Accuracy Improvements
Dashboardly metrics are validated against official TikTok data exports. Settled figures reconcile when the same report, accounting basis, timezone, and gross/net definition are compared. Recent (unsettled) orders may show small temporary differences in fees and costs, which resolve automatically once TikTok settles the orders.
Short Answer
Differences between Dashboardly and TikTok Seller Center are usually caused by settlement timing, date attribution, or the way cancelled and refunded orders are handled. In most cases, both numbers are correct -- they are just measured at different points in time or using different date rules.
TikTok-Provided vs. Dashboardly-Calculated Figures
Dashboardly combines figures supplied by TikTok with calculations that TikTok cannot provide for your business. Knowing which type you are comparing explains why some rows should reconcile directly while others are unique to Dashboardly.
| Figure type | Examples | How to compare it |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok-provided | Orders, product sales, settlement totals, platform fees, affiliate commission, shipping movements, campaign spend, and attributed ad revenue | Match the same TikTok report, shop, date range, timezone, settlement state, and gross-or-net definition |
| Dashboardly-calculated | COGS, Gross Profit, Operating Profit, Net Profit, manual expenses, progressive Agency Fees, estimated VAT payable or reclaimable, margins, ROAS, ACoS, and TACoS | Review the inputs and settings used by Dashboardly; there may be no single TikTok row with the same value |
Some report rows combine both types. For example, Dashboardly starts with TikTok sales or settlement information, then applies the product costs you configured, manual adjustments, VAT settings, and net advertising cost to calculate profit. A lower Dashboardly Net Profit does not automatically mean data is missing; it often means Dashboardly includes real business costs that TikTok does not know. Expand the Profit & Loss rows to identify the exact supplied figure or calculated cost before comparing totals.
Quick Checklist
Before investigating further, check these common causes:
| What to check | How | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Same date range? | Verify dates match exactly in both tools | Large discrepancy |
| Recent orders (< 2 weeks)? | Estimated fees may differ from final | Small (1-5%) |
| Comparing daily vs weekly? | Date attribution differences amplified by day | Moderate |
| Refunds or cancellations in the period? | Different date attribution rules | Moderate |
| TikTok Seller Center report type? | Different reports show different numbers | Varies |
| Same GMV/order timezone? | Match the configured order-reporting timezone, not only the calendar dates | Orders near month boundaries |
| Statement date selected? | Use the same visible Seller Center dates; Dashboardly applies the shop's verified Seller Center reporting calendar automatically | Adjacent statement day or month |
| Gross or net cost? | Compare TikTok gross Ads/Affiliate values with the matching Dashboardly row | Credits and reversals |
Why This Happens
1. Settlement Timing (Most Common Reason)
TikTok does not finalize the financial details of an order (fees, taxes, shipping costs) until that order is included in a settlement statement. Settlement typically happens 7 to 14 days after an order is delivered.
Until settlement occurs, Dashboardly uses estimated values:
| Data Tier | When | Revenue accuracy | Fee accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 3 (estimated) | Order first arrives (minutes) | Accurate | Estimated (based on your shop's historical average fee rate) |
| Tier 2.5 (pre-settlement) | 1-7 days | Accurate | Much more accurate (real transaction data) |
| Tier 2 (settled) | 7-14 days | Accurate | Exact (final settlement amounts) |
What you see:
- Recent orders (last 1-2 weeks) may show slightly different fee or profit amounts compared to TikTok Seller Center.
- Revenue numbers (Gross Sales, Net Sales) are accurate from the start -- the differences are in fees and costs.
- Older orders (fully settled) should match closely.
What to do:
- Wait for the settlement period to pass. Once TikTok settles the orders, Dashboardly updates automatically with exact amounts.
- Check whether the discrepancy is on recent or older orders. Differences on recent orders are expected and will resolve themselves.
2. Date Attribution (Common for Daily Comparisons)
Dashboardly and TikTok may place the same financial event on different dates:
| Event | Dashboardly uses | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Refund | Date refund was processed (completion date) | Reflects when the financial impact actually occurred |
| Cancelled order | Date order was cancelled | Reflects when the cancellation took effect |
| Order revenue | Date order was created | Matches when the customer placed the order |
TikTok Seller Center may use different date conventions depending on which report you are viewing.
For Statement date, Dashboardly follows the date attribution used by the connected shop's Seller Center statement export. Most shops use the statement header date for order-bearing activity and the transaction date for standalone account-level adjustments. Some regional exports label a midnight statement under the following report day, and this can change across daylight saving time. Dashboardly applies the verified shop-market calendar automatically in both Profit & Loss and Cashflow; changing the account's order-reporting timezone does not change this statement calendar. Select the same visible dates in both products rather than moving the Dashboardly range forward or backward. Cashflow's separate Bank payout date option continues to use the actual paid date instead of the Seller Center statement calendar.
The GMV row remains an order-date reference and uses the account's selected reporting timezone. This is intentional: TikTok profitability exports compare order-created GMV with statement-reported Net Sales, shipping, fees, affiliate commissions, adjustments, and settlement in the same report.
Example: A customer files a refund request on January 14, and TikTok processes it on January 16. Dashboardly shows the refund on January 16 (processed date). TikTok might show it on January 14 (request date) in some reports.
What to do:
- Expand your date range. Differences caused by date attribution even out over longer periods. Compare a full month instead of a single day to see if the totals align.
- Check refund and cancellation dates. If you see a discrepancy on a specific day, look at the days before and after -- the missing amount likely appears on an adjacent date.
- Match the GMV/order reporting timezone. TikTok can use a fixed standard-time offset for order-created GMV while a local timezone observes daylight saving time. This can move late-night orders across a monthly boundary even when both screens say "June." When Seller Center's GMV uses a fixed UTC+1 boundary, choose (GMT+01:00) Fixed UTC+1 from Dashboardly's timezone selector. Statement-date finance events use the TikTok Shop region calendar automatically and do not require a second timezone setting.
3. Gross vs Net Advertising and Affiliate Costs
- TikTok Ads Manager spend normally matches Dashboardly Gross Ad Spend.
- Net Ad Spend is Gross Ad Spend minus TikTok ad credits and coupons. This is the amount Dashboardly deducts from profit.
- Net Affiliate Cost is creator and affiliate-ads commission after commission refunds and reversals. TikTok Affiliate Center can show a higher gross or estimated Affiliate cost.
On Profit & Loss, expand Net Ad Spend or Net Affiliate Cost before comparing the components. A gross TikTok report should not be compared directly with a net Dashboardly row.
4. Cancelled Orders
When an order is cancelled:
- Revenue is excluded -- cancelled orders do not count toward Gross Sales or Net Sales.
- COGS depends on whether the product was shipped:
- If cancelled before shipping: COGS is NOT counted (no inventory cost)
- If cancelled after shipping and product was not returned: COGS IS counted (you lost the product)
- If cancelled after shipping and product was returned: COGS is NOT counted (inventory returned)
Why this matters: TikTok Seller Center may show different profit numbers because it does not track COGS the way Dashboardly does. The COGS handling for shipped-but-not-returned cancelled orders is correct in Dashboardly -- the product left your inventory, so the cost is real even though the sale was reversed.
GMV note: GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) includes cancelled orders, matching TikTok's calculation. This is why GMV is higher than your actual revenue.
5. Refunds and Returns
TikTok Seller Center may combine refunds and cancellations into a single "Refunds" number. Dashboardly separates them for clarity:
| Dashboardly metric | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Gross Sales Refund | The sale price of refunded items (product value only, not including tax) |
| Other Refund Costs | Shipping fee refunds and other costs associated with refunds |
| Cancelled Orders Value | The payment value of cancelled orders |
| Refunds & Returns (total) | Sum of all three above |
If you add all three components together, the total should closely match TikTok's combined refund number for the same date range (accounting for date attribution differences described above).
6. Shipping Cost Differences
TikTok calculates a net shipping cost for each order. This number can be:
- Positive: Customer paid more than actual shipping cost. You keep the difference.
- Negative: You subsidized shipping (e.g., free shipping promotion). This is a cost to you.
Dashboardly shows this same net value. If you are comparing against a simple "shipping fee" from TikTok (what the customer paid), the numbers will look different because Dashboardly shows the net impact after TikTok's actual shipping charges.
Shipping costs for recent orders: For very recent orders that have not yet been settled, shipping costs are now estimated using your shop's historical averages. This means shipping costs appear sooner in your reports rather than showing as $0 until settlement. Once TikTok settles the order, the estimate is replaced with the exact amount.
7. Different Definitions of "Revenue"
TikTok Seller Center uses various revenue definitions in different reports:
| TikTok term | Dashboardly equivalent | Key difference |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Sales | Product Sales (Gross Sales) | Same definition -- original price before discounts |
| Revenue (some reports) | Net Sales | May or may not include shipping revenue |
| GMV | GMV | Same -- includes cancelled orders and platform subsidies |
| Settlement Amount | Settlement-basis Operating Profit anchor | On Statement date, Dashboardly uses TikTok's official statement settlement total, then applies merchant-side costs that TikTok does not settle |
Always check which TikTok report you are comparing against, as different reports use different definitions.
Step-by-Step Reconciliation Guide
If you need to investigate a specific discrepancy:
-
Identify the metric. Which number is different? Revenue? Fees? Profit? This narrows down the possible causes.
-
Check the date range. Make sure both Dashboardly and TikTok Seller Center are set to the exact same dates. Even one day of difference can explain a discrepancy.
-
Check settlement status. For orders less than 2 weeks old, differences in fees are expected and will resolve automatically.
-
Use the P&L page. The Profit & Loss page gives you the most detailed breakdown of every component. This makes it easy to identify exactly which line item differs from TikTok. For a completed Statement-date period, expand TikTok Settlement (Seller Center). Its Net Sales, Shipping, Fees (including Affiliate), and Adjustments children mirror TikTok's signed statement-header fields and add exactly to Settlement. The block is reference-only and does not change Net Profit.
-
Look at longer periods. Daily comparisons amplify date attribution differences. Weekly or monthly comparisons smooth these out. If the monthly total matches but individual days differ, date attribution is the cause.
-
Check for refunds and cancellations. If the discrepancy is around the refund/return amount, remember that Dashboardly uses the refund processing date while TikTok may use the request date.
Common Scenarios
"My Gross Sales is slightly lower in Dashboardly"
- Check if any orders are missing from Dashboardly. Go to the Orders page and verify the order count matches TikTok.
- Verify the date range is identical.
- Check if recently placed orders have been imported yet (imports run automatically but there can be a short delay).
"My fees are different from TikTok"
- If comparing recent orders (last 2 weeks), this is expected -- fees are estimated until settlement.
- After settlement, Dashboardly uses the exact amounts from TikTok's settlement data.
- For a completed month, compare TikTok's statement report with Dashboardly Settlement basis + Statement date. Dashboardly uses the official complete statement totals for fees, shipping, Net Sales, adjustments, and settlement; the expanded rows explain those totals.
- TikTok can publish a late or replacement statement with an older statement date. Dashboardly rechecks recent completed periods and preserves any older unfinished finance window automatically. Revised statements replace their prior transaction snapshot completely, so obsolete rows do not remain in a completed-month total.
"My refunds total is different"
- Check the date attribution. Dashboardly uses the refund processing date, not the request date.
- TikTok may combine refunds and cancellations. Add Dashboardly's Refunds & Returns (which includes cancelled order values) and compare to TikTok's combined number.
- Expand your date range to a full week or month to smooth out daily attribution differences.
"My profit is lower in Dashboardly"
- This is often correct. Dashboardly includes COGS, manual adjustments, and sample costs that TikTok does not track. These additional costs reduce your profit below what TikTok's simpler calculation would show.
- Check whether COGS is set correctly for all products.
When to Contact Support
Contact Dashboardly support if:
- The discrepancy is on orders that were settled more than 2 weeks ago and the difference is more than a few percent.
- An entire day or week of orders appears to be missing from Dashboardly.
- The issue persists after a manual sync (Settings > Accounts > Sync).
- You see a discrepancy in revenue (not just fees) on settled orders -- revenue should be accurate from the start.
Before contacting support, it helps to note:
- The specific metric that differs (e.g., "Gross Sales on January 15-31")
- The Dashboardly value and the TikTok Seller Center value
- Which TikTok report you are comparing against
- Whether the orders are settled or recent