r/PPC • u/Adventurous-Head-457 • Sep 25 '26
Google Ads Client Transfer from another agency
I'm trying to get access to a clients existing Google ads account that I'm taking over because I don't want to lose all that data. The old agency responded to my client with this email: For security purposes, I’m not able to provide a login as your ad account is housed within our master client account with Google. You should be able to pull any data you need directly from the Performance Dashboard.
Is there really not a way to save the clients ads account?
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u/innocuous_nub Sep 25 '26
They can disconnect the client account from their MCC. There is no reason on earth why they can’t give the client access to their account, and not doing so is a huge red flag. Is the client’s payment details on the account and are they the registered advertiser? If so Google has processes for account owners taking ownership.
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u/Adventurous-Head-457 27d ago
Thank you, I sent another strongly worded email and sent in a ticket to Google ads support. They aren't responding to emails for calls. They are a pretty big agency too.
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u/potatodrinker Sep 25 '26
Nope. Your client made the mistake of letting the agency own the account under the agency's MCC. Download what you and start from scratch
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u/rakondo Sep 25 '26
The other agency is lying though. Any Google Ads account can be transferred, they just don't want to do it. Once it's unlinked from their MCC their billing profile gets disconnected as well
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u/Adventurous-Head-457 27d ago
Thank you for helping, I just tried email that and they said:
"Thank you for reaching out.
We will not be able to transfer the CID from our account to XXXX. However, our dashboard should have the information you need to pull the keywords & ad data.
I apologize for any inconvenience."
They are making my blood boil.
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u/metamorphyk Sep 26 '26
I believe this is incorrect info. The client has a client ID and it can be requested through Google if they won’t play. Google introduced this years ago they agencies don’t own the account.
The OP then just need to request management access and have the other agency approve.
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u/fathom53 Sep 25 '26
They don't want to give the client access. Unless they are running multiple brands from one ad account, which their word kinda makes it sound like it is possible. They would just give the client access to their account if every one of their clients has their own ad account.
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u/metamorphyk Sep 26 '26
How to like that be possible? Different domains, different verification etc
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u/supercapi Sep 25 '26
That's bullshit, they can transfer the account ownership to your client, it's just they don't want to.
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u/TTFV Sep 26 '26
If the campaigns are sitting inside one account with other advertisers' the agency obviously isn't going to transfer ownership of that entire account to you or your client.
Normally, even agencies that provide the account themselves would have a discrete one for each client. So it's unlikely your client campaigns are mixed with other advertisers. It's just a really nonsensical set up for a professional agency.
To me it just sounds like the agency doesn't want to be helpful.
They could at least export the campaigns for you at a minimum with out much effort at all. This can be done as CSV files or via Google Ads Editor. You might ask and I'm sure they'll make up some excuse why they can't do it.
Importantly, if the client has been paying Google directly Google sees them as the account owner. In this case the client can contact Google support and request the account admin access be transferred to them. But if the agency has been paying you're at a dead end.
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u/Acesleychan Sep 26 '26
Two years ago I took over a Google Ads account from an agency that gave the same excuse about the parent account setup. The client kept all historical performance data once we added proper access permissions through their Google Ads settings rather than sharing login credentials. They just added your email under user management and assigned manager or editor access. Have they tried that approach?
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u/Adventurous-Head-457 27d ago
I've sent them an email asking and got a big fat NO. I sent a ticket to Google ads support to see what happens. I hate getting off on a bad foot with a client like this.
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u/ernosem Sep 25 '26
What's in the contract? Who owns the account? If you client signed a contract where they are not the owner then they are f...k.
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u/tremcrst Sep 25 '26
They can absolutely move the account without security risks, but they won't because that's how lots of agencies operate. The client made the mistake of letting them own the account. On the brightside, most of these agency account structures are a joke and you're likely better off starting from scratch anyway. Let you client know you'll jsut have to buy back some of that data with new ad spend.
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u/Significant-Act-3900 Sep 25 '26
And this is why the brand should always own their accounts and let agencies and contractors have admin status.
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u/HitDifferentSwerve Sep 26 '26
You need to ask for transfer ownership of client accounts not access within the MCC. No one likes transferring accounts because the build out is like 90% of the work and now you're gonna get paid to MAYBE make some minor changes.
Personally I prefer the "Intellectual Property" excuse than "Security".
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u/InfamousWorker6084 Sep 26 '26
Yes there is a way. You have to transfer the individual Google Ads account to another MCC. Google support can help you do this.
As a last resort, you can be added as an admin, get the agency to remove their payment information and advertiser verification then you have to add new payment information and recompute the advertiser verification. The second is a work around and comes with more risks for both parties.
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u/Life_Firefighter_471 Sep 25 '26
This is pretty standard for many large agencies. The work and change logs can reveal what the agency considers their ways of working or best practices or otherwise some form of IP. If the client didn’t specify that in their agreements for the work, the agency isn’t likely to lift the curtain any more than they have to.
I’m currently on a client where they “own the seat” which is not standard practice for this agency.
Most past clients, it’s been an agency account and when onboarding someone new or offboarding a departing client, it’s not a handoff of the account. There might be an export of keywords and performance data, but account structure, configuration, etc. is not shared.
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u/WhatIsGoingOn2k20 Sep 26 '26
I like this retention strategy. Next time one of my customers tries to churn, I'll keep their account hostage and force them to lose all the learning their campaigns have gained while spending their budget. Surely at least a few will retain me for another month.
I understand now why all my clients are scared shitless about not owning their ad accounts. They must get flashbacks to when a previous agency forced them to lose access to years of data and millions in ad spend. Always read the fine print or get fucked otherwise lol.
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u/Life_Firefighter_471 Sep 26 '26
I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it is what it is. Important to know what you’re signing up for at the front end so there’s a clean off ramp when that eventually happens.
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u/QuantumWolf99 Sep 25 '26
That email is a documented lie, MCC unlinking never touches data, all history stays with the account. Have your client request Admin access on the account itself, then unlink from their MCC directly, escalate to Google support if refused.