Budget shifting shifts money between the Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts in one portfolio. Each day Pace shifts a little budget from the accounts returning less on your conversion values to the ones returning more that keep running out. The portfolio's total never changes. It's available on Pace One and Enterprise plans.
Why use it
- Follow the return. Budget drifts toward the accounts that turn it into more of what you value.
- Your numbers, not the platforms'. Pace compares accounts using the value you put on each conversion.
- Safe to try. Preview shows what Pace would shift. Estimates only, budgets don't change.
How it works
You tell Pace what each kind of conversion is worth. Pace then works out each included account's return on those values, ROAS style (for example 3.4x). Each day it shifts a small amount from the lowest return to the highest, as long as the receiver returns clearly more. Whatever one account gives, another receives, so the portfolio budget stays the same.
Example: a portfolio has a Google Ads account and a Meta Ads account, each with a $10,000 budget. Meta returns more on your values and keeps hitting its budget. Over several days Pace shifts a few hundred dollars from Google Ads to Meta Ads. The portfolio still adds up to $20,000.
Set it up
- Open the portfolio and click the Settings (gear) icon.
- Click the Budget tab.
- Turn on Budget shifting. It starts in Preview.
- In Conversion values, enter what each conversion type is worth to you, in the portfolio's currency.
- Check the accounts list. Switch off Included for any account you want left alone.
- Click Save.
Until conversion values are set, the Budget shifting card on the portfolio Overview shows the same three steps as a checklist.
Conversion types are grouped by name across your accounts, so you set each value once. For some Google Ads conversions an empty field offers a value, such as Use 50. Nothing is applied until you click it or type a value yourself, and the offer only appears when the account's currency matches the portfolio currency.
Only click conversions count: Google Ads conversions by action (secondary conversions aren't counted) and Meta Ads 7-day click conversions.
Preview or Automatic
With Budget shifting on, pick a Mode:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Preview | Pace shows what it would shift each morning. Estimates only, budgets don't change. Click Refresh estimate on the card to update it. |
| Automatic | Pace shifts budget once a day, a little at a time. You confirm when you save. |
Start in Preview, check the estimates look sensible, then switch to Automatic. The Budget shifting card on the portfolio Overview shows what's happening. View all opens the portfolio's Changes.
Turning Budget shifting off stops new shifts. Shifts already made stay until the 1st. Undo to reverse them.
What never shifts
- Budgeted campaign groups. Shifts only reach campaigns outside them.
- Campaign minimums and maximums. They're always respected.
- Accounts you leave out. Switch off Included on the account's row in the Budget tab.
Limits on every move
- Each account stays within its Shift limit: up to 20% either side of its own budget by default. Each row shows the range in dollars.
- An account shifts at most 5% of its own budget a day.
- Pace won't reverse a shift within 7 days.
- Nothing shifts in the last 2 days of the month.
- An account that gives never drops below what its groups, its spend so far and its run-rate need.
Which accounts take part
Pace supports Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts. At least two accounts that can take part are needed. When an account sits out, its row in the Budget tab says why, and the reason links to where you fix it:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Not supported yet | The account is on another platform. |
| Not included | You switched off Included for it. |
| No budget set | The account has no monthly budget. |
| Paces on Daily Floor | Daily Floor accounts are left out. |
| Uses a flight | The account follows a custom flight. |
| Excluded from pacing | The account is excluded from pacing. |
| No exchange rate | Pace has no rate into the portfolio currency. |
| No conversion values set | None of its conversion types have a value yet. |
| No campaigns outside groups | Every campaign is in a budgeted group. |
| Groups use the whole budget | Its groups already claim the full budget. |
| Uses shared budgets | Google Ads shared budgets can't be shifted. |
| Couldn't read results today | Pace holds its budget as it is until the next read works. |
| Shifted by another portfolio | Another portfolio is already shifting this account. |
See what was shifted
- The dot beside an account's budget in tables (the same one rollover uses) also marks a shift. Hover it to see Base, Shifted by {portfolio} and This month.
- Account settings show a This month's target breakdown that names and links the portfolio.
- Every shift is recorded in Changes, with the same sentence on both accounts, for example: "Acme shifted $600 from Prospecting to Search. Search 3.4x, Prospecting 1.9x return on your values."
Undo this month's shifts
Click Undo this month's shifts on the Budget shifting card or in the Budget tab. Every account goes back to its own budget and shifting shows Paused until the 1st of next month. Click Resume in the Budget tab to start again sooner.
Note: Money already spent stays spent. Undo restores budgets going forward, not past spend.
If an account leaves the portfolio
Pace rebalances the remaining accounts straight away so the portfolio total stays the same.
Reset on the 1st
Shifts reset on the 1st of each month. Shifted money that wasn't spent doesn't carry over, even with budget rollover on.
Limitations
- Google Ads and Meta Ads only for now.
- Click conversions only.
- Needs two or more eligible accounts.