# Best Practices

## Recommended setup

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Match credentials to environment</strong></td><td>Always confirm whether you need Sandbox or Production credentials before setting up. Mixing them is the most common source of empty or incorrect exports.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Start with Transactions</strong></td><td>Transactions is the richest and most frequently queried entity. Get it flowing first, then layer in Subscriptions and Disputes as separate entities in the same data flow.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Join Subscriptions to Plans</strong></td><td>Use Coupler.io's Join transformation on `plan_id` to enrich your subscription records with plan name, price, and billing frequency — useful for MRR breakdowns by tier.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Join Disputes to Transactions</strong></td><td>Link disputes back to transactions using `transaction_id` to calculate your chargeback rate by payment method, merchant account, or date range.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Data refresh and scheduling

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily refresh for Transactions and Disputes</strong></td><td>Transaction status changes (e.g., authorized → settled → disputed) happen throughout the day. A daily refresh keeps your revenue and risk numbers current.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Weekly is enough for Plans and Discounts</strong></td><td>These entities change infrequently. A weekly or even manual refresh is sufficient unless you're actively rolling out new pricing or promotions.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Performance optimization

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Set a meaningful start date</strong></td><td>The start date directly controls how many transaction records are fetched. For ongoing reporting, set it to 90 days or less — pull your full history separately in a one-time data flow.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Use Aggregate for revenue summaries</strong></td><td>Rather than loading every transaction into a spreadsheet and summing there, use Coupler.io's Aggregate transformation to pre-group by day or month. This keeps destination files lean and fast.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Common pitfalls

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Don't report on raw transaction totals without filtering by status.** Including failed, voided, or authorized-but-not-settled transactions will inflate revenue figures. Always filter to `status = settled` for accurate revenue reporting.
{% endhint %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}

#### Do

* Filter transactions by `status = settled` for revenue reports
* Use separate data flows for Sandbox vs. Production
* Join Disputes to Transactions to calculate chargeback rates
* Use Append to combine data from multiple merchant accounts
  {% endcolumn %}

{% column %}

#### Don't

* Mix Sandbox and Production credentials in the same data flow
* Set the start date to your company's founding date for routine refreshes
* Assume refunds appear as negative amounts on original transactions
* Report subscription counts without filtering by status
  {% endcolumn %}
  {% endcolumns %}