We never want to issue a surprise bill, this is a protective measure for our customers. The Agency Fee Cap puts a hard ceiling on what we can invoice you for lead charges in any calendar month - but can be removed via written confirmation to [email protected] or by informing our team members directly.
The cap formula
In any calendar month, our agency fee is capped at 100% of the higher of:
your actual ad spend that month, OR
your committed monthly ad budget.
Example: Your committed monthly ad budget is $2,500. Mid-month (Jan 15th), you've spent $1,000 on ads but accrued $2,500 in lead charges. The cap is $2,500 (the higher of $1,000 actual or $2,500 committed). In this example, we've hit the cap by mid-month (by Jan 15th), your ads will be paused, and your team will be notified.
Auto-Pause
When either (a) your accrued lead charges reach the cap, or (b) your ad spend reaches your committed budget for the month, we automatically pause your MLA-managed campaigns. We'll notify you when this happens.
Note: Auto-Pause is not a termination. Leads already in our pipeline are still delivered and billed, and your campaigns will resume with the next billing cycle, or upon the customer's confirmation.
How campaigns resume
Three ways campaigns resume:
Wait for the next calendar month — campaigns resume automatically on the 1st.
Pay outstanding fees in full, then request a resume in writing to [email protected], or directly to a My Local Ads team member.
Approve a cap waiver. You can let us bill above the cap for the current month, or on an ongoing basis until you revoke it in writing. Approval can be verbal (phone, video, in-person) or in writing — our notes/recording is the authoritative record.
What about my ad budget?
The cap limits what My Local Ads can charge you for leads — it's separate from your ad budget, which you pay directly to Google, Meta, etc.