Start with product price after refunds, then subtract COGS and fulfillment. This is the profit pool ads can spend against.
Agency ad spend approvals
How agencies price client ad spend approvals.
Clients rarely ask for “a ROAS calculation.” They ask whether they can increase spend, launch a promo, or push inventory harder without hurting margin or runway. That decision deserves a clear approval framework.
Fast answer
Charge for the decision, not the spreadsheet.
An ad spend approval report should price the judgment work: cleaning assumptions, finding the break-even ROAS floor, checking margin and runway, writing the client-ready recommendation, running policy checks, and defining guardrails for what happens if performance slips.
The approval math every report should include
Translate contribution into the minimum ROAS needed to avoid destroying gross contribution. The approval should never sit below this floor.
A campaign can clear ROAS and still create cash pressure if inventory, payment timing, or fixed costs are tight.
Every approval needs a rollback trigger, such as reducing spend to baseline if ROAS falls below the floor for seven days.
Three ways to package the service
| Offer | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Flat approval report | Best for one-off campaign or promo decisions |
| Monthly decision retainer | Best when the agency reviews spend, margin, inventory, and runway every month |
| Performance management add-on | Best when approval guardrails and monitoring are part of ongoing delivery |
Client-call language
What the final answer should sound like
“Approve a 15% ad spend increase, but do not approve the discount yet. Current ROAS clears the 2.4x floor, but the discount requires a volume lift the last comparable promo did not prove. If ROAS stays below 2.4x for seven days, reduce spend to baseline and create a revised recommendation.”
Clear Margins turns this approval logic into a client-ready report with assumptions, policy checks, guardrails, approval status, and monitored baseline history.
View sample reportSee the workflow