> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ugcfirst.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Stopping an ad costing more than you expected

> Cost controls let you set a credit ceiling per run. If an estimate goes over it, UGCFirst pauses and asks first.

> [!TIP]
>
> **Short answer:** Go to **Settings → Cost controls** and set a ceiling for each kind of run: video, image ads and campaign. If a run would cost more than your ceiling, UGCFirst pauses and asks you first.
>
> * Set the **Campaign run** ceiling first. Campaign prices vary the most.
> * Each ceiling starts with a number in it, and none can be left empty.

If you are worried about credits disappearing faster than you meant, this is the setting to use.

**Settings → Cost controls** lets you set a ceiling on what a single run may cost. *"Set a ceiling per run. If an estimate goes above it, we pause and ask first."*

## Setting a ceiling

There are three, and they are set separately:

| Ceiling | Covers |
| - | - |
| **Video run** | making a video ad |
| **Static run** | making image ads |
| **Campaign run** | a full set of videos and stills together |

Each box already has a number in it when you arrive. Change it to the most you are happy for one run to cost, then press **Save ceilings**. A box can't be left empty, and the smallest ceiling is 1 credit.

## What happens when a run goes over

It does not fail and it does not silently cost you more. The run pauses and asks you first, before any credits are taken.

## Why bother, when you already approve everything

You already see the script before anything renders, so nothing is made without you. The app is direct about this — *"Nothing generates without your approval — ceilings are a second safety net."*

The ceiling catches the case approval does not: the run that is correct, that you would have approved, but that costs more than you realised. **Campaign** is the one to set, because a campaign is a set of outputs rather than one, so its price moves with what ends up in it.

## A sensible starting point

Set the **Campaign run** ceiling first, at roughly what you would be comfortable spending in one go. Leave Video and Static alone until something surprises you — a single video or a few stills has a predictable price, which you can check against the [credit costs](https://ugcfirst.com/help/billing/what-are-credits.md).


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