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Lead Source vs. Acquisition Source

Understand the difference between lead source and acquisition source to better track where your painting leads come from.

Important: this feature requires the paid Operations add-on.

In PaintScout, acquisition source tracks where a lead form was submitted (e.g., your website or Google Ads), while lead source tracks how the customer says they heard about you (e.g., referral or word of mouth). Both are saved on every deal.

These two sources answer different questions and together show you what's actually driving leads.

Acquisition Source: Where the lead came from

Acquisition Source tracks where the lead was captured.

This is set on the lead form itself and reflects the channel or location where the form was submitted.

Examples:

  • Website

  • Google Ads

  • Facebook Ads

  • Landing Page

  • Email Campaign

Think of Acquisition Source as the technical entry point for the lead.

“Where did this form submission happen?”

Lead Source: How the customer heard about you

Lead Source captures the customer’s answer to how they discovered your business.

This information usually comes from a question on the lead form (for example: “How did you hear about us?”).

Examples:

  • Referral

  • Google Search

  • Word of Mouth

  • Yelp

  • Social Media

Think of Lead Source as the customer’s perspective.

“How did you find us?”

Why PaintScout Tracks Both

Tracking both tells you things that either one alone would miss.

For example:

  • A homeowner hears about you from a friend (Lead Source: Referral)

  • They later visit your website and submit a form (Acquisition Source: Website)

This tells you:

  • The website captured the lead

  • But referrals are driving interest

Without both, it’s easy to misinterpret where your best leads are really coming from. Both details are saved to the deal in PaintScout, giving you clearer insight into your lead funnel.

While these details are saved to your deals in PaintScout, keep in mind that deals in the Production pipeline will not show the Acquisition Source.

Best Practices

  • Set the Acquisition Source accurately when creating each lead form

  • Include a Lead Source question on your form whenever possible

  • Review both metrics together for the most accurate insights

Related articles

Lead Source Tracking

Track and customize lead sources to understand where your painting leads come from and measure marketing effectiveness.

Lead Conversions Report

Track which lead sources bring the most valuable leads with win rates and revenue data by source.

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