creating guards

A guard is a rule that monitors your product inventory and automatically pauses or resumes your ads based on your configured thresholds.

Guard Components

Every guard consists of three main parts:

• Products - What to monitor (which products or collections)

• Ad Entities - What to control (which campaigns, ad groups, or ads)

• Rules - When to act (pause and resume thresholds)

Creating a Guard

1

Select Products

Choose which products to monitor:

• Individual Products — Select specific products from your Shopify store

• Collections — Select entire collections (all products in the collection are monitored)

You can select multiple products and collections in a single guard.

2

Select Ad Entities

Choose which ad entities to control:

• Campaigns — Control entire campaigns

• Ad Groups — Control specific ad groups (Meta: Ad Sets)

• Ads — Control individual ads

You can only select one entity type per guard (either campaigns OR ad groups OR ads).

3

Configure Rules

Set your pause and resume thresholds.

Pause Threshold

Pause ads when inventory drops below this level. Options:

• Out of Stock (0) — Pause when any product reaches 0 inventory

• Minimum Units — Pause when inventory drops below a specific number (e.g., 5 units)

• Days of Cover — Pause when inventory will run out within X days based on recent sales

Resume Threshold

Resume ads when inventory recovers above this level. Options:

• Minimum Units — Resume when inventory reaches a specific number

• Days of Cover — Resume when inventory will last for X days based on recent sales

Tip: Set your resume threshold higher than your pause threshold to prevent rapid on/off switching.

4

Choose Automation Mode

Select how the guard should operate:

Monitor Only

• Tracks inventory and evaluates rules

• Sends email notifications when rules are triggered

• Does NOT automatically pause or resume ads

Useful for testing or when you want manual control.

Pause + Resume

• Fully automated operation

• Automatically pauses ads when pause threshold is met

• Automatically resumes ads when resume threshold is met

• Sends email notifications for all actions

5

Takeover Paused Entities (Optional)

If you have ad entities that are already paused (but not by SpendGuard), you'll see a takeover option.

Takeover details

• What it means: SpendGuard will take over management of these paused entities

• How it works:

  • SpendGuard will pause entities regardless of their current status

  • SpendGuard will only resume entities it has paused

  • If takeover is enabled, SpendGuard will also resume entities that were paused outside of SpendGuard

Note: Takeover is only available when automation mode is set to "Pause + Resume".

Editing a Guard

1

Open Guards Page

Go to the Guards page.

2

View Guard Details

Click on a guard to view details.

3

Edit

Click Edit, make your changes, and then click Save.

4

Effect

Changes take effect immediately. If you change rules, the guard will re-evaluate on the next inventory check.

Deleting a Guard

1

Open Guards Page

Go to the Guards page.

2

View Guard Details

Click on a guard to view details.

3

Delete

Click Delete and confirm the deletion.

4

Effect

Deleting a guard will stop all monitoring and automation for that guard. Ads will remain in their current state (paused or active).

Warning: Deleting a guard will stop all monitoring and automation for that guard. Ads will remain in their current state (paused or active).

Best Practices

• Start with Monitor Mode — Test your rules in monitor mode before enabling automation

• Set Appropriate Thresholds — Consider your sales velocity when setting days of cover

• Use Collections — For products with similar inventory patterns, use collections to manage them together

• Review Activity — Regularly check the activity feed to ensure guards are working as expected

Related Topics

• Guard Builder - Create multiple guards at once

• Activity Feed - Monitor guard actions

• Takeover Behavior - Understand takeover functionality