Most audits start with the ads. Mine starts with the math. If the math is broken, no creative on earth fixes it.
Here is the exact order I run, straight from my book. No new ads, no budget changes. Just the numbers, in the order that tells you whether the account is sick and where.
1. Find Breakeven First
Breakeven ROAS is 1 divided by your profit margin. A 40% margin means you need a 2.5 ROAS just to not lose money.
I write that number at the top of the page before I look at anything else. Every campaign gets measured against it. Most people audit for months without ever calculating the one number that decides whether they are winning.
2. Set the Kill Line
Max CPA is AOV times margin. Spend a cent more than that to acquire a customer and you are paying for the privilege.
Now I sort every ad by cost per purchase and draw the line. Everything above it is bleeding. You would be surprised how many "top performers" sit on the wrong side.
3. Walk the Funnel by Ratio, Not by ROAS
Outbound CTR should clear 1.5%. View Content to Add to Cart should clear 20%. Add to Cart to Purchase should clear 1 in 3.
Each ratio isolates a different break. Low CTR is a creative problem. A healthy CTR but a collapsing cart is a site problem. The ratios tell you which fix matters before you waste a week on the wrong one.
4. Check the Store, Not Just the Account
A store conversion rate under 2% means the leak is the website, not the media. I have watched buyers pour budget into "scaling" a store that converts at 0.8%. You cannot out-spend a broken checkout.
5. Check Where the Money Actually Goes
A healthy split is 95% prospecting, 5% retargeting. What I usually find is inverted: half the budget chasing people who already know the brand, catalog ads posting a beautiful ROAS by taking credit for sales email was going to close anyway.
That Is the Audit
No new ads. No budget changes. Just running the numbers in the order that tells you whether the account is sick, and where.
90% of the time the account does not need new creative. It needs someone who checked whether it could make money before spending more of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is breakeven ROAS?
Breakeven ROAS is 1 divided by your profit margin. If your margin is 40%, your breakeven ROAS is 2.5. Below that number every sale loses money. Write it at the top of the page and measure every campaign against it.
How do you calculate max CPA?
Max CPA is your average order value multiplied by your profit margin. It is the most you can spend to acquire a customer and still break even. Sort every ad by cost per purchase and anything above the line is bleeding.
What are healthy Meta ad funnel ratios?
Outbound CTR should clear 1.5%, View Content to Add to Cart should clear 20%, and Add to Cart to Purchase should clear 1 in 3. Each ratio isolates a different break, so you fix the right thing instead of guessing.
What does a low store conversion rate tell you?
A store conversion rate under 2% means the leak is the website, not the ads. You cannot out-spend a broken checkout, so fix the store before you scale the media.
What is a healthy prospecting to retargeting split?
Roughly 95% prospecting and 5% retargeting. If the split is inverted, you are spending most of the budget on people who already know the brand and letting retargeting take credit for sales that would have closed anyway.