To give access to Google Ads, an account administrator can invite an individual user or approve a link from an agency’s Google Ads manager account, often called an MCC. For an agency managing several clients, use the manager-link workflow so staff access can be managed within the agency.
Before sending anything, agree on the client’s advertising account ID, the agency’s manager ID, and the person who can approve access. A company name alone is unreliable when the client has several accounts.
How the account owner gives access
Invite an individual user
Use this route for a named consultant, employee, or reporting reviewer.
- Sign in to the correct Google Ads account as an administrator.
- Open Admin → Access and security and select the plus button in the user list.
- Enter the recipient’s Google Account email and choose an access level.
- Select Send invitation.
- Ask the recipient to accept the email invitation, then check the user list.
Google’s user-access instructions cover invitations and later changes or removal. Never send your own login credentials as a shortcut.
Approve your agency’s manager link
Once the agency sends its request, open Admin → Access and security → Managers in the client account. Find the pending link request, verify the manager’s identity, and select Accept. Google documents this separately from individual user invitations.
Confirm the manager ID with your agency contact through your existing conversation if the request is unexpected.
How the agency requests access
- Obtain the client’s ten-digit Google Ads customer ID.
- Sign in to the agency’s intended manager account.
- Open Accounts → Sub-account settings, select the plus button, then Link existing account.
- Enter the client customer ID, select Preview, verify the destination manager, and select Send Request.
- Ask the client administrator to approve the request under Managers.
- Open the linked account from your MCC and confirm that it is the intended advertiser.
These steps follow Google’s manager-link guide. Sending a request is not completion: assign a team member to verify the account after acceptance.
Use a request like this:
Please send the Google Ads customer ID for the account that currently runs your campaigns. We’ll request a link from [agency name], manager ID [ID]. Your administrator can approve it under Admin → Access and security → Managers. Please keep your existing campaigns running; we’ll confirm the handover date separately.
Which permissions should an agency use?
For direct user invitations, match access to the assignment:
| Assignment | Starting role | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Audit or reporting | Read-only | Inspect performance without campaign edits |
| Day-to-day campaign management | Standard | Edit campaigns without routine user administration |
| User management or manager-link approval | Admin | Perform account administration |
| Finance-only work | Billing | Keep the assignment focused on billing |
Standard access also permits billing edits; it is not a campaign-only role. Manager linking is a separate access model, and administrative ownership is an additional privilege, not a requirement for ordinary campaign management. Consult Google’s access-level comparison before assigning administrative work.
Our recommendation: retain a client-side administrator and ask that person to perform occasional privileged actions when practical. Do not request ownership just to make an onboarding checklist turn green.
Common access problems and what to check
The client cannot find the request
Compare the customer ID on the client’s screen with the ID in your sent request. Then check Managers, rather than only the individual user list. Have the client confirm they are using an administrator login.
The client sent access to the wrong email
For a direct invitation, revoke and resend it to the agreed Google Account email. Keep the destination identity in your onboarding record so another team member does not repeat the same request.
The manager link fails
Record the exact error and inspect the existing manager hierarchy before changing links. An account may already be reachable through another part of your hierarchy. Avoid unlinking a previous agency until you understand who owns billing, integrations, and the active handover.
Access works, but the account looks empty
Check the account ID, date range, campaign filters, and paused campaigns. Ask the client which account generated the latest invoice or report. Do not create a replacement advertising account merely because the first account you opened has no visible activity.
Security and handover checks
Use individual staff identities protected by two-step verification. Record who approved the agency link and why any additional administrative privileges were needed.
Before launch, verify the account’s currency, timezone, active campaigns, and conversion actions against the client brief. Avoid a “test edit” in a live campaign just to prove access. At offboarding, reconcile manager links and direct user invitations; one person may have received access through both routes.
The PPC launch readiness checklist covers the remaining launch decisions. After handover, use the guide to monitoring multiple Google Ads accounts to assign ongoing account coverage.
Simplify access when several clients are onboarding
When each client also needs to share Analytics and Tag Manager, separate instruction emails become difficult to track. LeadUp’s client onboarding software lets an agency configure its Google Ads MCC and share a reusable connection link for the supported Google products. Clients sign in through Google and select the accounts to connect.
Review the connection results, resolve unsuccessful requests, and then run your own account checks. A successful link confirms access; campaign readiness still requires the agency’s review.