Date anchors
A date anchor is the time field a metric uses to assign data to days, weeks, or months. Different anchors place the same business event (an order, a payment) on different days.
Common anchors
Section titled “Common anchors”| Anchor | When the event “counts” |
|---|---|
| Creation date | When the order/event was placed |
| Closed date | When the order was finalized (typically post-fulfillment) |
| Fulfilled date | When the order was shipped |
| Paid date | When payment cleared (relevant for finance reconciliation) |
The ℹ️ panel on each metric shows the anchor it uses.
Why this matters
Section titled “Why this matters”For an order placed at 11:59 PM Monday and fulfilled on Tuesday:
| Anchor | Monday counts | Tuesday counts |
|---|---|---|
| Creation date | $X | $0 |
| Closed date | $0 | $X |
| Fulfilled date | $0 | $X |
Over short windows, the totals differ visibly. Over long windows, they converge.
Picking the right anchor
Section titled “Picking the right anchor”| Use case | Typical anchor |
|---|---|
| Marketing attribution | Creation date |
| Operations / fulfillment | Fulfilled date |
| Finance / revenue recognition | Closed or paid date |
| Inventory or returns | Closed date |
Match the anchor to the team that owns the report.
Where this comes up
Section titled “Where this comes up”- Shopify Sales vs Shopify Sales (Order closed date) — the canonical example.
- Why numbers don’t match — third of four reconciliation categories.