Understanding Server-Side Payments and Revenue Analytics
Maximizing network monetization requires deep insight into player purchasing behavior. ShardAnalytics connects to your store through Tebex or a signed custom webhook, so every purchase, refund, and decline lands next to the player who made it.
In this guide, we will cover how ShardAnalytics calculates payments analytics, maps gross to net revenue, and reports on checkout conversion health.
Why Connect Your Store?
Payment collection is handled by the ShardAnalytics platform, not by your game server. Store providers deliver events to ShardAnalytics, so purchases are captured even when your Minecraft server is under high CPU load or offline:
- Independent Collection: Payment events do not depend on your game server staying online.
- Unified Insights: Combines player login history, campaign attribution, and purchases in one analytics pipeline.
- Secure Integration: No open inbound ports required on your game server.
Key Revenue Metrics to Monitor
Once synced, your Payments Dashboard displays the following core metrics:
1. Gross Revenue
The total checkout amount paid by customers at the store level.
2. Take-Home (Net) Revenue
The estimated take-home revenue after provider fees and standard payment processing rates. Where a fee cannot be determined from the provider data, ShardAnalytics shows the amount as unavailable rather than guessing.
3. Transaction success Rate
The ratio of completed checkouts to total initiated carts. A sudden drop in success rate indicates issues with a payment processor, or localized currency problems.
4. Revenue at Risk
The amount of money currently tied up in chargeback disputes, refunds, or fraud blocks.
Categorized Decline Reasons
To prevent lost sales, ShardAnalytics categorizes failed checkouts by their API decline reasons:
- Card Insufficient Funds: Indicates a need for lower-priced bundles or localized pricing adjustments.
- Fraud/Risk Block: Indicates payment gateway rules might be too aggressive.
- Gateway Timeouts: Signal-processing bottlenecks between the store and the bank.