Pre-launch checklist for a new client ad account

Before you touch the account

• Access: confirm the people who need access, and give the narrowest role each one needs. Remove access you cannot explain.
• Definitions: write down what the client counts as revenue, as a new customer and as a conversion. Keep it next to the report.
• Currency and time zone: check the store, the ad account and the reporting tool all use the same currency and time zone.

Tracking

• Confirm each purchase event fires once, with the order value and currency, on the thank-you page.
• Check the store's order count for a test day against the ad platform's reported purchases. Write down the gap; do not hide it.
• Set the attribution window you will report on, and write it next to every ROAS figure.

Naming and links

• Agree on one naming pattern before the first campaign is created. The ad naming convention guide explains the fields.
• Build every destination link with the same UTM rules. The UTM standard guide has the values to use.

Budget and launch

• Set a daily ceiling for each campaign that a person has approved, not one the platform chooses.
• Start every new ad paused. A person turns it on after they have read the preview.
• Record the launch: what was created, with which budget, by whom, and when.

After launch

• Read the changes back from the platform the same day. Compare what is there with what you approved.