Field Notes
When TikTok Shop ads disagree with contribution margin
Campaign exports and settlement deductions often tell different stories — here is how we reconcile them for one review month.
Media buyers live in campaign dashboards. Finance lives in settlements. Arguments start when both screens show “spend” but only one matches the cash that left the seller balance.
Pull both files for the same calendar month
Do not mix a campaign week with a settlement cycle that spans month-end. Pick one month and accept that a few late adjustments will spill — document them instead of forcing a perfect match.
Tag seller vouchers tied to live campaigns
If a live campaign funds vouchers, those vouchers should appear beside that campaign in your fee map. Otherwise finance will treat them as random platform noise.
Watch for payment and affiliate lines
Affiliate commissions and payment fees sometimes sit near ads in the UI but behave like selling costs. Our Marketplace Fee & Deduction Review keeps them in separate columns so contribution margin stays honest.
Close with a Monday habit
After the first cleaned month, ask the media buyer to paste campaign IDs into a shared sheet before the weekly ops meeting. The audit should leave a ritual, not a one-off spreadsheet nobody opens again.