Switching Amazon agencies involves more than introducing a new account manager. Someone needs to keep watching advertising budgets, resolve open account issues, and know which listing changes are ready to publish while the relationship changes hands.
Before the outgoing agency finishes, agree what must be handed over, who will do each job, and how you will confirm the new team is ready. A shared checklist makes those decisions visible.
This guide is for brands changing the team that manages their existing Amazon business. It is not a guide to selling a business or transferring account ownership. We offer Amazon account management and PPC management, so we have a commercial interest in helping brands choose a provider. The worksheet below is planning guidance, not a promise that a transition will preserve sales or rankings.
1. Define what the new agency needs to do differently
Write down why you are considering a change in terms the next provider can act on. “We need better results” leaves too much room for different expectations.
More useful examples are:
- Advertising decisions need to reflect product margins and inventory constraints.
- Open catalog issues need a named owner and a visible next action.
- Reports need to explain what changed and what happens next.
- Creative projects need a written scope, approval process and delivery schedule.
Separate what the agency can manage from decisions your brand retains, such as purchasing inventory, approving product claims and setting commercial targets. If the problem is unclear scope, carrying the same ambiguity into a new agreement will not solve it.
If you are still deciding whether to hire another agency, use our agency, in-house and freelancer comparison first.
2. Agree the exit arrangements and cutoff
Review your existing agreement for the notice period, final fees, remaining deliverables, file access and any transition support. Ask the outgoing agency to confirm the practical arrangements in writing. Do not assume that editable design files, proprietary tools or agency-owned dashboards are included in the handover.
Record:
- The last date of active management and the reporting period covered by the final report.
- Who handles urgent account issues before and after that date.
- Which outstanding work will be completed, transferred or cancelled.
- Which files and reports will be supplied, in what format and where.
- Which software subscriptions will continue, change owner or end.
- The agreed point for removing the outgoing team's access.
Use a named brand contact to coordinate the transition. If two agencies overlap, assign one decision-maker for each work area. Two people changing the same campaign or listing can make it difficult to understand what happened.
3. Check access before the incoming team needs it
Create an access inventory covering Seller Central, Amazon Ads, Brand Registry where relevant, connected applications, and shared file or reporting systems. Record who controls each system and what the incoming team needs to do there.
Keep the brand's primary credentials and recovery methods under brand control. Use the appropriate authorization process instead of sharing the owner's password.
Amazon's current service-provider authorization guidance describes a flow where sellers review the provider's approved roles and can restrict access before confirming. The provider needs approval for the relevant Seller Central roles before the seller can grant them. Ask the incoming agency to identify its required roles and confirm that it is ready for authorization.
Treat advertising access as a separate item to verify. Amazon also provides instructions for inviting and removing advertising users. Follow the current process shown for your account rather than assuming that one Seller Central permission covers every advertising task.
For each system, ask the incoming team to confirm that it can perform the agreed work. An invitation being sent is not the same as usable access.
4. Build the handover inventory
Use this table as a starting worksheet. Remove rows outside your scope and add an owner, due date and file link to each remaining item.
| Work area | What to request | How to check the handover |
|---|---|---|
| Account access | Systems, authorized parties, required roles and brand administrator | Incoming team confirms the access needed for its agreed tasks |
| Advertising | Campaign structure, current budgets, targets, exclusions, recent changes and available reports | New manager can explain the current setup and identify planned changes |
| Catalog and account issues | ASIN/SKU list, open case IDs, notices, deadlines and previous actions | Each unresolved issue has a named owner and next step |
| Creative | Current images, copy, A+ Content and storefront assets; editable files where agreed | Files open, versions are identifiable and usage rights are documented |
| Inventory and promotions | Stock concerns, inbound plans, promotion dates and dependencies | Brand and agency agree who monitors, recommends and approves actions |
| Reporting | Available exports, metric definitions, reporting dates and product-level context | Incoming team can reproduce or explain the baseline |
| Tools and automation | Connected tools, subscription contacts, rules and scheduled actions | Every rule or connection has an explicit keep, replace or stop decision |
Request business records needed for the work, not a bulk copy of unnecessary customer information. Store the handover in a brand-controlled location with appropriate access.
Advertising needs context as well as exports
A report can show what happened without explaining why the previous manager made a decision. Ask for notes on recent tests, product priorities, budget constraints and changes that have not yet been evaluated.
Also ask which actions are automated. A bid rule or scheduled tool action can continue to influence decisions if nobody has taken responsibility for reviewing it. Confirm what should remain active and who will monitor it.
Request available historical reports before the engagement ends. Do not assume every report or agency dashboard will remain accessible indefinitely, or that every tool offers the same export options.
Creative files need a usable version history
Label what is live, what is approved but unpublished, and what is still a draft. Include the supporting material for product claims and any restrictions on third-party imagery or other licensed assets.
A folder of exported images is not necessarily a complete editable project. Resolve that distinction before the new team quotes for revisions or rebuilds.
5. Record a baseline before making major changes
Choose a comparison period and record its exact dates. Include the sales and advertising measures relevant to your scope, alongside stock availability, prices, promotions and unresolved listing issues.
For advertising, distinguish attributed ad sales from total account sales. Keep report definitions and date ranges consistent. Our PPC fee comparison guide also explains why agency fees and ad spend should be separated when assessing costs.
Create a simple change log with the date, affected ASIN or campaign, action, reason, person responsible and review point. This gives the incoming team a way to explain its work without treating every fluctuation as proof that the switch helped or hurt.
Avoid making a large campaign restructure, a pricing change and a full listing rewrite at the same time unless there is a clear reason. Where urgent fixes are needed, document them and their timing.
6. Assign responsibility through the transition
A handover is incomplete if files have moved but nobody knows who is watching the account.
| Decision or task | Suggested responsibility to confirm |
|---|---|
| Approve spend limits, prices and commercial priorities | Brand owner or nominated brand lead |
| Make campaign changes during overlap | One named advertising manager, with an explicit cutoff |
| Monitor account notices and open cases | Named outgoing or incoming account manager for each period |
| Supply product facts and approve claims | Brand's nominated product or compliance contact |
| Publish approved creative | Named team with the required access and agreed scope |
| Remove outgoing access and review connected tools | Brand administrator, with technical support where needed |
This is a proposed division of work, not a universal agency package. Adjust it to your agreement.
At Maester Solutions, account management and PPC are separately scoped services. Existing A+ Content and storefront upkeep are included in account management; new creative work is quoted separately. Confirm what “taking over the account” includes before assuming one fee covers every task.
7. Sign off the handover and review the first reporting cycle
Before closing the transition, confirm that:
- The brand retains control of its account administration and recovery methods.
- The incoming team has tested the access required for its work.
- Reports and agreed assets are saved in the shared location.
- Open cases, upcoming promotions and inventory concerns have owners.
- Advertising budgets, approval limits and automation decisions are documented.
- The outgoing team's cutoff is confirmed and obsolete access is removed.
- Connected applications, manager relationships and shared folders have been reviewed separately.
- The first reporting meeting is booked with an agreed agenda.
At that meeting, ask what the new team found, what it changed, what is still blocked and what it needs from your brand. Compare results with the recorded baseline while accounting for changes in stock, pricing and promotions. A short transition period is not enough to isolate every cause of performance movement.
Questions to ask a replacement Amazon agency
Before signing, ask:
- What do you need from us and the outgoing agency before work starts?
- Which tasks are included, and which require a separate quote?
- Who will work on the account and who handles urgent issues?
- Which permissions do you need, and why?
- What will you review before deciding to change campaigns or listings?
- How will you document decisions and report unresolved issues?
- What reports and files will we receive if we later leave?
Look for specific answers that match your account's needs. A promise of immediate growth does not replace an agreed scope or a workable handover.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a new Amazon seller account when switching agencies?
A change of service provider is not, by itself, a reason to create a new seller account. Plan the transition around your existing account and the permissions needed by the incoming team. If account ownership or your business structure is also changing, treat that as a separate issue and check Amazon's applicable requirements.
Should I remove the old agency's access before the new agency starts?
For a planned handover, agree the cutoff and verify who will cover each task before removing access. Keep any overlap limited and assign one person to make changes in each work area. Suspected unauthorized activity requires a separate security response rather than waiting for a routine handover.
Will switching agencies affect my Amazon sales?
No agency can guarantee that sales will remain unchanged during a transition. Inventory, pricing, advertising, competition and other factors can affect results. Record a baseline and a change log so you can assess what changed without attributing every movement to the handover.
How long does an Amazon agency handover take?
There is no single timetable that fits every account. Plan around your notice period, access approvals, available files, open account issues and the incoming scope. Agree milestones and acceptance criteria before committing to a final cutoff date.
Discuss your agency handover
If you are considering Maester Solutions, book a free 15-minute call to discuss your current setup, the support you need and the information required to assess the fit.
Prefer to write? Send us a message with the services you want to change, your target transition date and the main issue you need the next team to address. Do not send account passwords or sensitive customer data.