Order Tracking

Order tracking in MerchantFlow syncs every order from your Shopify or WooCommerce store and provides detailed visibility into revenue, refunds, fulfillment costs, and marketing attribution at the individual order level. This data feeds directly into your P&L calculations for accurate profit reporting.

What Data Gets Tracked Per Order

Each order in MerchantFlow includes:

• Subtotal - order amount before shipping and tax
• Refund Amount - any refunded amount for the order
• Order Date - when the order was placed
• Payment Status - current payment state (paid, pending, refunded, partially refunded)
• Fulfillment Cost - cost to fulfill and ship the order

UTM Attribution Data

MerchantFlow stores marketing attribution data per order:

• UTM Source - where the customer came from (e.g., google, facebook, newsletter)
• UTM Medium - the marketing medium (e.g., cpc, email, social)
• Referrer - the referring URL

This data connects your orders back to the marketing channels that generated them. See UTM Tracking for setup instructions.

How to Access Orders

Orders Dashboard

Navigate to Dashboard > Orders to view your complete order list.

Dashboard shows:

• Total orders for the selected period
• Order list with key details (date, amount, status)
• Filtering by date range, status, and source
• Search by order ID or customer

Individual Order Details

Click any order to view its full details at Dashboard > Orders > [orderId]:

• Order summary (subtotal, tax, shipping, total)
• Payment status and history
• Fulfillment cost and status
• Line items with product and variant mapping
• Refund details (if applicable)
• Attribution data (UTM source, medium, referrer)

How Order Syncing Works

MerchantFlow syncs orders from your connected e-commerce platform:

• Shopify - orders synced via the Shopify integration
• WooCommerce - orders synced via the WooCommerce REST API

The sync pulls all order data including line items, payment status, fulfillment details, and any associated refunds.

Line Items

Each order includes detailed line items:

• Product name and SKU
• Variant (size, color, etc.)
• Quantity ordered
• Price per unit
• Product mapping to your MerchantFlow product catalog

Line item data enables product-level profitability analysis and COGS matching.

How Refunds Are Handled

MerchantFlow tracks refunds at the order level:

• Full refunds - entire order amount refunded
• Partial refunds - portion of order refunded
• Refund amount - exact dollar amount returned to customer

Refunds are factored into P&L calculations automatically. When an order is refunded, the revenue is adjusted in your profit reporting.

Viewing refunds:

1. Go to Dashboard > Orders
2. Filter by payment status to find refunded orders
3. Click an order to see refund details and amounts

How Attribution and Source Tracking Work

Each order can carry attribution data showing how the customer found your store:

• Source - the origin (google, facebook, email, direct)
• Medium - the channel type (cpc, organic, social, referral)
• Referrer - the specific URL that sent the customer

Using Attribution Data for Decision-Making

Attribution helps you understand:

• Which marketing channels generate the most orders
• Which channels have the highest average order values
• Where refund rates are highest by source
• Which campaigns drive the most profitable customers

Example analysis:

• Orders from Meta Ads: 500 orders, $45 average, 3% refund rate
• Orders from Google Ads: 300 orders, $62 average, 2% refund rate
• Orders from Email: 200 orders, $55 average, 1% refund rate

This data helps you allocate marketing budget more effectively.

How Orders Feed Into P&L

Order data feeds directly into your Profit & Loss calculations:

• Revenue - calculated from order subtotals
• Refunds - subtracted from gross revenue to get net revenue
• Fulfillment Costs - included in expense calculations
• Product COGS - matched via line item product mapping

Navigate to Dashboard > P&L to see how orders contribute to your overall profitability.

Best Practices for Order Tracking

1. Monitor Refund Rates

Track refund rates by product and by source. High refund rates on specific products may indicate quality or description issues.

2. Use Attribution Data

Review attribution data regularly to understand which marketing channels drive the most profitable orders, not just the most orders.

3. Check Fulfillment Costs

Keep an eye on fulfillment costs per order. Rising fulfillment costs can silently erode margins.

4. Verify Sync Completeness

Periodically compare order counts in MerchantFlow with your e-commerce platform to ensure all orders are syncing correctly.

Troubleshooting Order Issues

Orders not appearing

Possible causes:

• E-commerce integration not connected
• Initial sync still in progress
• Date range filter excluding recent orders

Solutions:

1. Verify integration status at Settings > Integrations
2. Wait for sync to complete
3. Adjust the date range filter

Order totals do not match platform

Possible causes:

• Sync timing difference
• Currency conversion
• Tax or shipping inclusion differences

Solutions:

1. Wait for the next sync cycle
2. Verify currency settings
3. Check whether totals include or exclude tax/shipping in both systems

Missing attribution data

Possible causes:

• UTM parameters not set on marketing links
• Customer visited directly (no referrer)
• Attribution data not passed by the e-commerce platform

Solutions:

1. Ensure all marketing campaigns use proper UTM parameters
2. Direct visits will naturally have no attribution data
3. Check that your e-commerce platform captures and passes UTM data

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do orders sync in MerchantFlow?

Orders sync as part of the regular background sync cycle, approximately every 30 minutes for active workspaces. You can also trigger a manual sync for immediate updates.

Does MerchantFlow track individual customer data?

MerchantFlow tracks order data but does not store personal customer information such as names, email addresses, or shipping addresses. Attribution is at the order level, not the customer level.

How are partial refunds reflected in profit calculations?

Partial refunds reduce the order revenue by the refunded amount. COGS and other costs remain associated with the original order, providing an accurate post-refund profit calculation.

Can I export order data from MerchantFlow?

Yes. Navigate to Dashboard > Orders, apply any desired filters, and use the export function to download order data as CSV for external analysis.

Related Topics

• P&L Overview - Complete profit tracking
• Profit Margins - Margin analysis
• Ad Spend Tracking - Advertising cost tracking
• COGS Management - Product cost management
• UTM Tracking - Marketing attribution setup
• Attribution Dashboard - Channel revenue analysis

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Last updated: March 14, 2026