[Growth & acquisition]() / [Use cases]() / [Profit signals]()
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# Send ad platforms profit, not revenue.
The platforms optimize whatever value you send them. Send them what each order is actually worth to you.
[Start with a growth engine review]() [How it works]()
Value sent per order · canvas field jacket Synced
- Meta $168 revenue**$74 profit** 9:40
- Google $168 revenue**$74 profit** 9:40
- TikTok $168 revenue**$74 profit** 9:41
Server-side events · reconciled every Monday
What each platform is told an order is worth, updated as costs change.
## Sound familiar?
- ROAS looks great on products that barely make money.
- A $168 order with $1 left counts the same as one with $34.
- Finance and marketing report different numbers for the same week.
Every bid is aimed at revenue, so budget drifts toward your least profitable sales.
## What changes.
ShowTodayWith the engine
What the platforms see
Revenue per order Profit per order, after product, shipping and returns
Bidding
Target ROAS on revenue Value-based bidding on profit
Returns
Counted as sales Expected returns taken off before sending
Reporting
Two sets of numbers One number marketing and finance share
## How it works. 5 steps, 4 stages.
- AI**1**
- Rules and automation**3**
- Your team**1**
- Approval
1. 1 Price it
1. Rules and automation
### Work out profit per order
Product cost, shipping, fees and expected returns, from Shopify and your ERP.
- Shopify
- NetSuite
2. Your team Approval
### Agree the definition
Finance and growth sign off what counts as profit.
2. 2 Send it
1. Rules and automation
### Send it with every conversion
Server-side events carry the profit value to each platform.
- Meta
- Google Ads
- TikTok
3. 3 Bid on it
1. AI
### Watch for drift
Flags products whose costs, returns or prices moved the value being sent.
4. 4 Check it
1. Rules and automation
### Reconcile weekly
Values sent are checked against actual orders, refunds and costs.
Actual costs update next week’s values
## What you get. Real work, every week.
Profit per order, by product
Product
Price
Profit sent
Change
Canvas field jacket
$168
$74
—
Merino crew
$98
$52
—
Trail pant
$110
$47
Returns up
Waxed field jacket
$168
$41
Cost up
The value table finance signed off. Same prices, very different worth.
Where each $168 order goes, before ads
Canvas field jacket _37%__11%__8%__44%_
Waxed field jacket _46%__11%__19%__24%_
- Product
- Shipping and payment
- Returns
- Left to spend on ads
Fernway’s numbers, from the value table
Two jackets, one price, the same ROAS. What each order leaves is what the platforms now bid on.
## How you’ll know it’s working.
1. Profit after ads
Reported ROAS drops when values get honest; this is what should rise.
2. Spend on low-profit products
Shows the platforms steering toward sales that pay.
3. Gap between marketing and finance numbers
One definition means one answer in the weekly meeting.
Baselines agreed before we build.
## Works with what you have.
Commerce
- Shopify
- NetSuite
Ads
- Meta
- Google Ads
- TikTok
Measurement
- Triple Whale
We configure first
Google’s cost-of-goods reporting and Meta’s value rules cover part of this. We start there.
We build when
Profit needs shipping, payment and return costs that no single platform holds.
## What a first build includes.
Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start.
1. 1 Design
2. 2 Build
3. 3 Run it, or hand it over
[Start with a review]() [Scope this build]()
### We build
- A profit-per-order model agreed with finance
- Server-side events sending profit to each platform
- Drift alerts when costs or returns change
- A weekly reconciliation
### We start from
- Order and refund data
- Product costs and shipping rates
- Ad account and tracking access
### From your team
Owner
Head of growth, with finance
Involves
- Growth
- Finance
- Engineering
## Questions teams ask.
Won’t our reported ROAS go down?
Yes, because the number gets honest. What should go up is profit after ads, which is the number that pays the bills.
Does this share more customer data?
No. The profit value travels with the conversion events you already send. Nothing new about the customer is shared.
Who owns it once it’s running?
You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your head of growth, with finance. We can keep running it with you, or step back.
How do we start?
Usually with a growth engine review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly.
## Part of your growth engine. One of 11 use cases, in 6 engines.
[See the whole growth engine]()
1. [Creators & partners **3**]()
2. [Paid **2**]()
3. [Creative testing **1**]()
4. [Search & AI **2**]()
5. [Winback **1**]()
6. [Measurement & martech **2**]()
In paid
- **Profit signals**You’re here
- [**Stock-aware spend**Keep ad spend on products you can sell]()
Works with
- [**Incrementality testing**Prove what’s working, then move the budget]()
- [**Creator ads**Turn creator posts into your best ads]()
See it at work
- [**In the Fernway launch**Same ROAS, different business]()
- [**Also in**Finance & business intelligence]()
## Tell the platforms what a sale is worth. Start with a growth engine review.
[Start with a growth engine review]() [**Talk it through first**15 minutes]()
We reply within one business day.
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Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/profit-signals/]()
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