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SearchLight vs Your CRM

How SearchLight and your CRM measure performance differently, why the numbers are not expected to match one to one, and what to check when a campaign, business unit, or revenue figure seems to be missing.

Key Takeaway​

SearchLight's priority is verifiable attribution and accuracy, so you have a solid foundation for marketing decisions. Your CRM's priority is operational completeness: every job and every dollar, regardless of where the lead came from. Because each system measures performance differently and applies its own attribution logic, a 1:1 revenue match between your CRM (for example, ServiceTitan) and SearchLight is not expected. The differences are intentional, and they explain most reporting discrepancies.

What This Article Covers​

  • Why SearchLight and CRM numbers differ
  • How attribution and revenue logic vary between systems
  • Why some campaigns, business units, or revenue may not appear
  • How call tracking affects what SearchLight can report

Key Differences to Understand​

1. Attribution Logic​

SearchLight

  • Tracks inbound marketing activity using verifiable signals delivered directly by the tools involved: call tracking numbers, ad click IDs, forms, schedulers, and chat tools.
  • Credits the first lead in a 90-day window: the customer's first tracked lead gets credit for the estimates, bookings, and closed revenue that follow it within the window. (Some accounts are configured with a different window.) See Understanding Lead Attribution for how each lead is resolved.
  • Uses campaign fields typed into the CRM only as a last resort, when a lead carries no tracked signal at all. The stronger your tracking, the less your reporting depends on manual entry.

CRMs

  • Often depend on manual campaign assignments, job history, and operational attribution fields that vary with internal workflows and user input.
  • Many CRM setups credit the last touch within a shorter window (ServiceTitan's is typically 30-day last-click), so a follow-up call weeks after the original lead can take the credit.

Because manual attribution is inconsistent, SearchLight only attributes revenue when the source can be confidently identified from a tracked lead.

2. Revenue Calculation​

SearchLight

  • Organizes revenue into stages: Lead → Estimate → Sold → Closed.
  • Estimated Revenue uses the average of a customer's open estimates rather than their sum. Contractors generally accept only one of several estimates, so the average reflects a realistic outcome instead of inflating the pipeline.
  • Sold Revenue is the value of estimates the customer accepted but that are not yet completed.
  • Closed Revenue is the value of jobs completed and closed in your CRM, taken from the invoice. It is the most conservative revenue figure.
  • Revenue Potential is Estimated + Sold + Closed, with each customer counted once at their furthest stage, so the same job is never counted twice.

Revenue in SearchLight means the value of work sold or closed in your CRM, not cash collected. Reconciling against collections will show expected timing differences.

CRMs

  • May display the total of all estimates on a job, invoiced or completed amounts, and revenue that has not yet been collected.

This is why "potential" revenue figures in CRM reporting often run higher than SearchLight's.

3. Revenue Timing and Date Ranges​

SearchLight

  • Reports revenue when a job reaches a stage inside the selected date range, while still crediting the original lead even when that lead falls outside the range. See How is this data different than what is in our CRM?
  • A single job can appear as estimated in one period and closed in another.
  • Because CRM records stay editable, a past period can change when you look at it again: an estimate added later to an old job, or a job reopened or cancelled, moves that period's numbers.

CRMs

  • May tie revenue to the lead creation date, job creation date, completion date, or invoice date, depending on configuration.

As a result, month-to-month comparisons between platforms may differ even when the underlying job is the same.

4. New vs Existing Customer Logic​

SearchLight

  • Compares the tracked lead against the customer profile's creation date in your CRM: if the profile was created before the lead, the customer is Existing; if it was created on or after the day of the lead, the customer is New. The comparison is by day, not by hour.
  • The status is decided per customer journey, not for life. A customer who returns with a new lead more than 90 days after an earlier one is compared again and will read as Existing.

CRMs

  • Often classify customers as existing based on historical records, even without recent engagement, and some derive the split from manually assigned attribution.

This can lead to higher existing-customer revenue totals in CRM reporting.

Common Misunderstandings​

"SearchLight is missing revenue." In most cases the revenue exists operationally, but the job has no verifiable lead event tied to marketing. Manual jobs, walk-ins, and calls on untracked numbers have no lead event, so SearchLight does not guess a source for them.

"ServiceTitan is more accurate." ServiceTitan is the system of record for operations and job management. SearchLight is built for marketing attribution. Each is accurate for its purpose.

"The numbers should reconcile." Because the systems measure different things, exact alignment is not expected. The useful check is whether closed and booked revenue for tracked customers lines up, not whether totals match.

"SearchLight shows more calls than my CRM report." SearchLight counts every inbound call on a tracked number with no minimum duration, while CRM call reports are commonly filtered to calls over a certain length (60 seconds is a frequent setting). A short call can still be the lead that a later booking belongs to, so SearchLight keeps it.

Why Campaigns or Business Units May Not Appear​

For a campaign or business unit to appear in SearchLight, certain tracking requirements must be met.

Call Campaign Requirements (ServiceTitan)​

  • The campaign must have a unique call tracking number (CTN).
  • At least one conversion must occur on that number within the selected date range.
  • The job must stem from a tracked lead event.
  • A business unit must be assigned to the tracked job.

It is normal for not every business unit to appear inside a short date range such as the default 28 days. SearchLight never filters business units out unless you request it.

What Will Not Appear​

  • Campaigns with tracking numbers but no conversions in the date range
  • Campaigns made up primarily of manual jobs
  • Campaigns without tracking numbers
  • Jobs from unsupported or untracked integrations

Manual jobs are operational records and do not represent inbound lead events. Without a lead event, SearchLight cannot confidently determine the marketing source.

Example Scenario​

A client compares August performance between SearchLight and their CRM and notices lower Revenue Potential in SearchLight, and fewer campaigns and business units displayed.

On review, the highest-revenue CRM campaigns:

  • do not have unique call tracking numbers,
  • contain a high number of manual jobs, and
  • rely on unsupported integrations.

Because these jobs do not originate from tracked inbound leads, SearchLight does not include them in attribution reporting.

General Call Tracking Recommendations​

To improve visibility and attribution accuracy:

  • Assign a unique call tracking number to each active inbound campaign, and don't reuse a number across campaigns, properties, or ad platforms.
  • Make the tracking number the primary number on your Google Business Profile and in your ad platforms' call extensions. A tracking number merely listed alongside the main line does not capture the profile's calls.
  • Make sure after-hours call centers, forms, chats, and schedulers are trackable.
  • Reduce manual job creation where possible.
  • Confirm that supported integrations are connected and active. SearchLight's integrations list continues to expand.

Helpful Definitions​

  • CTN (Call Tracking Number): a unique phone number tied to a campaign for attribution.
  • Tracked Lead Event: a verifiable inbound action such as a call on a tracking number, a form submission, a scheduler booking, or a chat.
  • Manual Job: a job created in the CRM without an inbound lead event.
  • Revenue Potential: Estimated + Sold + Closed Revenue, with each customer counted once at their furthest stage.
  • Estimated Revenue: the value of open estimates, averaged per customer when a customer has more than one.

If questions remain after reviewing this article, contact support.