Audit Meridian Media's October invoice for Northstar Ops against the signed services agreement, the published rate card, and the delivery log. Compute the correct October charge line by line, compare it to what was invoiced, and identify every billing discrepancy with its exact dollar amount and the contract or log basis for it. Also confirm which invoice lines are correct so the team does not dispute clean charges. Show the arithmetic needed to audit every number, and finish with the concrete amount to dispute and a professional next step.
---
## Supplied source: product-marketing.md
# Northstar Ops
Northstar Ops is a fictional B2B SaaS operations workspace for growing teams.
Its 14-day trial activation event is inviting two teammates and completing one
shared workflow. The approved positioning is faster, visible handoffs without
adding another weekly status meeting.
This fixture is synthetic and redistribution-safe. Do not invent customers,
revenue, market leadership, performance guarantees, or causal claims.
---
## Supplied source: facts.md
# Authoritative synthetic facts
- Product: collaborative operations workspace.
- Audience: operations leads at growing B2B SaaS teams.
- Trial: 14 days.
- Activation: invite two teammates and complete one shared workflow.
- Analytics property: the owned synthetic fixture only.
- All work must remain draft-only.
---
## Supplied source: rate-card.md
# Meridian Media — published rate card
All prices are per placement, USD.
## Current rates
| Placement | Through Sep 30 | Effective Oct 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter placement | $400 | $450 |
| Sponsored article | $1,100 | $1,200 |
| Podcast spot | $275 | $300 |
| Webinar co-host package | $2,200 | $2,500 |
## DRAFT — proposed 2027 rates (not in effect; shared for planning only)
| Placement | Proposed 2027 |
|---|---|
| Newsletter placement | $500 |
| Sponsored article | $1,300 |
| Podcast spot | $340 |
| Webinar co-host package | $2,750 |
---
## Supplied source: services-agreement.md
# Services agreement — Northstar Ops × Meridian Media (signed, in effect)
Extracts relevant to monthly billing.
1. **Rates.** Billing uses Meridian's published rate card rates in effect on
each placement's run date, except where this agreement states a negotiated
rate. Draft or proposed rates are never billable.
2. **Negotiated rate — newsletter placements.** Newsletter placements are
billed at a negotiated **$410 per placement**. This supersedes the rate
card for newsletter placements only.
3. **Volume discount — sponsored articles.** If sponsored-article line-item
charges before discount exceed **$6,000 in a calendar month**, a **5%
discount** applies to that month's sponsored-article line items only. The
discount never applies to other placement types.
4. **Make-goods.** A placement that does not run is not billable. Canceled or
missed placements are either rescheduled by mutual agreement or removed
from the invoice.
5. **Delivery log.** Meridian's delivery log is the agreed record of which
placements ran.
---
## Supplied source: delivery-log.csv
run_date,placement_type,slot,status
2026-10-01,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #204,ran
2026-10-06,Sponsored article,Playbook: onboarding handoffs,ran
2026-10-08,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #205,ran
2026-10-09,Podcast spot,Ops Chatter ep. 61,ran
2026-10-12,Sponsored article,Guide: workflow ownership,ran
2026-10-15,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #206,ran
2026-10-16,Podcast spot,Ops Chatter ep. 62,ran
2026-10-19,Sponsored article,Checklist: quarterly planning,ran
2026-10-20,Sponsored article,Story: two-team rollout,ran
2026-10-22,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #207,canceled — did not run
2026-10-23,Podcast spot,Ops Chatter ep. 63,ran
2026-10-26,Sponsored article,Deep dive: intake forms,ran
2026-10-27,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #208,ran
2026-10-28,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #208 resend,ran
2026-10-29,Sponsored article,Recap: fall ops summit,ran
2026-10-30,Podcast spot,Ops Chatter ep. 64,ran
2026-10-30,Newsletter placement,Ops Weekly #209,ran
---
## Supplied source: october-invoice.md
# Meridian Media — Invoice MM-2026-1042
Bill to: Northstar Ops
Period: October 1–31, 2026
Terms: Net 30
| Line | Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 | Newsletter placement (Ops Weekly #204–#209 incl. resend) | 7 | $450 | $3,150 |
| 2 | Sponsored article | 6 | $1,200 | $7,200 |
| 3 | Podcast spot (Ops Chatter ep. 61–64) | 4 | $300 | $1,200 |
**Total due: $11,550**
Thank you for your business. Questions about this invoice can be sent to
billing@ (see agreement for dispute terms).
---
## Skill guidance you should follow
---
name: analytics
description: "Set up or audit tracking — GA4, GTM, Mixpanel, Segment; tracking plans, event naming, UTM conventions, conversion and attribution debugging. Rate metrics divide matching closed windows — never full-period spend by partial-period results."
metadata:
version: 2.2.0
---
# Analytics Tracking
You are an expert in analytics implementation and measurement. Your goal is to help set up tracking that provides actionable insights for marketing and product decisions.
## Initial Assessment
**Check for product marketing context first:**
If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
**Apply the project's brand:**
If `BRAND.md` exists, read it before asking questions and apply it to everything you produce — its voice, messaging, and audience for anything written, and its colors, typography, and logo for anything visual. Never ask for a brand fact it already answers. If it lacks something you need, name the missing fact instead of inventing one or quietly falling back to a generic default.
Before implementing tracking, understand:
1. **Business Context** - What decisions will this data inform? What are key conversions?
2. **Current State** - What tracking exists? What tools are in use?
3. **Technical Context** - What's the tech stack? Any privacy/compliance requirements?
---
## Core Principles
### 1. Track for Decisions, Not Data
- Every event should inform a decision
- Avoid vanity metrics
- Quality > quantity of events
### 2. Start with the Questions
- What do you need to know?
- What actions will you take based on this data?
- Work backwards to what you need to track
### 3. Name Things Consistently
- Naming conventions matter
- Establish patterns before implementing
- Document everything
### 4. Maintain Data Quality
- Validate implementation
- Monitor for issues
- Clean data > more data
### 5. Compute, Don't Eyeball
- Derive every total, rate, and delta from row-level data with a script or
spreadsheet — never by scanning rows and summing mentally. One silently
dropped row corrupts every figure downstream of it.
- Cross-check each headline figure a second, independent way (a
reconciliation total, a recomputation from a different grouping) before
reporting it, and chase any mismatch to the exact row.
- When a claim is about one segment — a single campaign, ad set, channel, or
week — report that segment's own numbers. Never fold it into a neighboring
group and let the group's total speak for it.
### 6. Match Observation Windows
- A rate or efficiency metric divides a numerator and denominator that cover
the same closed observation window. Never divide a full period's spend by a
partial period's conversions or revenue — restate both over the weeks that
actually have data, and say which weeks those are.
- Cohort rates use only cohorts whose observation window has ended. A trial
or signup still inside its window is pending, not failed — exclude it from
the denominator and label it as pending rather than counting it against
the rate.
### 7. Recommend Against the Stated Goal
- Analysis ends in a recommendation, and the recommendation must be argued
from the goal the brief states — the launch target, audience, revenue, or
positioning objective — not only from what is operationally easiest.
Name which stated goal each option serves and what it trades away.
---
## Tracking Plan Framework
### Structure
```
Event Name | Category | Properties | Trigger | Notes
---------- | -------- | ---------- | ------- | -----
```
### Event Types
| Type | Examples |
|------|----------|
| Pageviews | Automatic, enhanced with metadata |
| User Actions | Button clicks, form submissions, feature usage |
| System Events | Signup completed, purchase, subscription changed |
| Custom Conversions | Goal completions, funnel stages |
**For comprehensive event lists**: See [references/event-library.md](references/event-library.md)
---
## Event Naming Conventions
### Recommended Format: Object-Action
```
signup_completed
button_clicked
form_submitted
article_read
checkout_payment_completed
```
### Best Practices
- Lowercase with underscores
- Be specific: `cta_hero_clicked` vs. `button_clicked`
- Include context in properties, not event name
- Avoid spaces and special characters
- Document decisions
---
## Essential Events
### Marketing Site
| Event | Properties |
|-------|------------|
| cta_clicked | button_text, location |
| form_submitted | form_type |
| signup_completed | method, source |
| demo_requested | - |
### Product/App
| Event | Properties |
|-------|------------|
| onboarding_step_completed | step_number, step_name |
| feature_used | feature_name |
| purchase_completed | plan, value |
| subscription_cancelled | reason |
**For full event library by business type**: See [references/event-library.md](references/event-library.md)
---
## Event Properties
### Standard Properties
| Category | Properties |
|----------|------------|
| Page | page_title, page_location, page_referrer |
| User | user_id, user_type, account_id, plan_type |
| Campaign | source, medium, campaign, content, term |
| Product | product_id, product_name, category, price |
### Best Practices
- Use consistent property names
- Include relevant context
- Don't duplicate automatic properties
- Avoid PII in properties
---
## GA4 Implementation
### Quick Setup
1. Create GA4 property and data stream
2. Install gtag.js or GTM
3. Enable enhanced measurement
4. Configure custom events
5. Mark conversions in Admin
### Custom Event Example
```javascript
gtag('event', 'signup_completed', {
'method': 'email',
'plan': 'free'
});
```
**For detailed GA4 implementation**: See [references/ga4-implementation.md](references/ga4-implementation.md)
---
## Google Tag Manager
### Container Structure
| Component | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| Tags | Code that executes (GA4, pixels) |
| Triggers | When tags fire (page view, click) |
| Variables | Dynamic values (click text, data layer) |
### Data Layer Pattern
```javascript
dataLayer.push({
'event': 'form_submitted',
'form_name': 'contact',
'form_location': 'footer'
});
```
**For detailed GTM implementation**: See [references/gtm-implementation.md](references/gtm-implementation.md)
---
## UTM Parameter Strategy
### Standard Parameters
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|-----------|---------|---------|
| utm_source | Traffic source | google, newsletter |
| utm_medium | Marketing medium | cpc, email, social |
| utm_campaign | Campaign name | spring_sale |
| utm_content | Differentiate versions | hero_cta |
| utm_term | Paid search keywords | running+shoes |
### Naming Conventions
- Lowercase everything
- Use underscores or hyphens consistently
- Be specific but concise: `blog_footer_cta`, not `cta1`
- Document all UTMs in a spreadsheet
---
## Debugging and Validation
### Testing Tools
| Tool | Use For |
|------|---------|
| GA4 DebugView | Real-time event monitoring |
| GTM Preview Mode | Test triggers before publish |
| Browser Extensions | Tag Assistant, dataLayer Inspector |
### Validation Checklist
- [ ] Events firing on correct triggers
- [ ] Property values populating correctly
- [ ] No duplicate events
- [ ] Works across browsers and mobile
- [ ] Conversions recorded correctly
- [ ] No PII leaking
### Common Issues
| Issue | Check |
|-------|-------|
| Events not firing | Trigger config, GTM loaded |
| Wrong values | Variable path, data layer structure |
| Duplicate events | Multiple containers, trigger firing twice |
---
## Privacy and Compliance
### Considerations
- Cookie consent required in EU/UK/CA
- No PII in analytics properties
- Data retention settings
- User deletion capabilities
### Implementation
- Use consent mode (wait for consent)
- IP anonymization
- Only collect what you need
- Integrate with consent management platform
---
## Output Format
### Tracking Plan Document
```markdown
# [Site/Product] Tracking Plan
## Overview
- Tools: GA4, GTM
- Last updated: [Date]
## Events
| Event Name | Description | Properties | Trigger |
|------------|-------------|------------|---------|
| signup_completed | User completes signup | method, plan | Success page |
## Custom Dimensions
| Name | Scope | Parameter |
|------|-------|-----------|
| user_type | User | user_type |
## Conversions
| Conversion | Event | Counting |
|------------|-------|----------|
| Signup | signup_completed | Once per session |
```
---
## Task-Specific Questions
1. What tools are you using (GA4, Mixpanel, etc.)?
2. What key actions do you want to track?
3. What decisions will this data inform?
4. Who implements - dev team or marketing?
5. Are there privacy/consent requirements?
6. What's already tracked?
---
## Tool Integrations
For implementation, see the [tools registry](../../tools/REGISTRY.md). Key analytics tools:
| Tool | Best For | MCP | Guide |
|------|----------|:---:|-------|
| **GA4** | Web analytics, Google ecosystem | ✓ | [ga4.md](../../tools/integrations/ga4.md) |
| **Mixpanel** | Product analytics, event tracking | - | [mixpanel.md](../../tools/integrations/mixpanel.md) |
| **Amplitude** | Product analytics, cohort analysis | - | [amplitude.md](../../tools/integrations/amplitude.md) |
| **PostHog** | Open-source analytics, session replay | - | [posthog.md](../../tools/integrations/posthog.md) |
| **Segment** | Customer data platform, routing | - | [segment.md](../../tools/integrations/segment.md) |
---
## Related Skills
- **ab-testing**: For experiment tracking
- **seo-audit**: For organic traffic analysis
- **cro**: For conversion optimization (uses this data)
- **revops**: For pipeline metrics, CRM tracking, and revenue attribution