# Map CBO versus ad set budgets across Meta campaigns

> Tier: recipe. Operating recipe: real tool sequence, core rules, known traps.

The CBO/ABO inventory: which campaigns delegate budget to Meta, which hold it at ad set level.

**Intent.** Where the budget lever actually sits, campaign by campaign.

## When to use

- Before any budget operation.
- Onboarding.

## When not to use

- No specific contraindication beyond the preconditions below.

## Sources

Required: Meta Ads

## Preconditions

- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.

## Inputs

- `window`: Analysis window. Default: last 30 days.

## Procedure

1. Read budget modes across campaigns. — tools: `meta_get_campaigns`, `meta_get_adsets`
2. Annotate the map with spend so the levers are weighted. — tools: `meta_get_insights`

## Decision rules

- **When** A budget change is planned on an ad set under CBO → **conclude** Wrong lever: the campaign owns the money there, redirect the operation.

## Evidence requirements

- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.

## Human approval boundary

- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.

## Failure modes

- Mixed modes in one account make bulk budget scripts dangerous: the map is the guard.

## Output

- **Readout**: The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- **Flags**: What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.

## Related

- Skill: [budget-reallocation](https://www.getmcpads.com/skills/budget-reallocation.md)