---
title: "How to use portfolio budget conditions in bidding rules"
slug: "how-to-use-portfolio-budget-conditions-in-bidding-rules"
updated: 2026-10-01T09:55:18Z
published: 2026-10-01T09:55:18Z
canonical: "docs.scaleinsights.com/how-to-use-portfolio-budget-conditions-in-bidding-rules"
---

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

# How to use portfolio budget conditions in bidding rules

A Bidding Rule can increase bids when performance meets your targets. However, if the portfolio is already using most of its budget, increasing bids may not be the right move.

The **Portfolio budget-usage condition** lets you add a budget check to your Bidding Rule. When the portfolio has reached your specified budget-usage level within the selected lookback period, the rule skips its bid adjustment.

### Why Use a Portfolio Budget Condition?

Use this condition when you want your bidding strategy to consider the portfolio's budget usage before making bid changes.

- Prevent unnecessary bid increases when the budget is already a constraint.
- Keep bid automation aligned with portfolio-level budget limits.
- Use recent budget usage as an additional rule trigger condition.

### When to Use It

The Portfolio budget condition can be useful when:

- Your portfolio frequently approaches its budget cap.
- You use bid-increase strategies such as **inch-up.**
- Higher bids could cause the portfolio to consume its budget faster.
- You want your bidding automation to account for portfolio-level budget usage.

### How the Portfolio Condition Works

[![Bidding Portfolio Condition](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/GIF_Bidding%20Portfolio%20Condition.gif)](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/GIF_Bidding%20Portfolio%20Condition.gif)

The condition has two settings:

| Setting | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Budget Usage** | The budget-usage threshold. You can set up to **200%**. |
| **Lookback Period** | The period used to check historical budget usage. Default is **7 days**, up to **180 days**. |

Scale Insights checks whether the portfolio reached the configured budget-usage threshold **on any day during the lookback period**.

If the threshold was reached, the Bidding Rule **skips its bid adjustment**.

**Watch the quick walkthrough to learn how to configure a Portfolio condition based on portfolio budget usage.**

[Configure Portfolio Bidding Rules in ScaleInsights](https://app.supademo.com/embed/cmunrmn550knfqmwuaqq31jyg?embed_v=2&utm_source=embed)

### How to Set Up a Portfolio Condition

1. Go to [**Automation → Bidding Rule → Create Rule**](https://portal.scaleinsights.com/Automation/Algo/BidRule/Create).
2. Configure your Bidding Rule as usual.
3. Under **Trigger Conditions**, open the **Portfolio Conditions** tab.

![](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/image-png-Oct-01-2026-02-32-27-6549-AM.png)

1. Set your **Budget Usage** threshold and **Lookback Period.**

**![](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/image-png-Oct-01-2026-02-33-32-6967-AM.png)**
2. Save the rule.

The Portfolio condition is evaluated together with the other trigger conditions in the rule.

#### Example: Prevent Bid Increases When Budget Is Tight

Suppose you have a **bidding rule** that gradually increases bids for keywords meeting your performance targets.

The keywords belong to a portfolio that frequently approaches its budget cap. You set:

- **Budget Usage:** 90%
- **Lookback Period:** 7 days

The portfolio reached 103**% budget** **usage** on Tuesday. When the bidding rule is evaluated, the system detects that the 90% threshold was reached within the last 7 days.

Even if the keyword meets the inch-up conditions, the rule **skips the bid adjustment**.

This prevents the rule from increasing bids while the portfolio is already experiencing a budget constraint.

### How to Check Portfolio Budget Usage

Use [**Ads Insights → Performance → Portfolios**](https://portal.scaleinsights.com/Ads/Performance/Portfolios) to review the portfolio's budget situation.

[![Ads Insights Portfolio Budget Usage](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/GIF_Ads%20Insights%20Portfolio%20Budget%20Usage.gif)](https://245731704.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245731704/GIF_Ads%20Insights%20Portfolio%20Budget%20Usage.gif)

The Portfolio view includes:

- **Allocated per day** — the portfolio's daily budget allocation.
- **Days to portfolio cap** — the number of days to the portfolio cap based on current usage.
- **Budget-usage chart** — historical portfolio budget usage.
- **Cap-change markers** — show when the portfolio cap changed.

Use these details to understand your portfolio's budget pattern and choose a suitable condition for your Bidding Rule.

### Key Considerations

- **Budget Usage** supports values up to **200%**.
- **Lookback Period** supports up to **180 days** and defaults to **7 days**.
- The condition checks whether the threshold was reached **on any day** in the lookback period; it does not calculate an average.
- When the condition is triggered, the rule skips the **bid adjustment only**. It does not change the portfolio budget or cap.
- Other Bidding Rule conditions still need to be satisfied before the rule can make an adjustment.