Reconciliation > Avoid Reconciliation Problems

COMPASS's reconciliation process requires linking every ad broadcast by media to both the original ad schedule and the applicable traffic instructions as they were originally issued. This task can be complex with ad schedules varying from week to week (or day to day). Additionally, traffic instructions are only casually related to the ad schedule; traffic can change in the middle of a schedule, even in the middle of a week. Yet COMPASS exhibits a high level of accuracy in matching up all the loose ends.

In some cases, a problem can inadvertently occur when a client chooses to skip one or more weeks in the campaign. If those weeks are "empty" (no ads are scheduled for that week), COMPASS has no information to create a link. This is not a problem unless the media chooses to air one or more "make good" ads during a "skipped" week. Ideally, the media would hold making good missed ads until the client's schedule resumes. Unfortunately, some media tend to broadcast "make goods" at their convenience, regardless of what is scheduled.

COMPASS has a setting in the Reconcile Options section of Program Options to compensate for this issue. Check the box Allow make goods in unscheduled weeks in order to activate this option. This setting is also available on the Reconciliation Warning window immediately before reconciliation commences.

When Allow make goods in unscheduled weeks is enabled, COMPASS identifies unscheduled weeks during the reconciliation process and "looks back" to find an earlier week where an ad schedule is present. It then copies — only for reconciliation purposes — that active week to the unscheduled week within the reconcile process. All the copied lines are set to zero ads ordered and zero ads broadcast. Any make-goods will be indicated by an increase in the number of ads broadcast on the matching line. No changes or modifications are made to the actual order's schedule.

This provides any make-good ads in unscheduled weeks a "home" so they can be reconciled. COMPASS will flag such ads as "Makegood" in both the Reconcile Explorer and Reconcile Editor. In this way, the ads can then be approved, or the involved media can be notified that the modified ads broadcast are not acceptable.

See Order Summary.