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Supplier Cost Modes

Lead Distro AI supplier cost modes: Fixed, Variable (Meta Ads), and Revenue Share. How each calculates per-lead cost, when to use which, and FAQs for accurate profit tracking.

Last updated: May 22, 2026

What Are Cost Modes?

Each supplier in Lead Distro AI has a cost mode that defines how Lead Distro AI calculates the cost of each lead from that supplier. Cost mode drives every profit calculation in the dashboard, P&L reports, and Insights Drill-Down — so picking the right mode matters for accurate margin reporting.

The Three Cost Modes

Mode	How cost is calculated	Best for
Fixed	A flat dollar amount per lead (e.g., $25). Set once, applied uniformly.	Lead vendors who charge a fixed price, fixed in-house cost like an SDR's per-lead allocation.
Variable (Meta Ads)	Pulled from actual synced Meta ad spend. Requires Meta integration + per-supplier pixel wiring.	Your own Meta ad accounts where cost varies with daily spend and lead count.
Revenue Share	A percentage of whatever the buyer pays. Calculated per-lead based on the buyer's price or bid.	Affiliate partners and ping-post arrangements where the supplier earns a share of variable revenue.

Fixed Cost Mode

Simplest mode. Set the cost-per-lead value on the supplier; every lead from that supplier carries that exact cost. Update the value any time — change applies to leads from the next ingest forward. Existing leads keep their original cost (recalculation runs only when cost entries are explicitly changed).

Variable (Meta Ads) Cost Mode

Cost is derived from synced Meta ad spend. Lead Distro AI pulls daily spend from your Meta ad account (every 6 hours via cron) and divides it across the supplier's leads for that day. Requires the Meta integration enabled and the supplier wired to a specific Meta pixel.

Variable cost numbers true up as fresh Meta data arrives. Real-time dashboards use the most recent synced snapshot; end-of-day numbers reflect final spend. Don't worry about intraday flux — by midnight the cost matches the day's actual Meta spend exactly.

Revenue Share Cost Mode

Supplier earns a percentage of buyer revenue per lead. Set the percentage (e.g., 75%). Lead Distro AI calculates cost = buyer_price × percentage. Powerful in ping-post setups where each lead's revenue varies — cost auto-adjusts proportionally and margin stays consistent regardless of bid price.

Example: 75% Revenue Share
Buyer A pays $120 → supplier cost = $90 → your profit = $30 (25%)
Buyer B pays $80  → supplier cost = $60 → your profit = $20 (25%)
Buyer C pays $200 → supplier cost = $150 → your profit = $50 (25%)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change a supplier's cost mode after it has leads attributed?

Yes — change the cost mode any time. New leads use the new mode; existing leads keep their original cost attribution unless you explicitly trigger a recalculation. For audit, the cost mode change is logged in the supplier's timeline with a timestamp so historical reports remain interpretable.

How does Revenue Share work with conditional pricing?

Revenue Share calculates against the actual buyer price for each lead, including any conditional pricing rules that adjusted the price. A buyer with conditional pricing that drops to $0 on certain leads results in $0 cost for the supplier on those leads (75% of $0 = $0). This keeps margin economics aligned: the supplier only earns when the buyer pays.

What happens if Meta ad sync fails for a Variable-cost supplier?

Lead Distro AI logs the sync failure, leaves the previous day's cost as the most recent canonical value, and surfaces a warning in the supplier detail page. Profit calculations continue to use the last known cost until the next successful sync. For long-running outages, switch the supplier to Fixed mode temporarily with a manual cost estimate.

Can I mix cost modes across suppliers in the same campaign?

Yes. Each supplier has its own independent cost mode — a single campaign can have one Variable Meta supplier, one Fixed lead vendor, and one Revenue Share affiliate all routing leads to the same buyers. The dashboard aggregates blended cost-per-lead across all suppliers automatically.

Does Revenue Share work in non-ping-post campaigns?

Yes. Revenue Share calculates against whatever revenue the lead generates for the buyer — fixed-price (Direct Post) or variable-price (Ping-Post). For Direct Post with fixed buyer prices, Revenue Share is mathematically equivalent to Fixed cost; the value comes when prices vary per lead.

What's the typical Revenue Share percentage in lead distribution?

Industry norm: 60-80% to the supplier. Higher (80-90%) for premium affiliates with consistently high-converting traffic; lower (50-60%) for unverified or higher-risk traffic sources. The exact percentage is a negotiation between you and the supplier — Lead Distro AI just enforces the math.

Supplier Basics

Configure lead suppliers in Lead Distro AI: API key generation, cost-per-lead tracking, source attribution, ingestion endpoints, and supplier-level reporting for every traffic source.

Supplier API Key Setup

Generate, rotate, and secure Lead Distro AI supplier API keys. Authentication header format, key compromise recovery, IP allowlisting, and FAQs.

Supplier Caps

Cap supplier lead volume and dollar spend per day, week, month, or total in Lead Distro AI. Ping caps, price-range clamps, and runaway-supplier protection.

If you have any questions, send us an email at support@leaddistro.ai

Ping-Post Guide Supplier API Key Setup