The fastest way to turn a routine agency change into a Monday-morning fire drill is to remove access first and sort out the details later.
Changing agencies should change who manages the work. It should not leave you wondering who controls billing, whether the ads can keep running, or why purchase tracking suddenly stopped.
Before the outgoing agency is removed, verify the replacement access and map anything the account depends on. “We have admin access” is a start. It is not a handover plan.
Start with dependencies, not a password spreadsheet
For every important account or asset, write down three things: who controls it now, who needs to control it next, and what could stop working when the current connection is removed. Use platform roles and business accounts instead of passing around one person’s login.
Google Ads is a good example of why the order matters. Google says unlinking a manager does not erase the client account’s campaign history. But cross-account conversion tracking, shared remarketing lists, and some billing arrangements can be affected. If the departing manager is the paying manager for monthly invoicing, ad serving can stop unless billing is changed first. Google’s current unlinking guidance explains those dependencies.
So yes, the brand may still have access to the ad account. The campaigns can still depend on something owned or configured higher up the chain.
Use an acceptance sheet
A list of invitations is not proof that the handover works. Use a worksheet like this and complete a row only after somebody has verified it.
| Area | Evidence to collect | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| Ad accounts | Account IDs and current access roles | The brand and incoming operator can open the correct accounts |
| Billing | Paying entity, payment method owner, invoicing commitments | The approved arrangement will keep delivery running |
| Measurement | Conversion sources, tag owners, integrations, campaign goals | The responsible specialist has tested the intended purchase or lead flow |
| Audiences and feeds | Owners, sharing dependencies, update process | Required resources remain available after the transition |
| Creative | Source files, approved claims, usage rights, expiration dates | The incoming team knows what it may run, edit, and renew |
| Reporting | Definitions, date ranges, attribution settings, recent exports | Both teams can reproduce the agreed baseline |
| Operations | Rules, scripts, schedules, alerts, escalation contacts | Every recurring process has a named owner |
Add columns for current owner, future owner, evidence location, deadline, and unresolved issue. Keep passwords and secret keys out of the sheet.
Ask for the decisions behind the account
A campaign export tells the next team what exists. It rarely explains why.
Ask for a short record of the current offer, products being prioritized, tests already attempted, stock or fulfillment constraints, and meaningful changes made during the latest reporting period. Include the things the old team is still unsure about. A failed test can save the next team money when the conditions and result are documented.
Keep this practical. One paragraph explaining why a campaign was paused is more useful than a folder full of unlabeled exports.
Choose a first-change window
Set the handover date, the person watching delivery, and the conditions that would pause the transition. Confirm that upcoming promotions, inventory, and fulfillment still match the media plan.
Try not to combine an agency change, a tracking replacement, a new offer, and a full campaign rebuild on the same day. If performance moves, you will have a much harder time identifying the cause. Urgent problems may need an immediate fix; document those separately from improvements that can wait.
The incoming agency should be able to explain what it wants to inspect first and what it plans to preserve. Our guide to the first 90 days with a paid social agency covers the work after the handover.
Remove access last
Before closing the transition, confirm access, billing, delivery, tracking, creative permissions, and reporting against the acceptance sheet. Then remove obsolete access through each platform’s normal process.
If something is unresolved, name the owner and the consequence. “Waiting on billing transfer; campaigns could stop if the old manager is removed” is useful. “Access pending” is not.
There is no universal number of overlap days that makes an agency change safe. A simple account may move quickly. An ecommerce program with feeds, scripts, creator rights, multiple markets, and cross-account measurement needs more care.
BPM’s paid social and paid search teams can help scope a transition. Bring the current account structure, the work you need the next team to own, and any deadline that cannot move to a conversation with BPM.
