SOP — Check the month is comparable

Who: Account Manager · When: before drafting a client report Time: 2 minutes per client

What this is for

A 31-day month compared against a 28-day month looks like 11% growth even if nothing changed. A month where the client paused for a week looks like a decline even if the days that ran improved. This step catches those before a number reaches a client who will draw the wrong conclusion.

Steps

1. Open the client's Performance tab. The cycle summary compares the last 30 days against the previous 30.
2. Check the coverage line. It states how many days of data each window has. If they differ by more than three days, say so in the report — the percentage change is overstated or understated by that margin.
3. Check for pauses. If the client or Atlas paused campaigns during the period, the per-day cost and conversion rates are more meaningful than the totals. Use them instead.
4. Check the purpose breakdown. If recruitment or awareness campaigns ran, they are excluded from the client-facing headline — but the client may ask about total spend, and the breakdown gives you the answer ready.

What good looks like

You know, before writing a single sentence, whether the month can be fairly compared to the one before it. If it cannot, you know what to say instead — and saying "this month had fewer active days" is more credible than presenting a decline nobody can explain.