Formulas used by this calculator
- Budget remaining = total period budget − actual spend
- Days remaining = total period days − completed days
- Linear planned spend = total budget × completed days ÷ total days
- Spend versus linear plan = actual spend − linear planned spend
- Average daily amount remaining = max(0, budget remaining) ÷ remaining days
- Projected total at current pace = actual spend ÷ completed days × total days
Worked example
An illustrative 30-day budget is $3,000. Spend through 10 completed days is $1,200.
There are $1,800 and 20 days left, giving an average remaining amount of $90 per day. The even-spend plan would have used $1,000 so far; actual spend is $200 ahead.
Continuing the observed $120-per-day pace for all 30 days would produce a $3,600 total. That projection assumes the pace remains unchanged.
Use a complete-day reporting cutoff
Enter spend through the end of the last completed day and use the same timezone for the day count. Including today's partial spend while also counting today as a full day can make a campaign look artificially behind its average pace.
At the start of the period, enter zero completed days. The worksheet can still show the available budget per day, but it cannot project a current pace without any completed-day denominator. At the end, there is no remaining daily amount to calculate.
Do not confuse this worksheet with a platform budget setting
Google Ads explains that average daily budgets and spending limits are platform-specific and that actual daily spend can vary. This worksheet uses the period length you enter; it does not reproduce Google's spending-limit rules. Google Ads: average daily budgets.
The displayed daily amount is the remaining budget divided by days left. It is not an instruction automatically applied to an account or a guarantee about what a platform will spend. Review the actual campaign settings before making any operational change.
Treat even pacing as a reference, not a performance target
A promotion, launch, or seasonal calendar may call for uneven spending. Being ahead of a straight-line plan can be intentional, while being exactly on plan can still produce poor customer economics. Interpret pacing alongside the campaign's objective and commercial results.
A negative remaining budget is an overrun. The remaining daily amount becomes zero instead of suggesting negative spend. If the business authorizes a revised total, enter that new scenario explicitly and keep the previous worksheet for comparison.
Common questions
Does projected spend predict tomorrow's auction?
No. It extends the average spend observed through completed days across the full period. Budget changes, demand, scheduling, and delivery constraints can all make future spending differ from that simple projection.
Why use a day count instead of choosing calendar dates?
It keeps the planning window explicit and avoids assuming a calendar month or timezone. Enter the correct number of days for your campaign and count only fully completed days from that same window.