> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.indic8.ing/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Core Concepts

> Key mental models and abstractions in the Indic8 telemetry engine.

Understanding the basic entities in Indic8 will help you organize products, gateways, and metrics effectively.

## 1. Unified Product vs Provider SKU

A single product (for example, *Pro Subscription*) is often sold across multiple distinct platforms:

* On the web via **Stripe** (`prod_N9xLKjs9`) or **Polar** (`prod_polar_871`)
* On iOS via **Apple App Store** (`com.acme.pro.yearly`)
* On Android via **Google Play** (`acme_sub_pro_1y`)

```mermaid theme={null}
graph TD
    Unified["Unified Product: Pro Subscription ($99/yr)"]
    Unified --> S["Stripe SKU (prod_N9xLKjs9)"]
    Unified --> P["Polar SKU (prod_polar_871)"]
    Unified --> A["App Store (com.acme.pro.yearly)"]
    Unified --> G["Google Play (acme_sub_pro_1y)"]
```

In Indic8:

* A **Provider SKU** represents the raw external identifier in the respective gateway.
* A **Unified Product** aggregates these provider SKUs into a single entity, allowing you to analyze total blended sales, active subscriptions, and blended refund rates.

***

## 2. Multi-Gateway Ledger

The **Ledger** is an immutable, append-only table of financial events. Every successful charge, subscription renewal, dispute, and refund is recorded as a normalized transaction:

* **Gross Volume**: Total charged amount in the customer's native currency.
* **Normalized Volume**: Equivalent value in your workspace base currency at the timestamp rate.
* **Provider Fee**: Gateway transaction cuts and platform fees.
* **Net Volume**: Actual capital deposited into your account (`Gross - Provider Fees - Taxes`).

***

## 3. Sovereign Hashing

Indic8 calculates customer retention and repeat purchase velocity without storing Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

When an email address (e.g. `alex@example.com`) arrives in a webhook:

1. Indic8 extracts the domain and normalizes the string.
2. The string is combined with a workspace-secret cryptographic salt.
3. An SHA-256 hash is computed (e.g. `usr_9f81a7b6c...`).
4. The raw email is permanently deleted from memory.

This allows Indic8 to track whether `usr_9f81a7b6c` renewed in Month 3 without ever knowing their real identity.

***

## 4. Cohort Vintage Analysis

Cohorts are groups of customers who made their first purchase or subscription in the same calendar month.

Indic8 evaluates cohorts across two primary metrics:

* **Net Revenue Retention (NRR)**: Percentage of recurring revenue retained from the original cohort over time, factoring in expansions, upgrades, downgrades, and churn.
* **Blended LTV**: Average cumulative revenue generated by a customer across all channels after $N$ months.

***

## 5. Milestone Verification

Indic8 includes an automated milestone detection engine. When your workspace crosses key thresholds ($10k MRR, $100k Gross, 1,000 active subscribers, or Highest Revenue Day):

* A cryptographic snapshot is signed by the Indic8 telemetry engine.
* A Studio Canvas export card is generated with verification hashes.
* You can share the verified card on social media or embed it in investor pitch decks.