Demand origin and lead entry are different operating facts. Treating them as the same field destroys useful acquisition history.
A business can know where demand came from and still lose the record
Meta, Google, referrals, outbound, events, and organic search are sources. A form, phone call, inbox, calendar, or direct message is an intake path. When the system stores only the intake path, leadership can accidentally replace the reason demand existed with the place the prospect happened to re-enter.
The operating requirement is preservation, not attribution theater
You do not need an elaborate model to preserve useful history. Keep the original meaningful source where it is available. Preserve campaign and ad identifiers when paid media makes them available. Separately record the intake path that created the commercial record.
Why this matters downstream
Once an opportunity becomes revenue, leadership should be able to walk backward. Where did the opportunity originate? Where did it enter? Who owned it? What happened? What became revenue? If the chain breaks at intake, marketing and revenue reporting become two different stories.
Score the control points behind your own revenue path.
The free Revenue System Score takes roughly four minutes and identifies the operating areas most likely to create friction as you add volume or complexity.