Most business owners can't easily tell whether their ads agency is making them money. The monthly report looks fine, the calls are friendly, and the charts go up and to the right. Meanwhile the ad spend keeps leaving the account. Here are seven signs that something is quietly wrong, and how to check each one yourself in about 30 minutes.
- The report leads with reach, impressions or engagement, not leads, bookings or sales.
- Nobody can tell you what a new customer costs.
- The campaigns and ads haven't changed in months.
- Every dip ends in a request for more budget.
- You don't have admin access to your own ad account.
- What Ads Manager reports doesn't match your own sales.
The seven signs
The report leads with reach, impressions or engagement
Those numbers explain what's happening, but they aren't results. When we took over a two-site climbing gym's Meta ads, an engagement campaign had produced 12,237 post engagements for £85.99. That number is genuinely impressive and means nothing, and as far as we could tell, it was the number being reported. The sales campaign beside it was losing money.
Nobody can tell you what a customer costs
Cost per lead and click-through rate are steps along the way. The number that decides whether the ads pay is cost per customer, set against what a customer is worth to you. If your agency can't give you that, or hasn't asked how many of your leads become customers, it's managing activity, not results. Are Facebook ads worth it shows how to work out your ceiling.
Nothing has changed in months
Open the account's history in Ads Manager and look at the dates of the last few changes. In the gym account above, one always-on sales campaign had run for more than a year, with 16 ads in total, and had long since stopped learning. In the eight months since we took it on, we've run 44 campaigns; the previous agency ran 4.
The same few ads keep running
Ads wear out as the same people see them again, so frequency climbs and costs follow. An account with no new ads for months is coasting on old work. Even small budgets can keep new ads coming: on another climbing gym we manage, we tested 118 creatives in ten months on daily budgets between £5 and £15.
More budget is the answer to everything
When results dip, a good agency diagnoses first: tracking, the site, the auction or worn-out ads. If every conversation ends with a request to spend more, nobody is looking for the cause. Why ROAS drops when nothing changed lists what to check instead.
You don't have admin access to your own account
The ad account, the Pixel and your audiences should belong to you, with the agency as a partner. If they're inside the agency's business portfolio, or you can only see the reports they send, you can't check their work, and you can lose your history if you leave.
The results don't match your own numbers
Compare what Ads Manager says it produced with your bookings, sales or bank statements for the same months. Platforms count generously, so some gap is normal, but if Meta reports far more than you can find, the reports are flattering the account. Judge on blended numbers: total revenue divided by total ad spend.
Check your account in 30 minutes
- Make sure you're an admin on your ad account in your own Meta business portfolio. If you're not, ask for it today.
- Open the account's history and note when the last real changes were made.
- Count the new ads launched in the last 90 days, and check whether frequency has been climbing.
- Put Ads Manager's results for the last 90 days next to your own bookings or sales.
- Work out cost per customer, and compare it with what a customer is worth to you.
- Re-read the last three reports and note what the headline number is each time.
What it looks like when it's fixed
In the gym account above, nothing was technically broken: the tracking worked and everything a checklist would look for was in place. What was missing was somebody making decisions about it. Eight months after we took it on, the sales campaign returns £2.99 for every £1 spent, up from £0.82, on a third less spend, and cost per booking is £9.44, down from £38.78. The full case study shows what changed, in order.
What to do next
Start with a conversation, not a resignation. Share what you found, ask for a written plan with the number it will be judged on, and agree a date to review it, usually 30 days out. A good agency will welcome that. If the answers are vague, make sure you have admin access and your data before you move anything.
If you're comparing replacements, 12 questions to ask before you hire a Facebook ads agency helps you spot the same problems before you sign, and how much Facebook ads management costs covers what you should expect to pay.
Questions people ask
How do I know if my ads agency is doing a good job?
Ask for one number: what a new customer costs you through the ads, compared with what a customer is worth. A good agency knows it, reports it, and can say what changed in your account last month and why. If the reports lead with reach or engagement instead, look closer.
What should my ads agency report every month?
Leads, bookings or sales, what each one cost, what was spent, what changed in the account and why, and what happens next. Reach, impressions and engagement can explain results, but they shouldn't be the headline.
How often should an ads agency change my campaigns?
There's no fixed rule, but an account nobody has touched for months isn't being managed. Expect weekly checks, new ads every few weeks, and a short note on what changed and why.
Should I have admin access to my own ad account?
Yes. The ad account, the Pixel and your audiences should sit in your own Meta business portfolio, with you as an admin and the agency added as a partner. If you can't see inside your own account, you can't check anything on this list.
How long should I give a new agency before judging it?
In our accounts, first leads typically land in 10-14 days, with a reliable cost per lead by around day 45. Judge cost per customer after about three months, and judge the reporting and communication from the first week.
Can I leave an ads agency in the middle of a contract?
Check the notice terms in your agreement first. Whatever they say, make sure you have admin access to the ad account and your data now, so leaving later doesn't mean starting from nothing.
Is NCMborz the right fit for every business?
No. We're not the right fit if your offer hasn't sold yet without ads, if you're looking for the lowest price, or if you can't commit a real ad budget alongside the fee. We'd rather say so on the first call.
Want a second opinion? Book a strategy call and we'll go through the seven signs with you, inside your own account.
