An agency set up your Google Ads two years ago. You pay their invoice each month, which includes the ad spend. You have never logged into the account, and when you ask for access you get a PDF report instead. Then the relationship ends, and you discover the account, its history, its conversion data and even the Google Analytics property are all held under the agency’s login.
This is more common than it should be, and it is avoidable. This post explains how to own your Google Ads account while working with an agency, the difference between admin and standard access, how manager accounts work, why billing should be in your name, and what to do when an agency leaves.
Why you should own your Google Ads account
A Google Ads account is more than a set of campaigns. It holds the history of every search that triggered your ads, every conversion recorded, every keyword that worked and every one that did not. Automated bidding learns from that history. Starting a new account means starting that learning again.
If the account belongs to someone else, you cannot see what happened with your money, cannot stop spending without their help, and may lose everything if you part ways. Owning it does not mean you have to run it. It means you can always see it, and you can always decide who else gets in.
Give an agency access to Google Ads, not ownership
The healthy arrangement is simple: the account is created under a business email you control, and the agency is added to it. There are two common ways to add them.
Adding a user directly
In the account’s access and security settings, you invite a person by email and choose their access level. Each person then logs in with their own Google login. This works well for a freelancer or a small team.
Linking an agency’s manager account
Agencies usually have a manager account, a special account that can hold many client accounts and let their team work on all of them. The agency sends a link request from their manager account to your account ID. You accept it in your account’s access settings. Their team can then work on your account through their manager login.
A manager link is not the same as handing over ownership. You can see it in your settings, and as an admin you can remove it whenever you choose.
Admin vs standard access, and the other levels
| Access level | What it allows in broad terms | Who should have it |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Full control, including managing users and linked accounts | The business owner, and perhaps one trusted person in the business |
| Standard | Create and edit campaigns and view reports, without managing users | Most people who run campaigns day to day, including agency staff |
| Read only | View campaigns and reports without changing them | Partners, accountants, or a second opinion |
| Billing | Manage billing details | Someone in accounts who handles payments |
| Email only | Receive emails and reports, without logging in to make changes | Someone who only needs to be kept informed |
The exact permissions can shift as Google updates the account, so check the description shown when you invite someone. The principle stays the same: at least one admin should always be someone in your business, and agencies rarely need admin rights to do their work.
Billing in your name
The payment method on the account should belong to your business. That way Google invoices you directly, the ad spend shows on your own statements, and you can see exactly what Google charged, separately from what you pay the agency for managing it.
Some agencies use billing arrangements where ad spend is paid through them and included in their invoice. That can be convenient, but it makes it harder to check what was actually spent with Google, and it can complicate things if you leave. If you choose it, ask for Google’s own invoices or billing summary each month alongside the agency’s invoice.
The other accounts that matter just as much
Google Ads rarely works alone, and agencies often set up the surrounding tools too. Check that you are an admin on each:
- Google Analytics property, which holds website data and key events.
- Google Tag Manager container, which may hold all your tracking tags.
- Google Business Profile, if linked for location assets.
- Merchant Center, if you run Shopping ads.
- YouTube channel, if video ads use it.
The same rule applies to Meta. Our post on giving an agency access to your Meta ads covers business portfolios, pages and ad accounts.
If the agency created the account
If an agency already built your account inside their manager account, you may not have a login at all. Do this while the relationship is still friendly:
- Ask them to add your business email as an admin on the Google Ads account itself.
- Accept the invitation, log in with your own login, and confirm you can see every campaign, the billing area and the access settings.
- Check who else has access, and ask about any names you do not recognise.
- Check the payment method and move it to your business card or account if it is the agency’s.
- Do the same for Analytics, Tag Manager and the other accounts above.
Most reputable agencies agree readily. Hesitation or refusal is itself useful information about the relationship.
What to do when an agency leaves
Whether you end the arrangement or they do, work through a short list before access is removed:
- Confirm your admin access works on Google Ads, Analytics and Tag Manager.
- Download what you need. Reports for the past year or more, the keyword and negative lists, and notes on what was tested.
- Ask for a handover note. What is running, what was changed recently, what tracking is in place and anything that needs attention.
- Check the billing. Make sure the payment method is yours and that no agency billing setup will stop the ads.
- Remove their access. Remove individual users, and unlink their manager account, in the access settings.
- Check the tracking still works. Agencies sometimes use their own Tag Manager containers. If they remove theirs, your conversion tracking may stop. Test every conversion afterwards.
- Decide whether to keep campaigns running. Pause them if nobody will be watching the account for a while.
Signs an arrangement is unhealthy
- You have no login to the account, only reports.
- You cannot see what Google charged, only an agency total.
- Requests for admin access are delayed or refused.
- The contract says the agency owns the account or its data.
- Tracking lives only in the agency’s own tools.
None of these is necessarily a sign of bad faith, but each one leaves you dependent. Fixing them early is easier than fixing them at the end. If you are setting up a new account from scratch, the step-by-step account setup post shows how to get this right from day one, and our introduction to how Google Ads works covers the rest of a first setup.
Frequently asked questions
Can I remove an agency from my Google Ads account without their agreement?
If you are an admin on the account, yes. You can remove individual users and unlink a manager account from the access settings. Before doing so, download any reports you need and check whether your tracking depends on tools they control, so removing them does not stop conversions being recorded.
Will my campaigns stop if I unlink the agency’s manager account?
Not by themselves, as long as the account has a valid payment method of its own and was not relying on agency billing. Campaigns keep running under your account. If ad spend was billed through the agency, set up your own payment method first so the ads are not paused when the link ends.
Is it safe to give an agency admin access?
It can be, with an agency you trust, but it is rarely necessary. Admin rights include managing users and links, which means an admin could remove you. Standard access lets them run campaigns fully. If they need admin for a particular task, grant it, then switch them back afterwards.
We set up every account we run so that it belongs to the client, with billing in their name and our access added on top. That is how our Google Ads management works, and it is a fair standard to expect from anyone. For the full set of channels a small business might use, see our digital marketing services overview.
