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Meta Conversions API (CAPI) Client Guide - Sat - Jul 18, 2026 - 4:55am

  • META CONVERSIONS API (CAPI) CLIENT GUIDE


    Audience: ThunderTix account administrators and their Meta advertising agencies


    Meta Conversions API sends completed ticket and product purchases from ThunderTix directly to your Meta dataset (formerly called a Pixel). It provides server-side purchase measurement when browser tracking is unavailable or limited.

    IMPORTANT: Meta CAPI is not a replacement for your privacy obligations. Before enabling it, confirm that your privacy notice, consent/CMP workflow, and any regional data-processing requirements permit sharing this data with Meta. ThunderTix does not manage consent or set Meta Limited Data Use options for your account.


    WHAT THUNDERTIX SENDS


    When enabled, ThunderTix sends one server-side Meta Purchase event for each successfully paid order. The event contains:

    • Purchase amount and currency
    • ThunderTix order ID
    • Ticket performance and product identifiers, plus item quantity
    • Purchase time and the order confirmation-page URL
    • Customer matching data, when available: email address, phone number, first and last name, city, postal code, and country
    • The patron's IP address and browser user agent (always sent when available server-side, regardless of what the patron entered at checkout)

    ThunderTix uses Meta's Business SDK to normalize and hash supported customer matching fields before delivery. IP address, browser user agent, and Meta's browser/click identifiers are not hashed because Meta requires those values in their original format.

    Phone number format: Meta expects phone numbers in E.164 format (country code plus number, digits only). The Business SDK handles standard normalization automatically, including stripping formatting characters. For best match quality, encourage patrons to enter phone numbers with a country code when possible. Patron phone numbers without a country code will still be sent, but may match less reliably against Meta's user database.

    ThunderTix does not send an event for unpaid, abandoned, or failed orders. A successful delivery is not sent again for the same order.


    BEFORE YOU BEGIN


    You need:

    • A Meta Business Suite account with access to the dataset/Pixel that should receive the events.
    • The dataset's Pixel ID. ThunderTix accepts a 15- or 16-digit ID.
    • A Conversions API access token authorized to send events to that dataset.
    • Permission in ThunderTix to edit account/venue settings.

    Generate a long-lived system-user access token in Meta Business Manager with the ads_management permission scoped to the selected dataset. Do not share the token in email, support tickets, or public documents.

    For more detail, see Meta's Conversions API setup guide.


    SET UP AND TEST META CAPI


    Follow this order. Do not enable live delivery until the test event has arrived in Meta Events Manager.


    1. Save the dataset credentials with live delivery off

    • Sign in to ThunderTix as a user who can edit venue settings.
    • Go to Integrations & Pixel Tracking.
    • In Meta Conversions API, leave Enable Meta Conversions API switched off.
    • Enter the Meta Pixel ID and Access token.
    • Click Save Meta Conversions API settings.

    Saving at this stage creates the ThunderTix credential record. It does not send production purchase events because the enable switch is off.


    2. Create a Meta test event code

    • In Meta Events Manager, open your dataset.
    • Go to Test Events.
    • Generate or copy the current Test Event Code.
    • Return to the ThunderTix Meta CAPI settings and enter that code in Test event code.

    This code does not need to be saved to send a test event: the Send Test Event button reads it directly from the form field. Leave it in the form field for the duration of testing; you'll clear it in step 4 before enabling live delivery. The Test Event Code is only for verification and is not required for normal purchase delivery.


    3. Send and verify the ThunderTix test event

    • Click Send Test Event.
    • Confirm that ThunderTix reports a successful delivery.
    • In Meta Events Manager, go to Test Events and confirm receipt of the Purchase test event.

    The ThunderTix test is synthetic: it does not create an order, charge a payment method, or send a production purchase. It uses sample customer data and a test purchase value of USD 1.00.

    Meta still receives Test Event Code events. Do not treat a test event as a guarantee that it is excluded from Meta reporting or measurement; use the test code only while verifying the integration.

    Meta can take up to 30 seconds to display the event. ThunderTix allows up to 10 test-event requests per account per hour.

    If the test is rejected:

    • Reconfirm that the Pixel ID belongs to the selected Meta dataset.
    • Generate a new access token in Meta and replace the saved token in ThunderTix.
    • Create a new Test Event Code from that dataset's Test Events page.
    • Use the fbtrace_id shown by ThunderTix when contacting Meta or ThunderTix Support.


    4. Enable live purchase delivery

    After the test is visible in Meta:

    • Clear the Test event code field to avoid confusing future testing.
    • Turn on Enable Meta Conversions API.
    • Click Save Meta Conversions API settings.

    ThunderTix does not include the Test Event Code in live purchase events. Clearing it is still recommended so the saved settings accurately reflect that the integration is live.


    5. Verify a real purchase

    Complete a real paid order after enabling CAPI. Check the dataset's Overview or event activity in Meta Events Manager for a server-side Purchase event.

    Do not use the ThunderTix Send Test Event button as a replacement for this final check: it verifies credentials, not your complete patron purchase flow. ThunderTix does not currently provide a customer-facing CAPI delivery-status dashboard.


    AFTER YOU ENABLE CAPI


    Server-side purchase events appear in Meta Events Manager under your dataset's activity feed within a few minutes of order completion. You can filter by event source to see specifically the events delivered via Conversions API.

    For measurement and reporting, look at Meta Ads Manager's attribution and ROAS reports for campaigns driving traffic to your ticketing site. Server-side events strengthen attribution for purchases that would otherwise be missed due to browser privacy restrictions, ad blockers, or iOS Advanced Tracking Protection.

    Realistic expectations: Meta's delivery algorithms re-optimize as new server-side signals arrive. Expect 7 to 14 days after enabling CAPI before campaign performance metrics stabilize with the improved signal. Match quality scores (visible in Meta Events Manager) typically climb over the first few days as Meta receives enough events to evaluate your data quality.

    If your Meta dataset was previously receiving only browser-side Pixel events, you should see a meaningful improvement in reported conversions and match quality once CAPI is running steadily. Compare the two weeks before and after enabling for the clearest picture.


    BROWSER COOKIE MATCHING


    ThunderTix also passes optional Meta browser and click identifiers to the server-side purchase event:

    • _fbp — Meta browser identifier
    • _fbc — Meta click identifier, when available

    ThunderTix reads existing Meta cookies and preserves them through checkout. If a patron arrives with a Facebook click ID (fbclid) but no _fbc cookie, ThunderTix builds an _fbc value using Meta's required format.

    These identifiers can improve event matching, but they have important limits:

    • ThunderTix only sends _fbp or _fbc when a Meta cookie or Facebook click identifier is present at checkout.
    • ThunderTix does not install a Meta Pixel.
    • ThunderTix does not fire a browser-side Purchase event.


    PRIVACY, CONSENT, AND REGIONAL PROCESSING


    Your organization controls the Meta dataset and is responsible for deciding whether it may send patron data to Meta.

    Before enabling CAPI or a Meta Pixel:

    • Update your privacy notice to describe Meta measurement/advertising data sharing as appropriate.
    • Apply your consent decision before reading Meta cookies or sharing data where consent is required.
    • Confirm any EU/EEA, UK, US state, or other regional requirements with your privacy counsel.
    • Determine whether Meta Limited Data Use or another Meta data-processing option applies to your organization.

    ThunderTix stores the Meta access token encrypted and displays it masked after it is saved. Do not enter the token into client-side tags, browser code, or third-party form tools.

    For Meta's requirements, review:





    TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST

    Symptom: Meta CAPI section is not visible
    What to check: Confirm that you are in Integrations & Pixel Tracking and that your user can edit account/venue settings.

    Symptom: Settings will not save
    What to check: Confirm the Pixel ID is exactly 15 or 16 digits. When enabling live delivery, both Pixel ID and access token are required.

    Symptom: Send Test Event is unavailable
    What to check: Save a Pixel ID and access token first. The test button appears only for a saved credential with both values present.

    Symptom: Test event reports an invalid token
    What to check: Generate a new Meta access token for the selected dataset, use Replace token, then save and retest.

    Symptom: Test event reports an invalid Pixel/dataset
    What to check: Verify that the Pixel ID and token belong to the same Meta dataset.

    Symptom: Test event is successful but not yet visible
    What to check: Refresh Meta Events Manager Test Events and allow up to 30 seconds.

    Symptom: Real purchase is not visible in Meta
    What to check: Confirm the order is paid, CAPI is enabled, the credentials are saved, and you are viewing the same dataset configured in ThunderTix.


    REFERENCE LINKS



    The above is available in a formatted and printable guide below.

    ThunderTix_Meta_CAPI_client_guide.pdf 11.8 KB

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