Nothing breaks in the campaign or the ad. Both breaks land after the lead leaves the marketing layer.
Call / form / chatThe lead arrives
TaggedSource · campaign · keyword captured
✗CRM handoff
QualifiedNow logged as “existing customer”
Quoted jobOften invoices weeks later
Day 90 / 63Paid invoiceConfirmed after the window closes
Break 1 · the source dies at the fence
The lead enters the CRM and the paid-search origin is overwritten — logged as “existing customer” or “phone.” The campaign that earned the work loses the credit.
Break 2 · the clock runs out
Google won’t import a conversion more than 90 days after the click (63 for enhanced conversions for leads). The job often invoices after that, so the link lapses before the money is confirmed.
The invoiced value never reports back to the campaign — or arrives too late to count.
Concept illustration. The 90/63-day window is Google’s documented offline-conversion limit; the weeks-later invoice timing is illustrative.