Media buying authorization template and checklist

Media buying authorization records who may act for an advertiser and within which limits. A client may allow an agency to request quotes, negotiate terms or accept a particular purchase; those permissions can differ. Before a buyer commits to a publisher, identify the authority they rely on, its scope and the exact offer it covers. Use this template alongside your organization’s existing authorization process.

Download the media buying authorization template (.txt)

1. Separate authority from the buying decision

Authority to request prices does not by itself authorize acceptance. A spending limit does not show that a particular quote was approved. An internal decision cannot supply a missing publisher commitment. Keep each record with its own person, date, source and scope.

2. Copy the authorization template

MEDIA BUYING AUTHORIZATION
Status: [draft / recorded / expired / withdrawn / other]
Authorization reference / version / date: [details]
Advertiser / client legal entity and brand: [details]
Person granting authority / role / work contact: [details]
Buyer or agency receiving authority / named contact: [details]
Evidence of authority / original reference / date: [details]
Effective date and expiry: [details / unanswered]

Permitted actions:
[request quotes / negotiate / submit for approval / accept specified terms]
Exact purchase / publisher / market / channels: [details]
Source quote ID / exact version / date: [details]
Related insertion order ID / exact version: [details / not applicable]
Website items and newsletter issues covered: [item references]
Spending limit / currency: [amount / currency]
Tax, production fees and other charges within that limit: [explicit basis]
Agency fees or other separate amounts: [basis / not applicable / unanswered]
Payment responsibility and permitted method: [details / unanswered]

Restrictions:
[excluded publishers, markets, formats, substitutions or other limits]
Delegation to others: [permitted scope / prohibited / unanswered]
Changes needing new authority or approval: [explicit rule]
Open conditions / owner / response due: [details / none]
Action permitted while conditions are open: [explicit scope / none]
Withdrawal or expiry process / notification evidence: [details]

Internal decision on the exact offer:
[status / authorized approver / quote version / date / evidence]
Publisher commitment to the exact offer:
[status / named contact / quote version / date / original reference]
Buyer acceptance of the exact offer:
[status / authorized buyer / quote version / date / evidence]

Authority, internal approval and the two commitments are separate.
Do not carry a version-specific authorization or decision to a revised offer
without the review required by the recorded scope and change rule.
This record does not establish payment or acceptance of delivery.

3. Define the limit so the buyer can apply it

Record the advertiser and agency or named buyer, the permitted actions, publisher, market, channel and buying period. Make the monetary boundary usable: amount, currency, whether tax and production charges count toward it, and whether an agency fee is separate. Identify any permitted delegation. Retain the original instruction or other authorized evidence and check that the person granting authority can grant the scope being recorded.

Do not convert an indicative budget into authority to commit. If the source only permits requesting quotes, record that narrower action. If the tax basis or extra charges could put a purchase above the cap, keep that question open until the authorized person resolves it.

4. Example: an agency acting on one exact package

For the example in the advertising insertion order guide, fictional Cedar Supply authorizes named buyer Morgan at Finch Media to accept Ridgefield Media quote RF-2026-104 v1 only after a recorded internal approval. The scope is WEB-1, NEWS-1 and NEWS-2 at USD 1,800 total, tax included, with no additional charges. The authorization excludes additional issues, a different publisher, extra charges and delegation to another buyer. Retain the client’s original instruction and identify the person who granted it.

This provides a boundary for Morgan’s action; it does not show that the client approved the quote, that the publisher committed or that Morgan accepted it. Record those three steps separately. An agency fee, if any, needs its own stated treatment rather than silently consuming or increasing the publisher budget.

5. Review a revised offer even when it stays within budget

If RF-2026-104 v2 moves NEWS-2 to 19 November, it is a different offer even at USD 1,800. The example authorization names v1 and permits no substitutions, so the buyer needs an updated instruction covering v2 and a fresh internal decision before accepting it. More generally, apply the recorded authority and change rule to the actual revision. A budget cap alone does not answer whether changed dates, issues or scope are permitted.

Keep the earlier authorization and decisions with v1. Link the revised instruction, original publisher message and new decision to v2. Use the package change approval checklist to compare the complete revised terms.

6. Keep open conditions and evidence visible

Record unresolved questions with a responsible person and response due date. State which actions remain permitted while they are open: for example, requesting a tax breakdown may be allowed while accepting the quote is still pending. Preserve expiry or withdrawal instructions and their evidence. An unanswered restriction is not permission to choose a convenient interpretation.

Datacow records your team’s checked terms, approval decisions and supporting originals. It does not independently verify a client or agency’s authority or enforce the spending limit in this template. Your organization determines who may act, and publisher payment stays outside Datacow.

Use publisher quote review to check the offer, the approval workflow for the exact-version decision, and the insertion order template to assemble the commercial terms and the two parties’ commitments.