Stay on top of your Amazon ad budgets using smart alerts, automated pauses, and flexible control across all periods.
Use Budget Management to maintain full control over your account-level budgets and ensure spending aligns with your goals. With this feature, you can:
- Set Alert Thresholds to receive email notifications when spend reaches a defined percentage of your budget.
- Enable Auto-Pause to automatically prevent overspend once your defined budget is fully consumed.
- Reduce manual monitoring by automating campaign pauses and resumes.
Maintain visibility and control across daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly budgets.
Accessing the Budget Management Dashboard
You can access the Budget Management dashboard in two ways:
- From Navigation Panel
Amazon Sponsored Ads → Settings → Budget Management
- From Overview Dashboard
Click the Settings icon in the Budget Overview card to navigate directly to the Budget Management dashboard.
How Budget Management Works
Step 1: Alerts Trigger
- The system monitors spend in real time using Amazon Marketing Stream (AMS) data.
- Email notifications are sent to the selected watchers when spend crosses defined thresholds (e.g., 70%, 90%).
Step 2: Budget Exhaustion
- When total spend reaches or exceeds your defined budget, Auto-Pause activates (if enabled).
- All active campaigns within the account are automatically paused.
Step 3: User Overrides
- Any manual user action or campaign state change rule created after Auto-Pause triggers will execute and take precedence.
Example: If Auto-Pause triggers at 6 PM and the user re-enables or creates a campaign state change rule at 7 PM, those campaigns will resume.
Step 4: Resume Behavior
Campaigns automatically resume when:
- The budget period resets (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly).
- The budget is increased mid-period.
Auto-Pause is manually disabled.
Key Features
|
Feature |
Description |
|
Alert Thresholds |
Receive email notifications when spend reaches set thresholds (e.g., 70%, 90%). |
|
Auto-Pause |
Automatically pauses all active campaigns when total spend reaches 100% of the budget. |
|
Resume Logic |
Auto-resume occurs after a period reset, budget top-up, or manual Auto-Pause disable. |
|
User Intervention Priority |
Manual user actions (enable/disable, new campaigns, or newly created state change rules post auto pause enabled rule triggers) always take precedence — even beyond the set budget. |
|
Automation Rules |
Existing automation rules are suppressed during Auto-Pause. Any new campaign state change rule created after Auto-Pause triggers is treated as a valid user action and will execute normally. |
|
Timing Note |
Once the budget hits 100%, pausing may take 30–60 minutes due to AMS data latency and rule execution time. Minor overspending during this time is expected. |
Notes on Data and Timing
Intentwise relies on Amazon Marketing Stream (AMS) data for real-time spend tracking.
Occasional AMS reporting delays may cause a lag between budget exhaustion and campaign pausing, which can lead to minor overspending.
This is expected behavior and not a system error.
Auto-Pause Use Cases
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes |
|
Budget Exhausted (100%) |
All active campaigns are paused automatically. |
Campaigns resume after period reset or budget top-up. Automation suppressed. |
|
User Enables Campaign Post-Pause |
Manual enable honored. |
User actions always take precedence; campaigns may exceed budget. |
|
Budget Decreased Mid-Period (Spend > New Budget) |
Pauses all campaigns. |
Prevents spend from exceeding new reduced budget. |
|
Budget Increased Mid-Period |
Resumes auto-paused campaigns. |
Previously paused campaigns by auto pause enabled rule resume automatically. |
|
New Campaign Created During Exhausted Budget |
Campaign is created and active. |
Treated as user action; may exceed budget. |
|
Automation / AI Conflicts |
Suppresses existing automation. |
Auto-Pause cannot be overridden. |
|
Recovery / Period Reset |
Resumes auto-paused campaigns. |
Only campaigns paused by Auto-Pause resume. |
|
Auto-Pause Disabled (after budget hit) |
Resumes all paused campaigns. |
Disabling Auto-Pause resumes campaigns. |
|
Campaign state change Rule Created Post Auto-Pause |
Executes normally. |
Treated as a new user action. |
|
Auto-Pause & Rule Execute Simultaneously |
Auto-Pause takes precedence. |
Auto Pause rules always run first. |
Takeaways
✅ Prevent overspend automatically with Auto-Pause.
✅ Maintain full control with manual overrides and user-created rules.
✅ Gain clear visibility into budgets across daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly periods.
✅ Rely on automated alerts and smart controls to reduce manual intervention.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens when I hit 100% of my budget?
If Auto-Pause is enabled, all active campaigns in your account are paused automatically.
What if I reduce my budget mid-period and my spend is already higher?
The system pauses all active campaigns since your spend now exceeds the revised budget.
What if I manually enable a campaign after Auto-Pause triggers?
Your manual action takes precedence — the campaign will remain enabled even if the budget is exhausted.
What if I disable Auto-Pause after my campaigns were paused?
All campaigns paused by Auto-Pause automatically resume once Auto-Pause is disabled.
Do automation rules run during Auto-Pause?
No. Existing rules are suppressed, but any new campaign state change rule created after Auto-Pause triggers executes normally.
What if AMS data is delayed or Amazon API fails temporarily?
Intentwise relies on AMS data. If there’s a delay, overspend may occur until data syncs. The system ensures campaigns are safely paused once updated data is received.
How long does pausing take once the budget is hit?
Pausing may take 30–60 minutes due to AMS data refresh and rule execution timing.
Will new campaigns created during Auto-Pause remain active?
Yes. Any new campaign or manual state change is treated as a user action and will remain active.
Can I still use Watchers and Alerts if Auto-Pause is enabled?
Yes. Watchers continue to receive alerts when thresholds are hit, regardless of Auto-Pause status.
Budget Management Cheat Sheet
Quick reference for Alert Thresholds, Auto-Pause, and Edge Cases
1.Budget Exhaustion & Spend States
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|
Exact 100% spend hit |
Pause all active campaigns |
AUTO_BUDGET token applied |
All campaigns move to PAUSED:AUTO_BUDGET |
|
Latency overshoot |
Pause campaigns, log overshoot |
Minor overspend possible due to reporting latency |
Overshoot logged, campaigns paused |
|
Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Yearly budget exhausted |
Pause until period reset |
Resume campaigns automatically at {RESET_AT} or after budget increase, or when auto pause is disabled post auto pause enabled was executed |
Only auto-paused campaigns resume |
|
Budget decreased mid-period (spend > new budget) |
Immediate pause |
Ensures spend never exceeds new budget; manual overrides allowed |
All active campaigns paused within 30-60 minutes |
|
Budget set to 0 |
Pause all campaigns |
AUTO_BUDGET token applied |
Campaigns paused within scope |
2. User Actions While Paused
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|
User enables paused campaign in IW |
Campaign resumed |
Manual action takes precedence |
Campaign stays enabled |
|
User enables from Amazon console |
Campaign resumed |
User action takes precedence; may overspend |
Campaign stays enabled |
|
User edits targeting / budgets |
Changes applied |
Changes applied but campaign remains paused |
Changes applied |
|
User changes bids |
Changes applied |
Bid update happens but campaign remains paused |
Bid values change |
|
User creates new campaign |
Campaign created and active |
User action takes precedence; may exceed budget |
Campaign stays enabled |
|
User archives campaign |
Archive overrides pause |
Tokens cleared |
No resume on budget reset |
3. Automation & AI Conflicts
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|
Automation tries to unpause |
Suppressed |
Cannot override Auto-Pause |
Automation does not override budget token |
|
AI bidding adjustments |
Bidding suppressed |
Budget token prevents bidding |
No bid changes applied |
|
Scheduled automation resumes campaign |
Suppressed |
Only runs after budget reset or token cleared |
Logged as suppressed |
|
User creates campaign state change rule post Auto-Pause |
Rule executes |
Treated as user action |
Campaigns updated as per rule |
|
Auto-Pause & Auto Enable scheduled together |
Auto-Pause takes precedence |
Ensures budget is respected |
Auto-Pause runs first |
4. Recovery & Rollover
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|
Period reset (Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Yearly) |
Clear tokens, resume campaigns |
Auto-paused campaigns resume |
Only auto-paused campaigns resume |
|
User increases budget mid-period |
Clear token, resume campaigns |
{N} auto-paused campaigns resumed |
Only auto-paused campaigns resume |
|
User decreases budget mid-period |
Pause campaigns |
Budget token reapplied |
Campaigns paused |
5. Account level
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Account budget exhausted |
Pause all active campaigns under account |
All active campaigns paused |
All active campaigns paused |
6. Failures & Edge Conditions
|
Scenario |
System Behavior |
Notes / Takeaways |
Acceptance Criteria |
|
API outage |
Retry with failsafe |
Ensures campaigns are safe-paused |
System retries until success |
|
Spend data delayed |
Late pause, notify overshoot |
Minor overshoot may occur |
Pause triggered when data arrives |
|
System crash during pause |
Recovery on restart |
Campaigns safe-paused |
Campaigns remain paused post-recovery |
Auto-Pause Logic & System Notes
- Auto-Pause triggers when spend ≥ 100% of budget.
- Resume triggers
- Next period reset (daily/weekly/monthly/yearly)
-
- Budget increase mid-period
-
- Manual Auto-Pause disabling
- User actions always take precedence (manual enables/disables, campaign creation, or state change rules post Auto-Pause enabled is triggered).
- Latency note: 30–60 minute delay may occur due to AMS reporting; minor overspend possible.
- Auto-Pause + Automation: Automation rules suppressed during Auto-Pause; user-created campaign state change rules post Auto-Pause execute normally.