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Google Ads Account Ownership and Access Checklist

Make sure your business, not just the agency, holds admin access, billing, tags and data.

  • Free to use
  • Runs in your browser
  • No sign-up

How to use the Account Ownership and Access Checklist

Read what the guide says

This is the Account Ownership and Access Checklist.

Make sure your business, not just the agency, holds admin access, billing, tags and data.

Answer each question from what you can see in Google Ads,

or pick Not sure. The hint under each one says where to look.

Or press Try an example to fill in sample details.

Add your business email and the agency's name if you want the message to your agency filled in.

Fix the gaps from the top of the list,

print the handover checklist and send the message, edited in your own words.

It cannot see your account, so the result is only as good as your answers.

It runs in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded.

Try it free on this page.

1. Answer what you know

Yes, No or Not sure. Unanswered questions are left out of the score. Your answers stay in this browser.

Who can get into Google Ads

Someone from your business has Admin access to the Google Ads account

Admin › Access and security › Users. Look for your own email with the access level Admin.

Two people from your business are Admin, not just one

For example the owner and a partner or a manager.

Your Admin logins use a business email address, not a personal Gmail

An address on your own domain that stays with the business, such as owner@yourshop.in.

You know every user on the account, and each has only the access they need

Access levels are Admin, Standard, Read only, Billing and Email only.

Everyone with access uses 2-Step Verification

It is turned on in each person's Google Account, under Security.

The agency's manager account

You know which manager accounts (MCC) are linked to your account

Admin › Access and security › Managers lists every linked manager account.

Your business created the account itself, not the agency inside its manager account

A manager account that creates an account owns it. Linking an existing account does not give ownership unless you turn it on.

Billing does not run through the agency's manager account

For example monthly invoicing paid by the agency from its manager account.

Billing, invoices and GST

The payments profile is in your business's name and paid from your business's card or bank account

Billing › Settings › Payer details shows the payments profile's name and address.

Someone from your business is Admin on the payments profile

Billing › Settings › Payments users. This list is separate from the Google Ads users.

Your GSTIN is in India tax info, and the bill-to address is in the same state

Payments profile settings, India tax info section.

You can download Google's invoices for your account yourself

Billing › Documents. In India, the Tax and statutory documents tab.

Tags, data and linked accounts

Your conversion actions are in your own Google Ads account

Goals › Settings › Conversion account should say "This account", not a manager account.

Your business is Administrator on Google Tag Manager and the Google tag

Tag Manager › Admin › User Management, in the Account column.

Your business is Administrator on the Google Analytics 4 account

Analytics › Admin › Account access management.

Your business is admin on Merchant Center

Merchant Center › Settings › Access and services › People and access.

You know which products are linked to Google Ads, and your business owns them

Tools › Data manager lists linked products such as Google Analytics, Merchant Center, YouTube and Business Profile.

Records and files

You have the files of your ads: images, logos and videos

Including the videos, which should sit on your own YouTube channel.

You have saved reports and a backup of the account

Reports downloaded from Google Ads, and a Google Ads Editor backup.

You have a written note of what runs in the account

Campaigns and their goals, conversion actions, scripts, automated rules, negative keyword lists and audiences.

2. For the message to your agency (optional)

Why you are writing

Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and we never sign in to Google Ads.

Your ownership check appears here

Answer a few questions, or try the example: a gym in Pune whose agency holds Admin access and the billing.

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The code is a frame with the tool in it, plus a short credit line that links to the tool's page.

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About the Account Ownership and Access Checklist

Answer Yes, No or Not sure to 20 questions about who holds the keys to your Google Ads account: Admin access, the agency's manager account, the payments profile, GST invoices, conversion tracking, Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Merchant Center and linked accounts. You get a score from our checklist, the riskiest gaps first with plain steps and the menu paths in Google's products, a handover checklist to print and a polite message to send your agency. Your answers stay in your browser, and the tool never signs in to Google Ads.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Answer each question from what you can see in Google Ads, or pick Not sure. The hint under each one says where to look.

  2. Step 2

    Add your business email and the agency's name if you want the message to your agency filled in.

  3. Step 3

    Fix the gaps from the top of the list, print the handover checklist and send the message, edited in your own words.

Why ownership matters

In Google Ads only an Admin can add or remove users, change access levels and link products such as Google Analytics, and only an Admin can make someone else Admin. An agency's manager account that created your account owns it. You can always unlink a manager account, but only once your own business has a user with access. Billing and conversion tracking can also run through the agency's manager account, and unlinking a manager account that pays for your account on monthly invoicing stops your ads, so the order of steps matters.

Billing, invoices and GST

The payments profile holds the business name, address, GSTIN and payment method, and its users are separate from your Google Ads users. Google's invoices go to the payments profile the account is billed to. In India the GSTIN must match the state of the bill-to address, or the invoice is treated as issued to an unregistered customer, and finalised invoices are not re-issued for a tax ID change. To move billing to your own profile, Google Ads uses a billing transfer called Change who pays.

What this tool cannot do

It cannot see your account, so the result is only as good as your answers. The score, the weights and the agency message are our suggestions, not Google rules and not legal advice; for a contract dispute with an agency, talk to a lawyer. Menu names in Google Ads change from time to time; if a path does not match, search Google Ads Help for the page named in the step.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check who has access to my Google Ads account?

Open Admin › Access and security in Google Ads. The Users tab lists everyone with their access level: Admin, Standard, Read only, Billing or Email only. The Managers tab lists manager accounts (MCC) linked to your account, such as your agency's. You need to be an Admin to change access levels or remove anyone.

What access should my agency have?

Enough to do the work. Standard access can change campaigns but cannot manage users, so it suits an agency that runs your ads. Keep Admin with at least one, preferably two, people from your own business, using business email addresses. This is our suggestion; agree it with your agency.

What happens when I unlink my agency's manager account?

The agency loses access through its manager account, and your account keeps its campaign history. Remarketing lists shared from the manager account stop filling, and if conversions are tracked in the manager account, its tag only records conversions from earlier clicks for the conversion window. If the manager account pays for your account on monthly invoicing, your ads stop, so set up your own billing first.

How do I move Google Ads billing to my own business?

Use the billing transfer: Billing › Settings › Payer details › Change who pays, with Admin or Billing access. Create or pick a payments profile in your business's name, with the Business type and the country your business is registered in. Billing history stays with the old profile, promotional credit does not move, and you complete advertiser verification again.

Why is GST not shown in my business's name on Google Ads invoices?

Invoices follow the payments profile. If the agency's profile pays, invoices are in their name. On your own profile, add your GSTIN in the India tax info section, in the same state as your bill-to address. Google cannot re-issue finalised invoices for a tax ID change, so it applies to later invoices.

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