Ad accounts often start as a quick favour: someone on the team opens an account with a personal email, adds a credit card and starts spending. Months later the company has real budgets running through an account that nobody in finance can see, and nobody is sure who would recover access if the person left. A one-page ownership sheet turns this into a managed asset. It takes about an hour to fill in and protects both marketing and finance.
What to record for each account
Create one row per platform account, with these columns:
- Platform and account ID: for example Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, with the numeric ID.
- Legal entity: the company named on the account. Do not leave this as a personal name.
- Business manager or parent account: where the account sits, and who the administrators are.
- Admin owner and backup: two named people, with company email addresses.
- Login method: which email receives security codes, and where recovery options are stored.
- Payment method: card type and last four digits, billing mode, credit limit or prepaid balance.
- Billing contact: who receives invoices and failed-payment notices.
- Monthly spend range: the normal range, and the level that requires approval.
- Agency access: which external partners have access, at what level, and since when.
Principles that keep the sheet useful
Company ownership first. The account should belong to a company asset, such as a business manager under the company's name, with individuals added as users. This matters for recovery and also when an account is reviewed by the platform.
Two administrators at least. One person on holiday or leaving the company should never be the only route to the account.
Least privilege for agencies. External partners need the access required for their job. Many only need to manage campaigns, not billing or user permissions. Record the level you granted and review it quarterly.
Billing visible to finance. The person who reconciles costs should receive invoices directly, and should know the billing mode. A prepaid account behaves differently from a post-paid one in a busy week.
How the sheet helps in real situations
When a payment fails, the sheet shows who is notified and which backup method exists. When an employee leaves, you can see exactly which accounts need a new administrator. When an account is restricted, you have the legal entity, the documents used at registration and the contacts ready to hand to the platform's support team. When you change agencies, you can remove access in a single pass.
Keep supporting documents with it
Store the documents used to open each account in a shared folder with limited access: business registration, the website address, the advertiser identity verification where required, and any approvals. Our ad account opening documents checklist lists the usual items by platform, so you know what to collect before you need it.
Review rhythm
Review the sheet at the start of each quarter. Check the admin lists, remove users who no longer need access, confirm payment methods have not expired, and verify that spend ranges still match reality. Date the review at the top of the sheet.
An ownership sheet is not exciting, but it prevents a predictable class of problems, and it is easy to start. Do one account today, and add the rest during the week.
Published by PandaWM, an overseas marketing team based in Hong Kong.