The bulk edit spreadsheet holds more than budgets. Alongside the money columns are the settings columns: account manager, goals, active schedule, the two overspend columns, and alert routing. Each one accepts a specific set of values, and this article is the reference for them. To download, edit, and upload the file, read edit budgets in bulk with a spreadsheet.
The two rules
Every settings cell follows the same two rules:
- Leave a cell blank to keep that value exactly as it is. A blank cell is never an instruction.
- Type
CLEARto empty the value and return it to its default.
Note:
CLEARis the only word that empties a value. Type it into the cell on its own.
Two columns are exceptions to the CLEAR rule. active_schedule can't be cleared, because an account or group always runs on at least one day — set the days you want instead. overspend_monitor can't be cleared either, because it always holds one of three states. Set the one you want instead.
What each column accepts
| Column | Applies to | Accepted values | To clear |
|---|---|---|---|
account_manager | Accounts | A workspace member's email address | CLEAR |
primary_goal | Accounts and groups | A goal name (see the goal lists below) | CLEAR |
secondary_goal | Accounts and groups | A goal name (see the goal lists below) | CLEAR |
additional_context | Accounts and groups | Any note up to 2,000 characters | CLEAR |
active_schedule | Accounts and groups | All, Weekdays, Weekends, or a day list like Mon,Wed,Fri | Can't be cleared |
slack_channel | Accounts (Pro plan) | A channel name, such as #budget-alerts | CLEAR (falls back to the workspace default) |
email_recipients | Accounts (Pro plan) | One or more email addresses, separated by a semicolon | CLEAR (falls back to the workspace default) |
overspend_monitor | Accounts and groups (groups need Custom AI Guardrails) | ON, TRICKLE, or OFF | Can't be cleared; set the state you want |
trickle_daily | Accounts and groups | A dollar amount per campaign per day, $1 or more | CLEAR |
linked | Accounts (owners and admins) | Linked or Unlinked | Can't be cleared — see below |
The account_manager value has to be someone already in the workspace. Invite them first, then set the cell to their email. For slack_channel, pick a channel that Pace has already been invited to.
Goals
Two columns set goals: primary_goal and secondary_goal. The accepted values depend on whether the row is an account or a campaign group.
Accounts
For primary_goal on an account:
- Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Microsoft Ads accounts accept CPA, ROAS, Conversions, Clicks, CTR, and Impressions.
- Google Ads accounts also accept Phone Calls.
- TikTok Ads accounts use their own objectives instead: Reach, Traffic, App Installs, Video Views, Lead Generation, Web Conversions, and Product Sales.
For secondary_goal on an account:
- Improve CTR, Reduce Cost Per Click, and Reduce Cost Per Conversion work on any platform.
- Improve Search Impression Share works on Google Ads only.
Campaign groups
A campaign group uses the same short list for both its primary and its secondary goal: CPA, ROAS, Conversions, Clicks, CTR, and Impressions. The secondary goal can't repeat the primary one.
Note: To set a conversion-action goal, open account settings (or campaign group settings for a group). The spreadsheet accepts the goal names above, not conversion actions.
Alert routing needs the Pro plan
The slack_channel and email_recipients columns route this account's alerts, and both are Pro plan features. On plans below Pro, Pace skips edits to these two columns and flags them in the review instead of applying them. slack_channel also needs a connected Slack workspace, so connect Slack in workspace settings before you set a channel.
Warning: The
email_recipientscell is the complete list for that account. Anyone not in the cell stops getting email alerts for it. To add someone, keep the existing addresses and add theirs alongside; to leave the list untouched, leave the cell blank.
The two overspend columns
overspend_monitor says what happens when the row reaches its monthly budget, and trickle_daily holds the amount the second option needs. See overspend protection for what each one does.
| Value | What it means |
|---|---|
ON | Pause this account's or group's campaigns at its monthly budget |
TRICKLE | Keep them running, at the trickle_daily amount per campaign per day |
OFF | On a campaign group, inherit whatever the account does |
OFF on an account row is flagged in the review rather than applied. Every account has to answer this question, so the two account answers are ON and TRICKLE.
Set a row to TRICKLE and give trickle_daily an amount in the same upload, unless the row already has one stored. The lowest amount is $1 per campaign per day; anything smaller is flagged as an error rather than rounded up, so a typo can't become a live budget. Setting a row back to ON clears its amount for you.
Your download shows the behaviour each row is actually running on, so a group that reads ON may be inheriting it from its account rather than setting it itself. Re-uploading an unedited file still changes nothing.
Note: Edits to a campaign group's
overspend_monitorcell need a plan with Custom AI Guardrails. On other plans, Pace skips them and flags them in the review instead of applying them. Account rows aren't gated.
A campaign group needs a current-month budget above zero before you can set its monitor to ON. If a group's current-month budget cell is blank and it doesn't already have one set, ON is flagged in the review with a reason rather than applied. Set its current-month budget in the same upload (or beforehand) and ON goes through. A future month's budget doesn't count towards this.
Note: Accounts on Daily Floor pacing don't have a monthly budget to spend past, so this column has no effect on them and they export as
ON.
Unlinking accounts with the linked column
Every account exports with Linked in this column, since that's the only thing a currently linked account can be. Change a cell to Unlinked and upload the file, and Pace stages that account for removal — you'll see it called out as a destructive change on the review screen, and it names every account about to be removed before anything happens.
A few things are different about this column compared to the settings ones above:
- Owners and admins only. Other workspace members won't see this column when building their download, and an unlink from anyone else is refused.
- Accounts only. Groups can't be unlinked — setting a campaign group row to
Unlinkedis flagged on the review screen rather than applied. ALinkedcell on a group row is harmless and ignored, so filling the whole column down a mixed sheet of accounts and groups only flags the group rows you've actually set toUnlinked. - One-way. Once an account is unlinked, it drops out of Pace and out of the next download too, so there's no
Linkedvalue to set to bring it back. Reconnect the account from scratch instead. - Nothing else on that row applies. If a row is set to
Unlinked, any budget or settings edit on that same row is refused rather than applied.
Unlinking removes everything Pace has stored for that account — budget, month overrides, active days, campaign inclusions, floor pacing, goals, and alert and report routing. Your ad account itself is untouched; nothing is paused or changed on the platform side. This can't be undone, so check the confirmation dialog carefully before you approve it.
Nothing changes until you apply
Pace previews every edit before it goes live. After you upload, it shows each change as its old value and its new value, and lists any cell it skipped or couldn't read. Check that screen, then apply. See edit budgets in bulk with a spreadsheet for the full download, review, and apply flow.