---
title: "Conversion adjustments in Google Ads | Product Metrics"
description: "Conversion adjustments in Google Ads retract or restate a recorded purchase after a refund, return or cancellation. See both types, the IDs and the time limits."
canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/conversion-adjustments"
pageType: article
language: en
publisher: "Product Metrics"
author: "Berend Vrakking"
datePublished: 2026-11-13
dateModified: 2026-11-13
---

> Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt

# Conversion adjustments

Conversion adjustments in Google Ads correct a purchase after it is recorded: a retraction removes the conversion, and a restatement changes its value.

## Conversion adjustments example

Three orders and the adjustment each one needs:

| Order | What happened | Adjustment to send |
| --- | --- | --- |
| #1041, €120.00 | Kept | None: stays at €120.00 |
| #1042, €80.00 | One item returned, €30.00 refunded | Restate to €50.00 |
| #1043, €60.00 | Cancelled before shipping | Retract: value 0.00, out of the count |

Google Ads first counts three conversions worth €260.00; after the adjustments, two worth €170.00. A restatement carries the new total, not the €30.00 refund. Illustrative data.

## Put it into practice

- [Calculate it: POAS calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/poas-calculator): Compare profit and revenue on the same ad spend.
- [Read the guide: Google Ads refund conversion adjustments](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-refund-conversion-adjustments): Step by step: correct Google Ads conversion value for refunds and returns.

## Conversion adjustments: one product and the whole account

For one order, Google Ads matches an adjustment on “the combination of transaction ID and conversion action name”, so an online conversion can only be adjusted if it was sent with a transaction ID. A restatement changes the value but not the count. A retraction removes the conversion and its value, and affects CPA as well as ROAS strategies.

For an account, timing decides whether bidding learns. Google Ads Help advises uploading at least 24 hours after the conversion, gives autobidding 7 days from when it is first recorded, and allows adjustments within 54 days. Uploads go through a file, scheduled uploads, Data Manager or the Google Ads API, where the types are RETRACTION and RESTATEMENT.

Full Signal Tracking sends revenue and profit to Google Ads as separate conversion actions, and sends adjustments for refunded and cancelled orders. Because Google matches on the action name, a refund needs an adjustment on each action whose value it changes.

## Conversion adjustments: common mistake

Retracting an order after a partial refund. Once a conversion is retracted or restated to zero, Google Ads silently ignores later adjustments to it, so restate partial refunds and retract only when nothing is kept.

## Conversion adjustments: questions

### How do you subtract refunds from Google Ads conversion value?

Upload a restatement with the order’s new total, matched by transaction ID and conversion action name; for a full refund, upload a retraction. Subtracting refunds in a report changes nothing for bidding.

### Can Google Ads adjust conversions for refunds automatically?

Only when your systems send the adjustments, for example through scheduled uploads or a tracking tool: Full Signal Tracking sends them for refunded and cancelled orders. In the multi-source conversions beta, a Data Manager upload with the same transaction ID overwrites the tag’s value, and 0 is valid for a full refund. The Data Manager API restates values but cannot retract.

### How do you upload conversion adjustments for returned orders?

Use the “Conversions adjustments” template under Goals, Conversions, Uploads: order ID, conversion name, adjustment time, RESTATE or RETRACT, and the new value for a restatement. The adjustment time must fall after the conversion and before the upload.

### Google Ads counts cancelled orders as conversions: how do you fix it?

Retract each cancelled order with its order ID and conversion action name, within 7 days so automated bidding reads it. Later retractions still correct reports.

## Sources

- [Google Ads Help: About conversion adjustments](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7686447)
- [Google Ads Help: How to adjust your conversions](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7686280)
- [Google Ads Help: Multi-source conversions in Google Ads (beta)](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16542291)
- [Google Ads API: Conversion adjustments](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/conversions/upload-adjustments)
- [Data Manager API: Upgrade from the Google Ads API](https://developers.google.com/data-manager/api/devguides/events/google-ads/offline/upgrade)

## Keep reading

- [Transaction ID](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/transaction-id): The order ID an adjustment needs to find its conversion.
- [Conversion value](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/conversion-value): The number a restatement changes.
- [Primary conversion action](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/primary-conversion-action): Which conversion actions bidding reads.
- [GCLID](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/gclid): The click ID that identifies an offline conversion without an order ID.
- [Full Signal Tracking](https://www.productmetrics.io/server-side-tracking): Send revenue, profit and refund adjustments to Google Ads.

---

Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Last updated 2026-11-13.

HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/conversion-adjustments