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Definition
An ad account spend cap is a limit on the total amount an ad account may spend, set by the account owner or agreed with the client. It protects the budget when a campaign setting is wrong, because a runaway campaign still cannot go past the agreed amount.
Headroom = ad account spend cap - spend so far in the periodExample with made-up numbers: Made-up scenario: a client agrees on 10,000 of monthly ad spend, and the account cap is set to 11,000. On day 18 of 30, spend is 6,800. The normal pace would be about 6,000 by day 18, so spend is ahead of pace. Headroom = 11,000 - 6,800 = 4,200. The remaining 12 days at the normal pace need about 4,000, so the cap would hold, but the team checks the daily spend curve to find why spend is ahead.
How to use it
A spend cap works at a higher level than a campaign budget. A campaign budget limits one campaign, while an account cap limits everything in the account, including a campaign that someone created by mistake. Set the cap from the agreed monthly budget plus a small margin, and record who can raise it and how the change is approved.
A cap is a safety net, not a budget plan. Reaching it can stop delivery in the middle of a campaign, so check the spend curve regularly and raise the cap through the approval process, not on a whim. Note the cap in the client onboarding notes and in the account change log.
