How to leave a marketing agency without losing your accounts
A checklist for the handover, so you keep your ads, pages, website and data.
1. Read the contract
- Notice period and any minimum term
- Who owns the content, designs and ad creative
- What happens to accounts the agency set up in its own name
2. Get owner access to every account
| Account | What you need |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | You as the primary owner |
| Facebook page and Instagram | Full control in Meta Business settings |
| Google Ads and Meta ad accounts | Admin access, and the billing card in your name |
| Website and hosting | Admin login, and the hosting account in your name |
| Domain name | Registered to your business, renewal date known |
| Google Analytics and Search Console | Admin or owner access |
Do this before you give notice. It’s much easier while the relationship is friendly.
3. Download your work
Logos and brand files, photos, post designs, ad copy, blog posts, email lists (with consent records) and the last 12 months of reports.
4. Have the replacement ready
Decide who does each job from day one. Many small businesses keep a specialist for ads and move routine posts, blogs and newsletters to AI. JENA’s Marketing Manager, Content Writer and Social Media Manager draft that work from NZ$29 a month, GST included, and ask before anything is posted. Full disclosure: NOVA makes JENA.
5. Tell customers nothing changed
Keep posting through the handover. A two-week gap is what customers notice, not who wrote the posts.
Start with the overview: marketing agency or AI? What NZ businesses pay in 2027.
Questions
How do I get my Facebook page back from an agency?
Ask the agency to give your business full control in Meta Business settings before you give notice, then remove their access after the handover.
Who owns content an agency made for me?
It depends on your contract. Check the intellectual property clause before you leave and ask for the files.
What should I do first when leaving a marketing agency?
Read the contract, then get owner or admin access to every account before you give notice.
Give the busywork to an AI team.
Pick a role, connect your apps and approve the first job. Free for 7 days, no card.