Lapse vs a spreadsheet and calendar reminders for usage rights
A spreadsheet with calendar reminders is free and tells you the day a creator's usage rights end. Lapse starts from the same dates, then checks your live Meta ads against them, so it can tell you which ads, including copies that use the same Instagram post or video, are still running after that day.
Side by side
- Price
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Free with Google Sheets or Excel
- Lapse: Free audit of 1 ad account; paid plans from $79/month
- Records deal terms
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Anything: dates, channels, fees, notes
- Lapse: End date, channels and creator per licensed video; no fee field. Add deals by hand or with our CSV template
- Reminder before a deal ends
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Yes, if someone adds a calendar event for each deal
- Lapse: Yes, a warning before the end date for each video still in ads
- Knows which live ads use each video
- Spreadsheet + reminders: No, someone has to search Ads Manager by hand
- Lapse: Yes, checks live Facebook and Instagram ads every 1 to 6 hours
- Catches copies of an ad in other ad sets
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Only if someone finds them
- Lapse: Yes, when the copy uses the same Instagram post or video, or carries the deal's tag in its name
- Works for TikTok, YouTube and other channels
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Yes, it's just rows
- Lapse: No, Facebook and Instagram only today
- Access needed
- Spreadsheet + reminders: None
- Lapse: View-only access to your Meta ad accounts
- Setup
- Spreadsheet + reminders: Minutes
- Lapse: Paste your rows into our CSV template, upload it, and connect an ad account
Where Spreadsheet + reminders is the better choice
- It's free, and everyone on the team already knows how to use it.
- It works for every channel: TikTok, YouTube, email, out-of-home, packaging.
- You choose the columns, so it fits any contract, however unusual.
- Nobody needs access to your ad accounts.
Where Lapse is the better choice
- A reminder tells you a date. Lapse tells you which live ads are still running on it, with a link to each one.
- Winning ads get copied into new ad sets. Lapse lists the live copies that use the same Instagram post or video, not just the one someone remembered to pause.
- It keeps checking after the end date, so an ad switched back on later shows up again on your dashboard.
- The check doesn't depend on one person reading their calendar, or still working at the company.
Which should you choose?
Choose Spreadsheet + reminders: If you run a handful of creator ads, from 1 ad account, and the same person launches and pauses all of them, a well-kept sheet with a calendar reminder per deal is enough. Our free tracker template gives you the columns.
Choose Lapse: If ads get duplicated, several people touch the account, or you run ads for more than 1 brand, the gap is no longer the date. It's finding every live ad that still uses the video. That's the part Lapse automates. Keep the sheet as your record, and paste the rows into our CSV template to load them.
Common questions
- Can I keep my spreadsheet if I use Lapse?
- Yes. You can keep it as the record of your deals and paste the rows into our CSV template to load them into Lapse. For the free audit, send it as it is.
- Is a calendar reminder enough to avoid zombie ads?
- It works when 1 person launches and pauses every ad. Zombie ads, creator ads still running after the license ended, usually come from copies of an ad that nobody remembered to pause.
- Does Lapse work for TikTok?
- Not yet. Lapse checks Facebook and Instagram ads today. A spreadsheet covers every channel.
- How can I see what a spreadsheet misses, without paying?
- Book the free audit. Send your sheet as it is and give view-only access to 1 Meta ad account, and within 48 hours you get a list of every ad whose rights ended, end soon, or have no deal on file.
See what your live ads look like against your deals.
Send your rights sheet as it is and view-only access to 1 Meta ad account. Within 48 hours you get a list of every ad whose rights ended, end soon, or have no deal on file. Free.
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