How is ASUM (Ad Spend Under Management) Calculated?

Ad spend under management (ASUM) is a phrase every performance marketer has heard, yet few can consistently explain it.  Agencies and vendors often tout millions or even billions in “ad spend under management,” but the metric can mean very different things depending on who uses it.

This guide breaks down the nuances of ASUM for performance marketers, whether you’re evaluating partners, reporting your own capabilities or designing a fair billing model.  It draws on ClickTrain’s formalisation of ASUM as both a spending figure and a stewardship score, and complements this with examples from real‑world performance‑marketing reports.

What is ASUM?

A dual concept: spend and stewardship

ClickTrain describes ASUM in two layers:

• Spend figure (How much?) – The aggregate media budget actively managed by a team or agency.  This is typically expressed as a monthly figure (e.g., $50k/mo, $250k/mo, $2m/mo) .  It should capture all channels where the team is responsible for campaign setup, budget control and optimisation—Google Ads, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, etc. .

• Stewardship score (How well?) – ClickTrain builds a 0–100 composite score that goes beyond volume to evaluate maturity and governance.  Signals include structural discipline, conversion tracking hygiene, ongoing monitoring, certifications, and verified reviews.  Two teams can manage identical budgets but have very different stewardship scores depending on how they run campaigns.

These two dimensions answer different questions: the spend figure reflects scale, while the stewardship score reflects capability.  Without both, the term “ASUM” can become a vanity metric.

Why the baseline calculation is tricky

The naive formula—ASUM (monthly) = Σ platform‑reported spend across all managed accounts—breaks down quickly in practice.  Performance marketers must make explicit choices about:

• What counts as ad spend?  Is it the platform’s media spend (Google Ads/Meta/TikTok), the invoiced amount paid by the client (which may include tax or credits), or the net/gross difference in programmatic deals?  Most teams choose platform‑reported spend because it is comparable across accounts and not distorted by billing artefacts.

• What counts as “under management”?  ASUM should include only those accounts where the team has ongoing operational responsibility for budgets, structure, targeting, measurement and QA.  Read‑only access or advisory roles do not constitute management.  If a client handles the execution and the agency only provides guidance, that spending is influenced, not managed.

• Which time window is used?  ASUM is typically reported monthly, but a trailing 30‑day or three‑month average may better reflect ongoing capacity by smoothing one‑off launches or seasonality.

Failing to define these boundaries leads to inflated or non‑comparable ASUM claims.

Choosing the right spend source

Selecting a spend source is the first step to consistency.  Options include:

1. Platform spend – The amount reported by advertising platforms (Google Ads, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, etc.).  This is usually the preferred source because it represents actual media buying and is comparable across accounts and currencies.

2. Invoice spend – The amount billed to the client, which may include taxes, service fees or rounding adjustments.  Using invoice data can inflate or deflate ASUM depending on invoicing rules.

3. Gross vs. net programmatic spend – Programmatic buying often involves gross media cost and net media cost after fees.  Decide whether to count gross or net to avoid double-counting.

When comparing or reporting ASUM, clearly state which spend source you used.  For example, Tinuiti’s Q2‑2025 Digital Ads Benchmark states that its reports are based on anonymised data from advertising programs “with annual digital ad spend under management totalling over $4 billion”.  This figure reflects platform spend aggregated across clients.

Defining “under management"

Not all influenced spending should count toward ASUM.  A practical definition includes:

• Ownership of budgets and execution – The team controls bids, budgets and campaign structure.

• Responsibility for tracking and measurement – The team sets up conversion tracking, ensures data integrity and integrates with analytics systems.

• Change control and QA – The team is accountable for campaign changes, naming conventions and documentation.

Edge cases:

• Advisory or read‑only roles – If you only provide recommendations while the client executes changes, the spend is influenced rather than managed.

• Creative‑only or landing‑page‑only work – Contribution to outcomes does not equal budget stewardship; we advise advertisers to exclude this spend from ASUM as it lowers their activity score.

Time windows and averaging

Monthly ASUM is common, but it can be misleading for accounts with bursts or heavy seasonality.  Consider:

• Calendar month – Simple and aligns with billing cycles.

• Trailing 30 days – A rolling window that reflects the most recent activity, useful for dynamic accounts.

• Averaging over several months – Averaging the last three or six months offers a more stable view of typical spend and avoids overstating capacity due to one‑off campaigns or seasonal spikes.

For example, an agency may claim $2 m in ASUM for a peak month, but the three‑month average is only $1 m.  Being transparent about both figures provides a fairer view of capability.

Aggregating spend across platforms

When summing spend across multiple channels and geographies, ensure apples‑to‑apples comparisons.  For the ClickTrain ASUM calculation: all spend is reported in USD, and local taxes (e.g. VAT, GST) are excluded from the spend figure.  This ensures consistency across clients and markets and avoids inflating ASUM with tax components.

• Currency normalisation – Convert all spend to USD using a fixed FX rate for the month or daily rates for more precision.  This standardises the spend figure across markets.

• Tax and billing differences – Exclude local taxes (such as VAT or GST) when calculating ASUM.  By excluding taxes, you measure only the media budget the team controls, ensuring comparability and preventing inflated figures.

• Credits and adjustments – Ad credits, invalid activity refunds and make‑good credits can affect platform spend.  These are excluded where possible.

Beyond the spend: the stewardship score

A key insight from ClickTrain is that scale alone does not guarantee quality.  Two operators can both manage $500k per month but show very different levels of control:

One might have rigorous naming conventions, detailed change logs and consistent conversion tracking.

• The other might allow ad hoc edits, inconsistent budgets and missing attribution.

ClickTrain’s stewardship score (0–100) rewards operational maturity and penalises disorganised management.  Signals include:

• Ad spend management signals – Organised account structure, tracking health, budget discipline and governance.

• Activity signals – Evidence of ongoing monitoring and participation over time.

• Skills verification – Certifications or tests proving platform competence.

• Reviews and reputation – Recent reviews ware eighted more heavily to capture current performance.

This dual‑layer approach prevents “big spend, low control” operators from appearing equivalent to disciplined teams managing smaller budgets.

ASUM vs. performance metrics (ROAS, CPA)

It is important not to confuse ASUM with outcome metrics:

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures the revenue generated per unit of spend.

• CPA (Cost per Acquisition) measures the cost per conversion or sale.

• ASUM measures stewardship capacity—how much budget a team manages and how mature its practices are.

A team might report high ROAS or low CPA by gaming attribution or prioritising short‑term gains, while still lacking fundamental tracking hygiene.  ASUM, especially when paired with a stewardship score, emphasises the underlying management quality.

Best practices for reporting ASUM

To make ASUM meaningful and comparable, define it explicitly.  A robust ASUM report should specify:

1. Spend source – Platform spend vs. invoice spend.

2. Time window – Calendar month, trailing 30 days or multi‑month average.

3. Scope rule – Accounts counted as “under management” based on operational responsibility.

4. Currency and tax normalisation – Specify that spend is reported in USD and that local taxes are excluded from the spend figure.

5. Allocation rule – How shared accounts or channels are attributed to operators or teams.

6. Optional stewardship layer – A composite score based on governance, tracking, activity, certifications and reviews.

Providing this context turns ASUM from a vague brag into a metric decision‑makers can trust.

How agencies use ASUM today

Performance‑marketing agencies routinely cite “ad spend under management” as a signal of credibility.  For example:

• Tinuiti’s Q2‑2025 Digital Ads Benchmark report notes that its analyses are based on programmes “with annual digital ad spend under management totalling over $4 billion”.  The phrase signals scale but does not disclose how spending is defined or allocated.

• WordStream’s pricing guide observes that agencies’ PPC spend‑under‑management is on the rise and that management fees often range from 10 % to 20 % of ad spend .  In a percentage‑of‑spend fee structure, the amount a client spends on PPC ads directly affects the agency’s fee.  Hybrid fee models combine flat retainers with a variable percentage to account for workload.

These examples illustrate how widely the term is used, with no clear boundaries.  Agencies should adopt the best practices above when reporting ASUM to avoid misunderstanding.

Key takeaways for performance marketers

• Separate scale from capability.  ASUM should include both a spend figure and, ideally, a stewardship score.  Big budgets do not automatically imply good management.

• Define “under management” precisely.  Only include accounts where you control budgets, structure and tracking.  Influenced or advisory‑only accounts should be excluded.

• Choose and disclose your spending source.  Decide whether to use platform spend, invoice spend or gross/net programmatic spend, and stick to it.

• Normalise and allocate consistently.  Convert currencies, handle taxes uniformly and allocate shared accounts to avoid double-counting.

• Report time windows transparently.  Monthly figures are easy to understand, but multi‑month averages provide a more accurate picture of capacity.

• Use ASUM responsibly in pricing.  If you bill based on a percentage of spend, ensure your clients understand how you define spend and what is under management.  Combine it with objective evidence of stewardship to justify your fees.

Understanding ASUM in this nuanced way helps performance marketers evaluate partners, benchmark teams and structure fair pricing models in a rapidly evolving advertising landscape.