Common pacing questions

Short answers to common Budget Pacer questions, with the page to open for each.

How do I know if we're on pace?

To know if you're on pace, open the Budget Pacer dashboard and read the Status column. On track means 95% to 105% of the ideal spend for the days that have finished. Spending a bit fast or Spending a bit slow means slightly off pace, up to 115% or down to 80%. Spending too fast or Spending too slow means well off pace, and the tracker needs attention. Current Pace shows the same thing as a percent, where 100% is exactly on plan, above 100% is faster than planned and below 100% is slower. The Advanced view shows Current Pace for all trackers together at the top, and each tracker has its own Current Pace.

Is Spending a bit fast a problem?

Spending a bit fast is a gentle warning, not a problem yet. It means the tracker has spent more than 105% and up to 115% of the ideal spend for the days that have finished, so it is shown in amber and still counts as on track in the summary. Check Projected Spend to see how far over budget it would land if nothing changes, and Required Daily Spend for the daily average that lands it on budget. Above 115% the Status turns to Spending too fast, shown in red, and the tracker needs attention. Spending a bit slow works the same way below the ideal pace, from 95% down to 80%.

Where will we land at the end of the month or quarter?

Read Projected Spend on the Budget Pacer dashboard. It extends completed-day spend at the same daily rate to the end of the period, and says how far over or under budget that lands. Today's partial spend is not part of it.

What should we spend per day?

Read Required Daily Spend on the Budget Pacer dashboard or a tracker's page. It is the daily average needed to land on budget from here. It is planning guidance and never changes a budget in Google Ads or Microsoft Ads.

Which campaigns are driving a tracker's spend?

Open the tracker from the Budget Pacer dashboard and read Spend breakdown by campaign. Share and Contribution show which campaigns move the tracker most.

Which currencies does Budget Pacer support, and does it convert currency?

No. Budget Pacer shows amounts in the currency your ad accounts report, and the footer says which one. It does not convert between currencies. If your accounts use several currencies, the dashboard shows one section per currency, each with its own totals, and does not add them together. Use the Currency menu to see one currency at a time. See Track budgets in multiple currencies. Budget Pacer supports USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, NZD, CHF, SEK, NOK, JPY, INR, BRL, MXN and TRY.

Can one tracker hold Google Ads and Microsoft Ads campaigns?

Yes. A tracker can mix campaigns from both. The dashboard marks it as Mixed.

How often does the data refresh?

Each connected account refreshes automatically once a day, after its ad platform's reporting window. To refresh sooner, click Sync all on Accounts or Sync all now on the Sync settings page.

Is the overall pace an average of the trackers?

No. The overall Current Pace on the Advanced dashboard is weighted by budget, so a large tracker counts for more than a small one.

Can it pause campaigns or change budgets for us?

No. Budget Pacer only reads your account data. It never edits campaigns, pauses ads or changes budgets. You make changes in Google Ads or Microsoft Ads yourself.

Can my teammates see our trackers?

Yes. Teammates in your PPC Ad Editor workspace open Budget Pacer on that workspace and see its trackers. Saved dashboard views stay private to each person.

Who can change things in Budget Pacer?

Everyone who can open Budget Pacer on the workspace can connect and unlink ad accounts, create, edit and delete trackers, change budgets, tag campaigns, manage groups and run a sync. Budget Pacer has no setting to limit these to some members. A few things do depend on your role:

• Budget Pacer covers the whole workspace, so it opens for owners, admins and members with All dashboards access. A member set to Selected dashboards only cannot use it, and may see Budget Pacer requires account-wide access for this workspace.

• Only workspace owners and admins can change the Notifications page. Others can see it but not change it, with Only workspace owners and admins can change notification settings.

• Only workspace owners and billing members can start a trial on the trial page or buy Budget Pacer at checkout.

• A trial that starts inside Budget Pacer starts only when the workspace owner opens it.

• Pacing alerts and the daily digest go to workspace owners and admins.

Can I stop the daily pacing digest?

No. The Daily Pacing Digest has no setting. It goes to every active workspace owner and admin, once the day's data is fresh. The switches on the Notifications page change pacing alerts and data refresh emails, not the digest.

Can I organize trackers by client?

Yes. Click Manage groups on the dashboard, create a group for each client, and move trackers into them. Then pick Group by my groups in the grouping menu to show the dashboard in sections with a subtotal for each. Groups are shared by everyone on the account.

Can I take the budget from my Google Ads or Microsoft Ads insertion order?

Yes, for a tracker that covers every campaign on its ad accounts. Click Use budget from Google Ads or Microsoft Ads on the tracker's row in Budget Tracker. It only reads the amount and never changes anything in the ad account.