Key differences between Recharge Analytics v1 and v2
Recharge’s new analytics toolset provides significant improvements over the legacy solution. Many metrics have been simplified and clarify the calculation logic used. These enhancements can sometimes yield metrics that differ from those generated by the legacy tool, and this can be confusing for anybody attempting a side-by-side comparison.
This document outlines the main calculation differences between Analytics v1 and Analytics v2, as well as some calculation definitions that may result in perceived calculation differences due to other factors.
Key differences
The key differences between v1 and v2 analytics can be explained by a few fundamental differences in the ways that specific metrics are calculated.
The following table outlines fundamental differences that are applicable to many metrics:
Topics |
v1 |
v2 |
| "Last 30 days" range |
If you count the bars on a v1 analytics chart that displays the default “Last 30 days” date range, there are only 29 days shown in the range. Therefore, a v1 dashboard that is viewed on the date 1/31 will sum and display data from 1/2 to 1/30. |
The v2 dashboards show data from the last 30 complete days. Therefore, a v2 dashboard that is viewed with the default “Last 30 days” date range will sum and display data from 1/1 to 1/30. This range will result in different:
|
| Last day of defined range | If you define a date range as “1/1/24 - 1/31/24” in v1 analytics, a report of activity is created between 1/1/24 and 1/30/24. The last date in the range is not included. |
If you define a date range as “1/1/24 - 1/31/24”, a report of activity is created between 1/1/24 and 1/31/24. The last date in your range will be included in your report. This range will result in different:
|
| Net calculations |
If a subscription was activated and cancelled within the same day, the “New subscriptions” count for that day would increase by 1. This occurs even if the subscription did not change the “Active subscriptions” count for that day. |
Net calculations are produced for new and cancelled subscribers or subscriptions. This means that only the net number of newly created or cancelled subscriptions are counted at the end of the day. A subscription that activated and cancelled on the same day would not be counted towards the “New subscriptions” or “Cancelled subscriptions” counts for that day. However, it would be counted in the “Same-day cancellations” metric.
Note: Net totals usually produce minor differences between v1 and v2 calculations. For stores that have built custom subscription activation or update flows that rely on automatic subscription cancellation or reactivation, the differences can be more pronounced. In these scenarios, the v2 “net” change is typically the truer reflection of subscription activity from day to day.
|
| Daily customer churn counts |
A subscriber is considered “active” on a given day if they were active for any portion of that day. This means that a subscriber who churns on 6/7 is included in the “active subscriber count” on 6/7, and is not counted as having churned until 6/8. This impacts the churn count for that day, as the churn count for 6/7 is technically a count of customers who churned on 6/6. It also impacts the “Active subscribers” count for that day as the churned subscriber is still included in the 6/6 “active subscriber” count and not removed until 6/7. |
A subscriber is considered to have churned on the day that they cancel their last subscription and is removed from that day’s active counts.
A subscriber who churned on 6/7 is counted as having churned on 6/7, and is removed from that day’s active subscriber count. |
Revenue calculations and common misperceptions
In some areas, it may appear that you are viewing the same metric calculated differently between the v1 and v2 dashboard. Oftentimes, the metric you are viewing is two different metrics with separate definitions. This occurs most frequently when looking at revenue-related metrics. There are a few different ways in which Analytics v2 reports on revenue, and they’re typically used when referencing different objects (ie. orders, order items, subscriptions).
Orders
When Recharge reports on Orders, we typically report total order revenue. Total order revenue is inclusive of all revenue-impacting elements of an order. This is calculated as gross item sales + tax + shipping + other fees - discounts - refunds. This will typically be very close to the “Revenue” figures that are shown on the legacy "Revenue - Overview” dashboard.
When Recharge calculates AOV (average order value) at the Order level, we do not adjust for refunds that were processed after the order was placed. This is because AOV is primarily used to track average initial order value.
Order items
When Recharge reports on item-level sales, we typically report gross revenue. This is calculated as the sum of the line item price multiplied by quantity, before taxes, discounts, shipping, refunds or other order-level fees are added. This is because Recharge orders do not associate shipping, discounts, or refunds back to the order line items. These sales figures will typically differ from the “Revenue” figures that are shown on the legacy "Revenue - Overview” dashboard.
The “Avg sales” figures shown for different item/order type combinations in the “Subscription order items” section is an average of the gross sales of a given item type (subscription or one-time) within orders of a given type (checkout or recurring).
Subscriptions
When referencing the value of a store's subscriptions, we frequently reference monthly recurring revenue (MRR). MRR is calculated using subscription recurring price and renewal schedule.
Examples
A subscription that charges $20 per month has an MRR of "$20" and a subscription that charges $100 every 2 months has an MRR of "$50.” MRR does not account for discount codes associated with the subscription’s address, flows that may alter price, tax, shipping, or other order-level costs.
Metric calculation differences
Even after correcting for the potential difference in defined date ranges (see Key differences) and metric mismatches (see Revenue calculations and common misperceptions), the following metrics will frequently differ between V1 and V2 for known reasons. Several of these reasons are expanded upon in the Key differences section.
v1 metric name |
v2 metric name |
Differences between metrics |
| Total active customers | Active subscribers |
|
| Total new customers | New subscribers |
|
| Total churned customers | Churned subscribers |
|
| Passive churned customers | Passive churned subscribers |
|
| Avg. active days - active customers | Active subscribers avg. active days |
|
| Total cancelled subscriptions | Churned subscriptions |
|
| New subscriptions - existing subscribers | New subscriptions - existing subscribers |
|
| Total new subscriptions | New subscriptions |
|
| % cancellations that resulted in customer churn | % of cancellations that resulted in customer churn |
|
