Separate planned, committed and paid

Record the approved budget, signed or otherwise authorised commitments, invoices received and cash paid. These are different stages of spending. Looking only at bank transactions can make a campaign appear under budget even when most of the remaining allocation is already committed.

Track changes at the source

When scope, creative volume or campaign duration changes, update the commitment record through the appropriate approval process. Include the person responsible and the revised expected total. Small additions across several suppliers can accumulate without appearing as one major decision.

Review available flexibility

Compare the remaining uncommitted budget with the experiments and obligations still ahead. This helps management decide what can be changed without disrupting existing arrangements. A clear commitments view supports faster decisions because the team knows which resources are genuinely available. Check cancellation or change conditions before treating a commitment as flexible. A campaign that has not yet been paid may still involve work already completed by a supplier, so the unspent cash balance does not necessarily indicate money freely available for reassignment. Review commitments across departments when several teams use the same supplier, preventing a narrow campaign view from understating the total authorised spend.

Imagine this

Illustrative operating example

A hypothetical campaign has a $50,000 budget, $20,000 paid and another $25,000 committed. Only $5,000 remains uncommitted, even though the bank statement shows just $20,000 of spending. That distinction matters before approving another creative package.

Make it practical.

Use this checklist as you read. Checks are not stored.

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