--- title: "Marketing Audit FAQ: Guarantee, Data, Timeline | MarginFix" description: "Marketing audit FAQ: how the $10k to $50k findings guarantee works, who sees your data, what the audit needs from you, and what lands in 5 to 7 working days." url: https://marginfix.ai/faq/ lastmod: 2026-10-12 --- Your number See this page in your own figures: industry, spend and the estimated leak. [Run the estimator →](/estimator/) [Home](/) › FAQ FAQ · 19 questions # Everything you'd ask before booking. Fixed fee. 5 to 7 working days. $10k to $50k of findings, or your money back. - Reviewed Oct 2026 - 19 questions - answered by Cristian Bragau - Median finding $58k a year across 74 audits Filter questions 19 questions No matches. Write to [audits@marginfix.ai](mailto:audits@marginfix.ai) and we answer directly. 01 ## Most asked The three questions every fit call opens with, and who the audit is not for. - The guarantee ### How does the findings guarantee actually work? - Findings are valued against your own data at the readout. Under your tier's floor ($10,000, $25,000, $50,000) the fee returns to your card, and you keep the report. - [Jump to the full answer ↓](#q-guarantee) [Mechanics on the pricing page →](/pricing/) - Data access ### Who exactly sees our data? - Read only access, scoped to the accounts in scope, never used to train models. Revoked at readout, deleted within 30 days of close. - [Jump to the full answer ↓](#q-data-safe) [The full security page →](/security/) - Timeline ### How long does it really take? - 5 to 7 working days from kickoff to a live readout, with an interim findings call on day 3. The week is mapped day by day on the how it works page. - [Jump to the full answer ↓](#q-how-long) [The week, mapped →](/how-it-works/) - Candor ### This audit is not for you if… - You spend under $10k a month, you have no first party revenue data, or you want a new agency rather than a read on the current one. Cite this figure A MarginFix audit costs $1,450 to $5,950, delivers findings in 5 to 7 working days and carries a $10k to $50k findings guarantee, or your money back. MarginFix, marginfix.ai/faq/ 02 ## The process ### How long does the audit take? 5 to 7 working days from kickoff and data access to your executive readout. The clock starts once read only access is granted, and most clients manage that inside a day. ### What do you need from us to start? Read only access to your analytics, ad accounts and revenue data, plus one 30 minute kickoff call. No workshops and no homework. On Audit + Sprint, your auditor also runs short 1:1 sessions with your team so the brief reflects the real pain points. ### How can AI agents audit as well as consultants? Our orchestrated analysis agents run the same strategic, financial, creative and operational frameworks a consultancy would, but exhaustively, over your full data rather than a sample. Seven human gates mean a senior auditor reviews and signs off every finding before it reaches your report. AI does the coverage; humans do the judgment. ### What exactly do we receive? A boardroom ready report: executive summary, every finding with evidence and dollar impact, a 90 day action plan sequenced by ROI, industry benchmarks, and a 60 minute readout call. [See the sample report →](/sample-report/) ### Do you implement the fixes too? The audit is deliberately implementation agnostic: your team or agency can execute the plan directly. Where clients want help, we scope a separate fixed fee implementation sprint after the readout. No retainer, ever. 03 ## Data and security ### Is our data safe? NDA before anything is shared. Access is read only and scoped to the accounts in the audit. Audit files stay in our local working environment, anonymized information is processed through the Claude API to assist analysis, client data is not used for model training, and access is revoked at readout. [The full security page →](/security/) ### Can you sign our NDA? Yes. We routinely work under NDA and will sign yours or send ours before any data is shared. ### Will our data be used to train AI models? No. Client data is not used for model training. Anonymized audit information is processed through the Claude API to assist analysis, a senior auditor reviews and approves every finding, and working data is deleted within 30 days of engagement close. 04 ## Pricing and the guarantee ### What does the guarantee actually promise? Each tier guarantees a minimum dollar amount of identified, actionable margin or savings: $10,000 (Diagnostic Check), $25,000 (Strategic Audit), $50,000 (Audit + Sprint). If your delivered report identifies less, request a full refund within 14 days of your readout, or of report delivery if your tier has no readout, and it reaches your original payment method within 5 business days. No forms, no argument. Identified findings means quantified line items in your report, each with a dollar impact and an implementation step, not vague suggestions. [Mechanics on the pricing page →](/pricing/) ### What is the implementation credit? 100% of your audit fee becomes a credit toward an implementation engagement booked within 30 days of delivery. Book a $2,950 Strategic Audit, decide to have the roadmap executed, and your first $2,950 of implementation is already paid. ### Why is this so much cheaper than a consultancy? The Orchestrator automates the analysis that consumes weeks of consultant time. Humans focus only on judgment and sign off, so you get consultancy grade depth at a fraction of the cost. [Audit or consultant, compared →](/compare/marketing-audit-vs-consultant/) ### Are there any ongoing fees? No. One fixed fee per audit. Some clients audit again twice a year; that is a new fixed fee each time, never a subscription. ### Can the fee be split? On Audit + Sprint, yes: $2,950 invoiced after your kickoff call, and the remaining $3,000 only when your audit is delivered. Card, ACH or wire for both. The Diagnostic Check and the Strategic Audit are one fixed fee, invoiced after the kickoff call and due before work starts. ### What if we are too small, or too big? We generally work with teams spending $10k to $250k a month on marketing. The published Diagnostic Check tier is best suited to $15k to $25k a month; if you spend less, we check fit before proposing a tier. Above $250k a month, we scope a custom engagement. If we are not the right fit, we say so before you pay. 05 ## Working together ### We already have an agency. Is this awkward? It is common, and healthy. The audit is an independent second opinion, not a pitch to replace anyone. Many agencies use the findings as their next quarter's roadmap. We never sell media management, so there is no conflict of interest. [Audit or agency review, compared →](/compare/independent-audit-vs-agency-review/) ### Who actually works on our audit? A senior auditor owns your engagement start to finish, the same person on your kickoff and your readout. The agents do the heavy analysis; your auditor validates, prioritizes and presents it. ### What is not covered? Three things. No media management and no implementation retainer, so there is no incentive to find problems only we can fix. No dashboard: you get a decision document with an owner and a deadline per finding, nothing to log into. No auto renewal: one fixed fee, one deliverable, and an audit next year is a new decision. [What agencies charge on top →](/agency-markup/) ### Is there a call before we pay? Yes. A 15 minute fit call with one auditor, no pitch. Bring the numbers you have and leave with the next step, whether that is a tier or a reason we are not the right fit. [Book the fit call →](/book/call/) ### What happens after the readout? You own the report and the plan. Most teams execute the top five findings in the first month. We check in at day 30 and day 90, included, not billed. 06 In their words What clients said after the readout. Every statement sits on a published case; open the case for the audited figure. 07 ## Still unanswered? Ask it here. The answer is either on this site or in the working papers behind it. ![Portrait photograph of Cristian Bragau](/assets/founder/cristian-bragau-2026-10.jpg) The auditor's note Most of the questions on this page come from the first fit call, so I answer them here the way I would on the call. If yours is not here, ask it: the answer is either on this site or in the working papers of the 74 audits behind it. **[Cristian Bragau](/about/cristian-bragau/)** Founder & Lead Auditor · 17 published cases · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristian-bragau-828b8526/) Don't fill this out: ### Ask an auditor Full name Work email Your question A senior auditor answers within one business day. Or write to [audits@marginfix.ai](mailto:audits@marginfix.ai). ## Ready when you are. Fixed fee. 5 to 7 working days. Findings or your money back. [Book the audit](/book/) [Talk to an auditor](/book/call/) Fixed fee. No retainer. NDA first. Go deeper ## Read on from the questions - [Pricing Three fixed fee tiers from $1,450, each with its own findings floor.](/pricing/) - [How it works The week, day by day: access, analysis, readout and the report.](/how-it-works/) - [Compare An audit against a consultant, your agency or your own team, side by side.](/compare/) - [What an audit costs The 2026 market ranges with sources, against the fixed fee tiers.](/marketing-audit-cost/) - [Agency markup What a normal markup is, and the contract, invoice and platform reconciliation.](/agency-markup/) - [Glossary Blended ROAS, MER, incrementality and the other terms behind every audit.](/glossary/)