ShiFt Answer Bank
How do I track signed cases by source?
A plain answer on carrying the source ID from first click to signed matter.
To track signed cases by source, you carry one source ID across six links: the first contact stamps where the caller came from, the intake tool keeps it, the consult records whether they showed, the matter record inherits it when they sign, and the billing system joins the collected fee back to it. The chain breaks when any link drops the ID — an untagged form, a missed after-hours call, a matter opened without the source field. Fix the broken link and the report writes itself: cost per signed case by source, every month.
- •One source ID has to survive all six links from click to collected fee.
- •The most common break is the matter record opened without the source carried over.
- •You do not need new software — you need the ID to stop getting dropped.
The six links of the chain
Think of attribution as a relay, not a single measurement. Link one, source: the first contact stamps where the caller came from, which needs dynamic numbers on every page and UTMs on every link. Link two, contact: every inquiry gets a timestamped event, including the after-hours calls that otherwise vanish. Link three, qualified: a disposition is set at first contact, not left until the consult. Link four, consult: the calendar records whether a booked meeting actually held. Link five, signed: the source ID travels into the matter record when the client retains. Link six, fee: the billing system joins the collected fee back to the source. Miss any one and the whole trace goes dark.
Find the link that is broken
Most firms do not have a tracking problem everywhere — they have one broken link. A common culprit is link five: the matter is opened in the practice management system without the source field, so everything upstream is lost at the finish line. Another is link one: forms without UTMs and a phone number pool too small to tell channels apart, so half of everything lands in a “Direct” catch-all. You do not fix this by buying another tool. You fix it by finding the specific link where the ID gets dropped and closing it — often a single field or a tagging rule — then letting the existing systems carry the ID the rest of the way.
Start with your own numbers
The Cost-per-Signed-Case Calculator shows how much of your signed volume you can already trace and how big the untraceable bucket is, which tells you how much the broken link is costing you. The Cost-per-Signed-Case pillar walks through all six links of the Signed-Case Loop with the usual break and the fix for each, so you can map your own chain.
Questions answered
Full answers
- Do I need new software to track signed cases by source?
- Usually not. You need one source ID to survive all six links from first contact to collected fee. Most firms already own the tools; the fix is a tagging rule or a source field that stops the ID from being dropped.
- Where does source tracking most often break?
- At the matter record. A case is opened in the practice management system without the source field, so the ID that started at the ad click is lost at the finish line. Carrying that field over is often the single highest-impact fix.
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