Paid spend stays zero unless a named authority approves the purpose, funding source, supplier, account, amount boundary, period, geography, eligible activity, pacing controls, and stop mechanism. A forecast, draft campaign, platform recommendation, available credit, prior approval, projected pipeline, or expected customer payment does not create new spending authority. Reinvestment is also a new decision. The operator should be able to show the approval record and halt path before any paid activity is enabled.
After authorization, distinguish approved ceiling, platform-reported delivery, accrued exposure, supplier invoice, credits, taxes, disputes, refunds, internal allocation, payment, and final reconciliation. Supplier dashboards can arrive earlier than invoices and may later change; invoices can include charges outside the campaign or period. Tie every relevant amount to account, project or campaign identifiers, currency, service dates, and supporting records. Unexplained cost remains open, and an open supplier accrual should not be presented as a settled actual.