Manager Account (MCC)

A manager account, often still called an MCC (My Client Center), is a separate Google Ads account built to oversee other accounts. Google's help says it is for agencies and others who run multiple accounts, and that it lets you view and manage linked accounts, including other manager accounts, from one place. It is not an upgrade of an existing account. You create it separately, then link existing client accounts or create new accounts from inside it. It holds no campaigns of its own to run ads. Its job is access, organization, and reporting across the accounts underneath it. Think of it as a switchboard and reporting layer, not a place where ads run.

To link an account, you open the Accounts area in the manager account, go to Sub-account settings, choose Link existing account, enter the customer IDs, and send the request. People with access to the target account get an invitation email, and the link takes effect once the client accepts. That approval step is deliberate: a manager cannot attach itself to someone else's account. Users on the client account keep signing in as usual, and they cannot see the manager account or its other clients. A client administrator can unlink the manager at any time. Managers can also invite their own team members and give them different levels of access. Ask clients to confirm the customer ID before you send a request, so the invitation reaches the right account.

Manager accounts interact with billing and reporting more than with campaign settings. Google says a manager account is required for accounts that use monthly invoicing. Within the manager you can search accounts from one dashboard, compare performance, run reports across clients, and set alerts to monitor linked accounts. Google also recommends a manager account if you manage more than 20 accounts, since up to 20 accounts can be associated with one email address. Bulk actions across accounts are possible, and scripts written at the manager level can loop through child accounts. None of this changes how an individual campaign bids; each client's bid strategy still lives in that client's account. Billing arrangements vary, so agree in writing who pays Google and who handles invoices.

The key boundary is ownership. Linking does not transfer the client's account to the agency, and Google describes ownership as a separate role the client admin grants under Admin, Access and security. A frequent mistake is the reverse: an agency creates the client's account inside the agency manager and the client never sees the billing or history. When the relationship ends, the client has to rebuild. A second mistake is giving everyone admin access out of convenience. Use the lowest access level that lets each person do their job. A third is mixing unrelated clients' data in shared reports without checking who can see the output. Keep a simple register of which accounts you manage and for whom, since a long list becomes hard to audit by memory.

If you hire an agency, ask who owns the account and request admin access to it, whatever the agency's manager account does. If you are the agency, document which accounts are linked, who has access, and what billing arrangement applies. Review the list of linked accounts and users every quarter and remove anyone who has left. If you run several brands of your own, a manager account is also a sensible way to keep one login and one set of cross-account reports. This week, open the Accounts view and check that every account you expect appears, and that no unfamiliar manager is linked to yours. Ask each client to confirm they can still sign in directly, which proves they hold real control of their own account.