You open Meta Business Manager: ROAS 4.2x. You open your CRM: actual revenue divided by spend gives 2.6x. Who's right? Both. But they measure different things, and confusing them leads to catastrophic scaling decisions.
Platform ROAS: What the Ad Platform Tells You
Platform ROAS is calculated by the ad platform itself:
Platform ROAS = Revenue reported by the platform / Ad spend
Each platform has its own logic to determine that "revenue":
Meta uses a priority system to avoid internal duplicates:
omni_purchase(highest priority. Meta's cross-channel attribution)offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_purchase(standard pixel)purchase(fallback)
Metrikia automatically selects the most reliable source. If omni_purchase is available, the others are ignored. Without this hierarchy, Meta can count the same sale twice : once via omni_purchase, once via pixel.
Google uses metrics.conversions_value with category enrichment: PURCHASE, ADD_TO_CART, etc. Only PURCHASE-type conversions count toward ROAS.
TikTok uses the complete_payment event with currency matching verification (value_currency).
CRM ROAS: What Your Business Actually Earned
CRM ROAS is brutal and honest:
CRM ROAS = Actual revenue from closed deals / Ad spend
- Only deals with CLOSED (won) status count
- Revenue comes from
DealPaymententities, real payments received - Installment payments are tracked for accurate LTV
- No inflated attribution window, no questionable view-throughs
Why the Gap Is Systematic
| Source of Gap | Typical Impact |
|---|---|
| Attribution window (7-day click + 1-day view on Meta) | +15-30% phantom revenue |
| View-through conversions (user saw the ad but never clicked) | +10-20% |
| Cross-platform duplicates (Meta AND Google claim the same sale) | +5-15% |
| Unfinished conversions (abandoned carts counted as purchases) | +5-10% |
Result: Platform ROAS is typically 20-60% higher than CRM ROAS.
Concrete Example: Same Campaign, Two Truths
Take a Meta prospecting campaign with $8,000 spend over 30 days:
| Metric | Platform ROAS (Meta) | CRM ROAS (Metrikia) |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Reported conversions | 64 | 41 |
| Revenue | $32,000 | $19,680 |
| ROAS | 4.0x | 2.46x |
| Average order value | $500 | $480 |
The 38% difference comes from 23 "phantom conversions": view-through attributions, Google duplicates, abandoned carts counted as purchases.
The Blind Scaling Trap
If you scale based on a 4.0x Platform ROAS, you think you have comfortable margin to increase budgets. In reality, your 2.46x CRM ROAS is much closer to your breakeven point. Scaling a campaign on inflated ROAS is accelerating toward a wall.
Monetary Storage: Why Cents Matter
Crucial technical detail: Metrikia stores all amounts in cents ($150.42 = 15,042 cents). Why? Because floating-point operations introduce rounding errors. Over 10,000 transactions, these micro-errors accumulate and distort your ROAS. Integers eliminate this problem entirely.
The Right Decision Framework
| Decision | Metric to Use |
|---|---|
| Optimize bids and targeting within the platform | Platform ROAS |
| Decide to increase or cut a budget | CRM ROAS |
| Compare performance across Meta, Google, and TikTok | CRM ROAS |
| Evaluate overall marketing profitability | CRM ROAS (or MER) |
| Test new audiences | Platform ROAS (fast iterations) |
Platform ROAS is useful for tactical optimization within a platform. CRM ROAS is essential for business decisions: scaling, budget allocation, profitability.
In Metrikia: Side by Side, Never Mixed
Metrikia displays both ROAS on the same dashboard, side by side. Never mixed, never averaged. You see the gap in real time, campaign by campaign, ad set by ad set.
Deduplication is automatic: if Meta reports the same sale via omni_purchase AND fb_pixel_purchase, Metrikia keeps only the highest-priority source. Your CRM ROAS is calculated solely on actual payments received.
Learn more about Meta's biases: Why Meta's Reported ROAS Is Misleading
Switch to Real ROAS
Connect your Meta, Google, and TikTok accounts. Import your CRM deals. In 5 minutes, you'll see both ROAS side by side, and you'll understand why you're probably overpaying for certain campaigns. Free 14-day trial, no credit card required.