A Northern Nevada outdoor brand was spending $22K/month on ads and scaling aggressively based on a 5.1x ROAS. The real number was 2.4x. They were two months from a cash flow crisis.

The agency had set Google to data-driven attribution with a 90-day window. Meta used 7-day click, 1-day view. Both platforms were taking credit for the same purchases. Repeat customers who would have bought anyway were counted as new ad-driven conversions. The dashboard showed $112K/month in ad revenue. Bank deposits showed $53K in incremental growth from ads. At $22K spend, real ROAS was 2.4x — barely above breakeven after COGS.

They were scaling spend based on the 5.1x number, planning to hit $40K/month by Q4. At real ROAS of 2.4x, that scale would have produced a cash flow crisis within two months. The inflated dashboard was not just wrong — it was dangerous.

We rebuilt measurement first. Honest attribution. Bank deposit reconciliation. Then restructured campaigns for the real numbers: tighter audiences, better creative testing, elimination of wasted spend. Real ROAS climbed to 3.8x within 90 days. Now they could scale with confidence. GOSH Digital manages paid media for Reno brands with one rule: the bank account is the only scoreboard that matters.