Credits and returns
Updated
A return is a lead you sent back to the vendor, and a credit is a return the vendor accepted, so you are not charged for that lead.
The three states of a return
Agency Edge keeps each return in one of three states. It shows as a badge in the Status column of the Leads log:
- RETURNED — you asked for the return and the vendor has not answered.
- CREDITED — the vendor accepted it.
- REJECTED — the vendor refused it.
Only CREDITED changes a number. A lead that is returned or rejected is still billed, and its cost stays in your spend.
Record returns from the vendor's file
If the vendor's file has a column for the outcome of a return, map it when you upload.
A status that contains approved or accepted, or reads credited, is recorded as credited. One that contains rejected or denied is recorded as rejected. Any other text is recorded as a return still waiting, so use a column that is empty for leads you did not return.
When the vendor's file changes, upload it again. A lead whose return changed is counted as updated. An upload can add a return to a lead, and it never removes one.
Record a return by hand
The owner can set returns in the Leads log, for one lead or many.
A rejected return cannot be set by hand. It comes only from the vendor's file.
What the numbers mean
A credit changes these figures:
- On Conversions, Billed Leads leaves out credited leads, and both conversion rates divide by it. The credited leads are counted as refunded on the line that begins Also imported in window.
- On Marketing ROI, a lead vendor's Spend is net of credited returns. Above the Sources table, Columns adds Leads received, Leads billed, Returns sent, Returns credited, Returns rejected and Return rejection %. A sale matched to a credited lead is not counted for that vendor on this tab.
- On Leads Log, the row keeps its Cost and Net Cost. The Credited pill, and Credited under All Leads, list the credited leads.
Credits and spend you typed in
Lead spend comes from one of two places. Left alone, a vendor's month is the net cost of its leads from your files, and a credited lead is left out of that sum.
If you typed the month's spend yourself, your figure is used as it stands and a credit does not lower it. That is the Marketing Spend card on the Office tab of the Data Management window, or Settings, under Revenue & spend, then Lead & ad spend. Type the amount the vendor billed after credits. It is shared equally across that vendor's billed leads for the month, and a credited lead is given none of it.
Undo a credit
Tick the lead in the Leads log, pick Return Status in the bar, choose Not Returned, and press Apply, then Confirm. The badge goes, and the lead counts as billed again. If the vendor's file still shows the return, the next upload of that file records it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Agency Edge send the return to the vendor?
No. You file the return with the vendor. Agency Edge records the outcome so your figures match what you were billed.
The vendor gave back part of a lead's cost. How do we record that?
Leave the return status alone. Press Edit lead on the lead's row, type what the lead cost you in the end under Net Cost, and press Save. Net cost is the figure your lead spend adds up.
Why did our conversion rate rise after we marked credits?
Credited leads leave Billed Leads, the number both rates divide by. The sales did not change.
Can a Basic member mark a credit?
No. A Basic member cannot open Leads, and only the owner sees the tick boxes in the Leads log.