When configuring a Line Item, you can choose how the budget is distributed over time. There are two available options:
1. Standard
With Standard behavior, the system attempts to spend the budget as soon as possible, without any pacing.
Optional setting: You can define a Daily Budget to limit daily spend.
2. Evenly:
With Evenly selected, the system attempts to distribute the total budget evenly across the active days/hours between the Start Date and End Date.
Requirements:
- Budget is mandatory
- Start Date and End Date are mandatory
- A Period granularity must be selected: either Day or Hour
Key Formulas:
- Daily Budget = (Remaining Budget / Remaining Hours) × Hours in Current Day
- Hourly Budget = (Remaining Budget / Remaining Hours)
Budget Recalculation Triggers
The system automatically recalculates budget distribution under the following conditions:
- Updates to the “Budget” field in the Line Item
- Changes to the Start or End Dates
- Start of a new day (based on the account’s time zone)
Important:
If any of these parameters are modified, the distribution of the budget - whether by day or hour - will be recalculated accordingly to reflect the new configuration.
Example: Evenly Behavior with Daily Granularity
Let’s walk through an example where the campaign starts and ends during partial days:
Key Formula: Daily Budget = (Remaining Budget / Remaining Hours) × Hours in Current Day
- Start Date: May 5, 2025 — 17:35 (5:35 PM)
- End Date: May 7, 2025 — 16:00 (4:00 PM)
- Total Budget: $200
- Budget Spend Behavior: Evenly
- Period Granularity: Day
Step 1: Calculate Total Active Hours per Each Day
Split the LineItem by day:
- Day 1 (May 5): 6.42 hours* (from 17:35 to midnight)
- Day 2 (May 6): 24 hours
- Day 3 (May 7): 16 hours (midnight to 16:00)
Total Active Time = 6.42 + 24 + 16 = 46.42 hours
*6.42 hours is based on the actual time conversion. 35 minutes = 0.58 of an hour (35 ÷ 60), so the time from 17:35 to 00:00 equals 6.42 hours — not 6.25, which would incorrectly assume 35 minutes is 0.25 of an hour.
Step 2: Budget Distribution by Day
Day 1 (May 5)
- Remaining Budget: $200
- Remaining Hours: 46.42
- Budget = (200 / 46.42) × 6.42 = $27.66
- Actual Spend: $8
Day 2 (May 6)
- Remaining Budget: $200 − $8 = $192
- Remaining Hours: 46.42 − 6.42 = 40 hours
- Budget = (192 / 40) × 24 = $115.20
- Actual Spend: $90
Day 3 (May 7)
- Remaining Budget: $192 − $90 = $102
- Remaining Hours: 40 − 24 = 16 hours
- Budget = (102 / 16) × 16 = $102
Example: Evenly Behavior with Hourly Granularity
Let’s walk through an example where the campaign starts and ends during partial hours:
Key Formula: Hourly Budget = (Remaining Budget / Remaining Hours)
- Start Date: May 5, 2025 — 17:35 (5:35 PM)
- End Date: May 7, 2025 — 16:00 (4:00 PM)
- Total Budget: $200
- Budget Spend Behavior: Evenly
- Period Granularity: Hour
Step 1: Calculate Total Active Hours
Split the LineItem by chosen period: May 5, 2025 — 17:35 (5:35 PM) - May 6, 2025 — 16:00 (4:00 PM)
- Total Active Hours = 46.42
Step 2: Budget Distribution — First Hour
Let’s calculate the budget for the first hour of the campaign (starting at 17:35):
- Remaining Budget: $200
- Remaining Hours: 46.42
- Budget = 200 / 46.42 = $4.31
- Actual budget spend: $4.31
Step 3: Hourly Recalculation
At the beginning of each new hour, the system recalculates the hourly budget based on the updated remaining budget and time.
Hour: 19:00
- Remaining Budget: $200 - $4.31 = $195.69
- Remaining Hours: 46.42 - 1 = 45.42
- Hourly Budget = 195.69 / 45.42 = $4.31
- Actual spend: $1
Hour: 20:00
- Remaining Budget: $195.69 - $1 = $194.69
- Remaining Hours: 45.42 -1 = 44.42
- Hourly Budget = (194.69 / 44.42) = $4.38
- Actual budget spend: $2
Hour: 21:00
- Remaining Budget: $194.69 - $2 = $192.69
- Remaining Hours: 44.42 - 1 = 43.42
- Hourly Budget = 192.69 / 43.42 = $4.43
- Actual budget spend: $4
Note: This recalculation continues every hour, adjusting the pacing based on actual spend and time remaining. If actual spend is below the expected hourly budget, the system redistributes the remaining funds over the rest of the hours.