If you have already downloaded your September Microsoft Advertising figures, there is a small but useful job to do before signing off the month. Microsoft has corrected reporting data for 13–15 September and is asking advertisers to download the affected figures again.
For businesses and charities in Bath and the surrounding counties, this matters most where a spreadsheet, dashboard or monthly report holds an earlier copy of those numbers. The platform may now show the corrected data, while the file you sent to a colleague still contains the old version.
What Microsoft has corrected
In a platform-health notice published on 1 October, Microsoft says an internal reporting issue understated impressions, clicks and spend across markets. The affected period runs from 13 September at 00:00 UTC to 15 September at 23:59 UTC.
The company says it has recovered, checked and restated the data. Advertisers may see a small increase in those reported figures for the affected dates. Microsoft also states that ads delivered normally throughout the period.
The notice does not give an account-by-account breakdown or a percentage adjustment. It does not announce a refund, a billing correction or a change to conversion figures. An increase in reported spend should therefore prompt a comparison of the reports, rather than an assumption that the business has suddenly bought extra advertising.
Why an old export needs attention
A platform correction cannot update a file already sitting on your computer. If September’s numbers have been copied into a management report, that copy needs checking separately.
Imagine a local retailer comparing Microsoft Ads with another advertising channel, or a Bath service business reviewing the cost of generating enquiries. If one channel’s September clicks and spend came from an earlier export, the comparison may now use figures that Microsoft has revised. That does not tell you which channel performed better; it tells you to refresh the evidence before drawing that conclusion.
The same applies to a short campaign review covering those three days. A chart can look tidy and still contain outdated data. This is a specific reason to revisit the affected period, rather than a reason to distrust every figure in the account.
A practical check for September reports
- Keep the earlier export. Save a dated copy so you can compare it with the new download and explain any difference. Avoid overwriting your only record of what was originally reported.
- Download comparable figures again. Use the same account, campaigns, columns, filters and reporting time zone as the original. Microsoft’s incident window is stated in UTC; check how those boundaries relate to the dates in your own report.
- Compare impressions, clicks and spend. Start with the affected period, then check the September total. If you cannot reproduce the original selection, resolve that difference before attributing a changed number to this incident.
- Update the working report carefully. Replace the corresponding older figures rather than adding the new download underneath them. Where a dashboard imports files, check that the replacement has not counted the same activity twice.
- Recalculate anything that uses those figures. Check totals, charts and measures such as average cost per click or cost per enquiry. A changed input can alter a comparison even when the underlying enquiries have stayed the same.
If your agency or marketing colleague prepares the report, a straightforward request is enough: please refresh September’s Microsoft Ads data, check the 13–15 September correction and confirm whether the report changes.
Keep the report and the business outcome separate
This correction concerns what the advertising platform reported. It cannot, by itself, establish that more customers called, more appointments were booked or more sales were made.
Keep the relevant enquiry or sales records alongside the updated advertising figures. For organisations using paid search to generate leads, that is a useful way to check whether an apparent change is in reporting, customer activity or both.
We have previously covered delayed Microsoft Ads conversion reporting. Today’s notice calls for a different response: checking an older export against corrected impressions, clicks and spend. Waiting for a dashboard to catch up will not refresh a spreadsheet you downloaded earlier.
If the report has already gone out
Check the difference before issuing an amendment. If the correction changes a headline total or the conclusion someone is relying on, send a revised report with a short explanation of the affected dates and what was updated.
There is no need to describe this as a campaign failure. Microsoft says delivery was normal. Nor should a revised number alone become the reason for a hasty budget or bidding change. First make the report accurate, then judge the campaign against the business’s usual goals and supporting evidence.
For this month’s reporting, the useful next step is modest: download comparable September figures again, check any saved copies and make sure everyone assessing the results is working from the same version.
Sources
- Microsoft Advertising Platform Health: Restatement for September 13th–15th Activity, reviewed 1 October 2026.
- Microsoft Advertising Platform Health RSS feed, collected and reviewed 1 October 2026.