# Why Historical Revenue Metrics Can Change

### Why past revenue numbers can change

Sometimes revenue numbers (like MRR or ARR) change even for past dates. This is **normal** and usually means the data is **more accurate**, not wrong.

#### The most common reasons

**1. Data arrived late**\
Some billing data comes in after the fact (for example, when a new billing system is connected or an old subscription is backfilled). When it arrives, past numbers update.

**2. Data was corrected**\
Subscriptions or payments may be fixed or edited later (in the billing system or in Bigdelta). When corrected data is synced, past revenue updates to match.

**3. Data hadn’t synced yet**\
Payments may exist in your billing system but haven’t synced to Bigdelta yet. Once they sync, Bigdelta updates past revenue using the original payment time.

**4. Accounts were reorganized**\
Customers may be merged, linked, or reclassified. Revenue may move between customers, even though total revenue stays the same.

#### Snapshots vs. live numbers

* **Snapshots**: what the number looked like at that moment (old exports or screenshots)
* **Recomputed metrics**: numbers recalculated using the latest data\
  Bigdelta mainly shows **recomputed, source-of-truth numbers**, so they may differ from old snapshots.

#### What to remember

* Small historical changes are expected
* Changes usually mean better data quality

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**Key takeaway:**\
Historical revenue numbers are **living numbers**. When they change, it usually means the data is more complete or corrected—not unreliable.
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