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How do I set up TrueROAS for the first time?

After you sign up, a short welcome and the Setup TrueROAS panel walk you through adding your store, connecting your ads and Conversion API.

How setup works

TrueROAS tracks the visits and orders on your store and works out which ad gets the credit for each sale. This is called attribution. Setup has three steps: add your store, connect your ad accounts and turn on Conversion API.

Right after you create your account, a welcome window opens. When you close it, the Setup TrueROAS panel opens on the left of the screen and walks you through those three steps. You can close the panel at any time and open it again later.

Step 1. Complete your profile

The welcome window starts with a few questions. It opens each time you open TrueROAS during the first hour after you sign up, until you have answered them. It does not open on a team invite page. On a phone it fills the screen.

  1. The window says Complete your profile and A few quick answers. Takes 20 seconds.
  2. Fill in Full Name. Under Where did you find us?, pick Google search, Facebook / Instagram, YouTube, Friend or colleague, Shopify App Store, Podcast, AI / ChatGPT or Other. For Other, type the answer in Tell us where.
  3. Type your number in Phone. The country code is filled in for where you are, and you can change it.
  4. Under Monthly revenue, click Under $10k, $10k-$40k, $40k-$100k, $100k-$500k or $500k+.
  5. If you like, answer What made you look for an attribution tool? (optional).
  6. Click Continue.

If something is missing, you see Please enter your full name, Please tell us how you heard about us, Please tell us where you heard about us, Please enter a valid phone number or Please tap your monthly revenue. If saving fails, you see Something went wrong. Please try again. This step has no close button and cannot be skipped.

Step 2. Watch the welcome video or skip it

  • Next, the window says Welcome to TrueROAS, See exactly where your sales come from and Watch a 2-minute walkthrough to get started.
  • Click the picture or Watch Founder Video to play the video under How to Start Tracking Today. Click Let's Begin when you are ready to set up your store.
  • Prefer help from the start? Book a setup call with Rasmus opens the booking for a setup call in the same window. Skip, I'll set it up myself brings you back. More about the call is in How do I book a call with Rasmus?.
  • Skip for now, the X in the top right corner or a click outside the window closes it.

When the window closes, the Setup TrueROAS panel opens.

Step 3. Work through the Setup TrueROAS panel

At the top, the panel shows Setup TrueROAS, how far you are, for example 61% Complete, and three steps: Add New Store, Connect Ads and Ad Enrichment. A small tag under each step says whether it is next, in progress or completed. Close the panel with the small X in its top right corner, or click outside it.

The sections below follow from top to bottom. A section stays greyed out until the one above it is done: Connect Ads needs a store, and Ad Enrichment (Conversion API) needs an ad account.

Add your store

  • Before you have a store, the first section is called Add New Store and shows Not Connected. Type your store's address in Store URL and click Connect Store. What to type, and what each message means, is in How do I add a store to TrueROAS?.
  • Once the store is added, the section shows its name and one of these statuses: Not Connected, Installed - Waiting for Data, Installed - Tracking Visitors, Installed - Tracking Orders, Installed - Waiting for Orders or Installed & Tracking. A line under it says what is still missing. A visit counts when it came in during the last 12 hours, and an order update when it came in during the last 48 hours. For a Shopify store, a recent visit also counts as an order update.
  • When order updates come in but no visit has come in during the last 12 hours, a Get help from Rasmus button shows under the status.
  • Once the store is tracking, the section folds in. Show details opens it and Hide details folds it again.

What comes next depends on your platform:

Connect your ads

  • The Connect Ads section shows Requires Store before you add a store, then Not connected or Connected. Until you connect an ad account, it says Connect your ad platforms to track all ads in one place. It has a tile for Meta, Google, Analytics, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat and Microsoft.
  • A badge on each tile shows its state: a blue plus when it is not connected, an orange exclamation mark when it is connected but no ad account is chosen, and a green check when it is done.
  • Click a tile. A window shows three short steps and the connect button for that platform. Once you choose an account on the Meta, Google, Analytics, TikTok, Pinterest or Snapchat tile, the window says, for example, Meta Ads connected successfully! and Your account is now linked and ready to go. It closes by itself after 5 seconds while the Finish button counts down.
  • This step counts as done once an ad account is chosen for Meta, Google Ads, TikTok or Pinterest. Analytics, Snapchat and Microsoft do not count for it.
  • When a connected Meta, Google Ads or TikTok ad account still has ads without the TrueROAS UTM tags, a box titled Add UTMs to Track Ads lists each of them as Ad Account Connected or Ad Account & UTMs Connected. It explains that TrueROAS can tell that a visit came from an ad, but not from which ad, until you add the UTM tags. Add UTMs opens the UTM setup in a window, and Done closes it. See What is the UTM Manager and what can I do there?.

How to connect each platform and choose the ad account is explained in How do I connect or change the ad account behind the Meta, Google and Tiktok tabs? and What is the Integrations page and what can I do there?.

Turn on Conversion API

Conversion API sends your orders from TrueROAS to the ad platforms, so their ad delivery learns from your real sales.

  • The last section, Ad Enrichment (Conversion API), shows Active, Not set up or Requires Ad Account. Until it is active, it says Enrich your ad platforms with TrueROAS attribution data so their AI optimizes on accurate conversions.
  • Click the Meta, Google, TikTok or Klaviyo tile to set it up in a window. Hover over a tile to see whether it is set up. Snapchat, Pinterest and Microsoft are greyed out because they are coming soon.
  • On a paid plan that does not include Conversion API, the tiles are greyed out and CAPI Add-on Required shows with Try Free or Add CAPI. On the Pro or Premium plan you see Full CAPI coverage included in your Pro plan or Full CAPI coverage included in your Premium plan. See Do I need the CAPI add-on to send events to ad platforms?.
  • This step counts as done once Conversion API is on for Meta, Google Ads or TikTok. How to set up each platform is in What is Events Manager and what can I do there?. Whether Meta CAPI is running also shows in the bar described in What does the Meta CAPI bar at the top of the Dashboard mean?.

Book a setup check

At the bottom of the panel, Want Rasmus to check your setup? and 15 minutes with the founder. He goes through your settings with you. sit above Book a setup check. See How do I book a call with Rasmus?.

When your store starts reporting

The first time TrueROAS sees both visits and order updates from a store that was added in the last 7 days, confetti plays and a window titled Store Reporting Active opens with Your store is now collecting complete attribution data. Under What to expect next it lists:

  1. Initial results: Next order, with First attributions when orders come in.
  2. Full accuracy in 1-3 days, with As we build your complete data history.
  3. Track exact ads, with Track exact ads with UTM tags. Its Learn more link opens the UTM Manager.

Click Continue to Dashboard, the X or anywhere outside the window to close it. The window shows once per store for your login.

Open the panel again later

  • Until setup is done, a Setup Progress button with your percentage and a bar sits in the middle of the bottom edge of every page. It turns green above 80%. It slides out of the way while you scroll down and comes back when you scroll up. Before you have a store, it reads Add New Store and Start Tracking in 1 Click. Click it to open the panel.
  • The button goes away once the panel shows 100%. It is not shown on the Trew Media Buyer page.
  • Continue Setup on the setup card at the top of the Dashboard, and Add New Store on the No Stores Added card, open the same panel. See What does the setup card at the top of the Dashboard mean?.
  • The same steps also sit under Onboarding Checklist on the Help tab of General Settings. See How do I get help or contact TrueROAS support?.

Good to know