Cross-Platform Spend Reconciliation (QA)

Cross-Platform Spend Reconciliation (QA)

1. 01

   Pull raw spend and conversion exports from every ad platform the client runs before opening any optimization dashboard

   Platform-reported totals and dashboard totals diverge often enough that the reconciliation has to start from source exports, not from a vendor's summarized view.

2. 02

   Freeze the reporting window at a fixed close time and record it in the client file

   A 24-hour attribution lag on Meta versus near-real-time Google reporting means an unfrozen window will show phantom variance every week.

3. 03

   Match platform totals against the agency's own billing and retainer records line by line

   Flag any line where platform spend exceeds the invoiced amount by more than 2 percent, since that gap usually means a card decline, a paused campaign, or an unrecorded credit.

4. 04

   Recompute blended cost per acquisition from raw numbers rather than trusting the in-platform figure

   Automated bid tools such as Madgicx and Nanos report their own CPA, which excludes spend on campaigns they did not touch.

5. 05

   Verify that creative and audience changes logged during the period actually shipped

   A campaign marked 'optimized' in a tool like Ryze or Plai may still be serving the prior creative if the platform rejected an asset on policy grounds.

6. 06

   Document every variance over the threshold with a cause code and an owner

   Cause codes should distinguish tracking failure, platform error, human error, and legitimate performance shift, because only the last one belongs in a client conversation as a result.

7. 07

   Send the reconciled summary to the account lead before any client-facing report is generated

   The account lead needs the variance list first so the narrative in the report matches the numbers rather than contradicting them.