Meta Ads Conversion Tracking in Scale uses Meta's Conversions API (CAPI) to report what happens after someone clicks your ad and starts a WhatsApp conversation: a new lead, a qualified lead, and a purchase with its value. Meta then measures your click-to-WhatsApp ads by real outcomes instead of by message counts. You connect it in Settings → Integrations → Meta Ads Conversion Tracking, and you read the results in the Meta Ads tab of the Scale dashboard.
For most businesses nothing has to be typed: when you connect WhatsApp through Meta's official signup, Scale sets conversion tracking up automatically. If you have not connected your number yet, start with How to connect WhatsApp Business to Scale.
What the Meta Conversions API is
The Conversions API is Meta's official way for a business system to send conversion events straight to a Meta dataset, server to server. A dataset is the container in Meta Events Manager that receives events and makes them available to your ad account.
The problem it solves is specific to ads that open a chat. When someone taps a click-to-WhatsApp ad, Meta sees the click and the start of the conversation, and nothing after that. It cannot tell whether the person was a serious buyer or sent one message and left. Scale sees the whole conversation, so Scale reports the customer's real stages back to your dataset.
With those events in your dataset, Meta can measure and optimise your ads for people who actually buy instead of people who only message.
What Scale sends to Meta and when
| Event in Scale | Name Meta receives | When Scale sends it |
|---|---|---|
| New lead | LeadSubmitted | The first message of a conversation that started from an ad click |
| Qualified lead | QualifiedLead | The lead's stage becomes Qualified, whether the AI assistant or a team member set it |
| Purchase | Purchase | A sale is recorded for the lead with its amount and currency, or an order is created in the chat through your connected store |
| Appointment | Not sent | Meta has no booking event for messaging conversations, so an appointment stays inside Scale |
Which conversations are tracked
Scale sends events only for WhatsApp conversations that started from an ad click carrying Meta's click ID. Meta attaches that ID to the customer's first message when they arrive from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, and Scale stores it on the lead at that moment. It is first-touch: a later ad click by the same customer does not replace the stored ID.
A conversation that did not come from an ad, such as a customer who saved your number and wrote to you directly, has no click ID. Meta cannot attribute it to an ad, so Scale never sends it and never invents an ID for it. This is why the number of events in Meta is normally lower than the number of conversations in your Inbox.
What you need before connecting
| Channel | Conversion events | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Available | A connected number with its WhatsApp Business Account; the dataset is detected automatically | |
| Not available yet | Shown as Coming soon in the form and as Not connected — in development in the panel | |
| Messenger | Not available yet | Shown as Coming soon in the form and as Not connected — in development in the panel |
How to connect Meta Ads conversion tracking
Automatic setup. When you connect WhatsApp through Meta, Scale sets conversion tracking up from the same connection. The WhatsApp card in Settings → Channels then shows a line that starts with Conversion tracking (Meta Ads) and says how far the setup got, with a Retry setup button when trying again could help and a Details button that opens the tracking panel. A number connected through a provider such as Twilio carries no Meta access token, so it cannot be set up automatically and needs the manual steps below.
Manual setup. Follow these steps if the panel still reads Not connected.
Open the panel
Go to Settings → Integrations, find Meta Ads Conversion Tracking and press Open. On a phone, the Meta Ads tab is under More, and its Connect Meta Ads button opens the same panel.
Choose Connect manually
Press Connect manually. The Meta details form opens.
Connect through your WhatsApp connection or paste a token
If WhatsApp is connected, press Connect automatically via your WhatsApp: Scale reuses the existing WhatsApp connection and you enter nothing. If a permission is missing, Scale names it and manual entry stays available. Otherwise paste your Meta token into Access token; it is stored encrypted.
Check the Dataset ID
With WhatsApp connected, Dataset ID is marked Auto-detected and Scale fills it in. The field can be typed only when the workspace has no WhatsApp Business Account to read it from; its hint says 15–16 digits.
Choose the channels
Under Channels to send events for, leave the WhatsApp switch on. Instagram and Messenger show Coming soon and have no switch.
Add a test event code if you have one
Test event code is optional, and you can add it later in Test Mode.
Test, then save
Press Test connection: it checks the details with Meta, saves nothing and sends nothing. When the message says the details were verified, press Save & connect. Cancel closes the form without saving.
How to send a test event
Turn on Test Mode
In the connected panel, switch Test Mode on. The test fields appear.
Enter your test event code
Copy the code from Events Manager → Test Events and paste it into Test event code. Save code keeps it for next time and shows a Saved label; Clear code removes it.
Press Send test event
Scale sends one LeadSubmitted test event and shows Meta's answer under the buttons. Open Events Manager → Test Events to see it.
Read the result
If no conversation has arrived from an ad yet, Scale cannot send a WhatsApp test event, because Meta accepts only a real click ID. In that case Scale checks the connection, the credentials and the dataset instead and tells you they are healthy. Send one click from your ad and the button works.
Connection statuses and what each means
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not connected | Conversion tracking has not been set up for this workspace | Follow the connection steps above |
| Connecting… | Setup has started but is not finished. The banner says either that Scale is setting tracking up or that it is waiting for Meta approval, and your conversions are recorded meanwhile | Usually nothing. If it stays on waiting for Meta approval, reconnect WhatsApp and approve every permission, or contact Scale support |
| Connected | Meta accepted the details and events are sent automatically. The line under the title shows when the last event was sent and the connection date | Nothing |
| Channel needs attention | Tracking is connected, but WhatsApp is missing its WhatsApp Business Account ID | Press Reconnect on the channel row; it opens Settings → Channels so you can reconnect WhatsApp |
| Connection error | Meta rejected the access token. The banner reads Invalid details with Meta's message, and Scale sends you a notification. Conversions are saved and sent after you reconnect while they are within 7 days | Press Edit details to enter a new token, or Retry test to check the stored one |
| Disconnected | You turned tracking off, so no events are recorded or sent | Press Reconnect to check the stored details and turn it back on |
| No events sent yet | Shown while the connection is fine and nothing has been sent. The first event appears when a conversation arrives from an ad | Optional: send a test event |
The WhatsApp card in Settings → Channels shows the same state in one sentence:
| Message on the WhatsApp card | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Conversion tracking is active. | Events are being sent to Meta automatically |
| Setting up conversion tracking. | Scale is finishing the setup and there is nothing for you to do |
| Conversion tracking is waiting for Meta approval. | The events permission is not on the connection yet; WhatsApp messaging is unaffected |
| Conversion tracking is connected, but Meta has not provided ad attribution data yet. | No conversation has arrived from a click-to-WhatsApp ad yet. Check that ads attribution sharing is enabled in your Meta settings |
| Conversion tracking needs to be reconnected. | The WhatsApp Business Account changed, and Scale holds your conversions until the right dataset is confirmed |
| Meta rejected the connection. | The token is no longer accepted, so reconnect |
| Conversion tracking is turned off. | You disconnected tracking |
| Conversion tracking cannot be set up automatically for this connection. | The number is connected through a provider such as Twilio; connect manually with a Meta access token |
Options on the connected panel
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Test connection | Checks the stored details with Meta again and re-reads the dataset from your WhatsApp Business Account. If the dataset changed, Scale updates it and tells you |
| More actions | A menu with Send a test event and Disconnect tracking |
| Meta account | Shows the dataset name and its full ID, the Connection method (Auto-detected from WhatsApp or Manual) and, for a manual connection, who connected it. Business account and Ad account stay empty until Connect with Meta is available |
| Connected channels | One row per channel with its status and the number of events sent in the last 30 days |
| Settings icon on a channel row | Opens Stop tracking this channel. Stop the channel turns that channel off and the others keep working |
| Turn on | Shown on a channel that reads Off; switches its tracking back on |
| Reconnect on a channel row | Shown when the channel reads Needs attention; opens Settings → Channels |
| Test Mode | Shows the test event code field and the Save code, Send test event and Clear code buttons |
| Conversion tracking table | One row per event and one column per channel. A tick means Active, a warning sign means Needs attention and a dash means Not configured. Total is the number sent in the last 30 days, and the Appointment row always shows a dash |
| Set up on the Purchase row | Not available yet; it only shows the note about the later phase. Purchase events are still sent as described above |
| Permission details | Expands the note explaining that Scale only sends events and cannot see or change your campaigns, audiences or billing |
What the Meta Ads tab shows
The Meta Ads tab in the sidebar is a report and has no connection form: while tracking is not connected it shows a Connect Meta Ads button that opens the Settings panel. Every figure on it counts events that Meta accepted in the last 30 days.
| Figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Status pill | Not connected, Connected, Channel needs attention, Connection error or Disconnected |
| New leads | LeadSubmitted events sent |
| Qualified | QualifiedLead events sent |
| Appointments | Appointments are not sent to Meta, so no new events are counted here |
| Customers | Purchase events sent |
| Breakdown by channel | One bar per channel; its length is that channel's share of all events sent, with the count beside it |
| Conversation to customer | Customers divided by New leads, as a percentage. It appears once both figures are above zero |
| Conversion sources | One card per channel with its status and the same four figures for that channel alone |
| Ads performance | Locked. Campaign and ad level attribution is in development |
How Scale avoids duplicate events
- One event per lead for each stage: a lead that is qualified several times still produces a single QualifiedLead.
- One Purchase per sale: if the same sale reaches Scale twice, for example from the store order and from a team member recording it, it is sent once. Scale matches the store's order number, or the same amount and currency for the same lead within 48 hours.
- Every event carries a fixed event ID, so a retry sends the same ID rather than a new event.
- If Meta cannot be reached, Scale retries up to 8 times with growing delays. If the token was rejected, the events wait and are sent after you reconnect, as long as they are still within 7 days.
- Events that Meta refuses as invalid are not sent again.
Privacy and what Scale can access
Each event contains the event name, the time it happened, an event ID, the channel, your WhatsApp Business Account ID and the click ID that Meta itself attached to the conversation. A Purchase also contains its amount and currency. Scale does not put the customer's name, phone number or message text in these events.
The access token is stored encrypted and is never shown again in the dashboard. Scale only sends events to your dataset: it cannot see or change your campaigns, audiences, budgets or billing in Meta.
How to disconnect conversion tracking
Open the menu
In Settings → Integrations → Meta Ads Conversion Tracking, press the More actions button next to Test connection and choose Disconnect tracking.
Confirm
The dialog lists the channels whose tracking will stop. Type disconnect in the box and press Disconnect tracking.
Check the result
The status changes to Disconnected, and Scale stops recording and sending conversion events. Your Meta campaigns and your customer data in Scale are not affected, and Reconnect turns tracking back on with the stored details.
Common questions
Why does Meta show fewer events than my conversations in Scale?
Scale sends events only for WhatsApp conversations that started from an ad click carrying Meta's click ID. Conversations that began any other way are never sent.
Can I track click-to-Messenger or click-to-Instagram ads?
Not yet. Conversion events are sent for WhatsApp only, and Instagram and Messenger appear in the panel as in development. To use those channels for conversations, see How to connect Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
Do I need to find my Dataset ID?
No. While WhatsApp is connected, Scale reads the dataset linked to your WhatsApp Business Account. If you type a different Dataset ID, Scale refuses it and asks you to leave the field empty.
Why did Send test event say the connection is healthy but send no event?
No conversation from an ad has reached this workspace yet, and Meta accepts only a real click ID. After one real click from your ad, the same button sends the test event.
What does the missing permissions error mean?
The access token lacks whatsapp_business_management or whatsapp_business_manage_events. Generate a token that has both and connect again, or contact Scale support.
Does disconnecting WhatsApp affect conversion tracking?
Yes. Scale holds conversions until WhatsApp is reconnected and the dataset is confirmed again, and reconnecting the same account restores tracking without new details.