Short answer. Ad spend is the money paid to the advertising platform, such as Meta or Google, to show your ads. The management fee is what an agency charges for strategy, setup, optimisation and reporting. They are two separate costs and should be quoted separately.
What ad spend covers
Ad spend is your media budget. It is charged by the platform against your ad account, and it buys impressions, clicks or conversions. An agency does not earn it and should not mark it up without telling you.
What a management fee covers
The management fee pays for the work of running the campaigns: choosing audiences and keywords, building creatives, setting up tracking, adjusting bids and budgets, testing, and reporting results to you.
Why the two should stay separate
- You can see exactly how much of your money reaches the platform.
- You can raise or lower the media budget without renegotiating the agency's fee.
- Comparing agencies is easier when fees are quoted on their own.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who owns the ad account? It should be in your business's name.
- Does the platform bill me directly for ad spend?
- Is the fee a flat amount or a percentage of spend, and what happens to it if I raise my budget?
- What will be reported? Ask for cost per lead or cost per sale, not just clicks and impressions.
- What is the minimum commitment, and how do I exit?
Flat fee or percentage of spend
A flat fee stays predictable as the budget grows. A percentage fee scales with spend, which can reward increasing the budget rather than improving results. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you are agreeing to.
How Vareqsa quotes
Vareqsa's published fees for Meta and Google Ads management cover the agency's work only. Media spend is always billed by the platform. See the ads section of the packages page for current fees.