Understanding Future Budgets

A future budget is one where the start date hasn't arrived yet. These budgets are in a "scheduled" state, meaning they're set up but not yet active.

Why CruiseControl Settings Aren't Available Yet

CruiseControl Needs Real Performance Data

CruiseControl makes intelligent daily budget adjustments based on how your campaigns are actually performing. To calculate appropriate min and max daily budget ranges, it needs:

Actual campaign performance data
Real spend patterns
Historical pacing information

Since future budgets haven't started yet, this data doesn't exist, so CruiseControl can't determine the right settings for your campaigns.

Settings Are Calculated Automatically

When your budget becomes active, CruiseControl automatically calculates min/max values based on:

Your actual campaign daily budgets at that time
The performance characteristics of your campaigns
Industry best practices for budget ranges

This ensures your CruiseControl settings are accurate and appropriate for your specific campaign setup.

Your Campaign Setup May Change

Between now and when your budget starts, you might:

Add or remove campaigns
Adjust daily budgets
Change campaign settings

By waiting until your budget is active, CruiseControl ensures the min/max ranges match your actual campaign configuration, preventing invalid or inappropriate settings.

What You Can Do

Before Your Budget Starts

✅ You can:

Enable CruiseControl at the budget level
Set up your campaigns and daily budgets
Configure other budget settings

❌ You cannot:

Set CruiseControl min/max values for individual campaigns
Manually configure CruiseControl ranges

Once Your Budget Is Active

Once your budget cycle begins, you'll be able to:

View automatically calculated CruiseControl min/max values
Adjust min/max settings for individual campaigns if needed
Fine-tune CruiseControl ranges based on actual performance

How It Works

Before activation: CruiseControl is enabled at the budget level, but specific min/max values aren't set yet.
When budget starts: The system automatically calculates appropriate min/max values for each campaign based on their daily budgets.
After activation: You can view and adjust these settings as needed through campaign settings.

Frequently Asked Questions about this

Q: Can I set CruiseControl settings before my budget starts?

A: CruiseControl min/max settings are automatically calculated when your budget becomes active. You can enable CruiseControl at the budget level beforehand, but the specific ranges will be set automatically when the budget starts.

Q: Will I need to configure anything manually?

A: No. CruiseControl settings are calculated automatically based on your campaign daily budgets. You can adjust them later if needed, but the initial setup is handled automatically.

Q: What if I want custom min/max values?

A: Once your budget is active, you can adjust CruiseControl min/max settings for individual campaigns through the campaign settings. The system will ensure your values are valid for each campaign.

Q: Why can't the system just use my current daily budgets?

A: Your campaign setup may change between now and when your budget starts. By calculating settings at activation time, we ensure they're based on your actual campaign configuration, not estimates that may become outdated.