Handing an agency your Seller Central login is like giving a contractor your house keys, the deed and the safe combination because the front door sticks. [Stares at the safe.] It works until it does not, and then it works very badly.
To give an Amazon agency access safely, invite each person individually through Seller Central's User Permissions page and the Amazon Ads console, grant only the sections their scope needs, keep bank, tax and primary-admin control with you, keep a backup admin, and put account and data ownership in writing. Never share your password or your login device.
A sourcing note: the Amazon Ads details below come from Amazon's advertiser account guide. We could not find an official Seller Central page for permissions, so those steps and labels come from third-party guides and our own experience. Menus and permission names change, so confirm each step in your own account. The suggested permissions are our starting point, not an Amazon rule.
- 01What Access Does an Amazon Agency Actually Need?
- 02How Do You Set Up Seller Central User Permissions?
- 03How Do You Give an Agency Access to Amazon Ads?
- 04What Should You Never Share With an Agency?
- 05How Do You Keep Ownership of Your Account and Data?
- 06What Should You Ask the Agency About Access?
- 07How Do You Remove Agency Access When You Leave?
- 08FAQ
What Access Does an Amazon Agency Actually Need?
It depends on the scope. An agency running only advertising needs far less than one running listings, inventory and the whole channel. Start from the job and work backward.
| Area | Advertising only | Full account management | Our default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising console | Editor | Editor | Grant in the Ads console, which is separate from Seller Central |
| Listings and catalog | View | View and edit | Edit only when listings are in scope |
| Inventory and shipments | View | View and edit | View first, upgrade when needed |
| Pricing and promotions | None or view | View and edit | Edit only with an agreed pricing process |
| Orders and reports | View | View | View |
| Account Health and performance | View | View | View |
| Payments, bank and tax details | None | None | Keep with the owner |
| User permissions and account settings | None | None | Keep with the owner |
Two points on that table. First, general Seller Central access does not always include the advertising console, per third-party guides. Check that the ad permission is actually there. Second, one agency guide we read recommends granting admin across every category. We disagree. Admin includes the ability to manage other users and change account settings, which is exactly what you do not want to delegate by default.
How Do You Set Up Seller Central User Permissions?
Third-party guides describe the same flow. Confirm each step in your own account before you rely on it.
Step 1. Sign in as the primary account holder and open Settings, then User Permissions. Guides say only that role can add users, and that the feature is for professional selling accounts.
Step 2. Invite the person by name and email, one invite per individual. Do not create a shared "agency" login.
Step 3. Ask the invitee to accept the invitation. One guide advises that they sign out of any other Amazon account first, so the invite does not attach to the wrong login.
Step 4. Once they appear in your list of current users, use the manage permissions option to set each area to none, view or edit. Start with view and upgrade when there is a reason.
Step 5. Add a second admin you control, so a lost phone or a departed employee does not lock you out. A short setup walkthrough is in Intentwise's guide.
How Do You Give an Agency Access to Amazon Ads?
The ad account is separate from Seller Central, and it deserves its own decision. Per Amazon's advertiser account guide, you can invite users at the manager account or advertiser level with standard roles (admin, editor, viewer) or custom application-level permissions, such as reporting only. Agencies typically work through a manager account, which lets them manage several clients from one place without logging in as you.
Billing is a choice you make during setup. Amazon's guide describes a bill-to-partner option and a bill-to-advertiser option. We prefer the brand keep the payment method and own the advertiser account, so the history stays with you if you ever switch agencies. If you want to see how an agency-side linking request works, the Leadsie walkthrough explains it, and notes that linking a manager account does not require sharing your login.
What Should You Never Share With an Agency?
How Do You Keep Ownership of Your Account and Data?
What Should You Ask the Agency About Access?
Four questions, asked before anyone logs in. Which named individuals will have access? Our view is that the question that matters most with any agency is who, specifically, works on your account, and how many other accounts they carry. Will anyone use a shared login? The answer should be no. Do subcontractors or offshore staff get access? If so, you want to know and approve it. How is our data stored and what happens to it on exit? The answer should be specific, not a shrug.
If a firm gets prickly about individual invites, you have learned something about how it runs accounts. For more of that pattern, see 9 Amazon agency red flags.
How Do You Remove Agency Access When You Leave?
Do this on the same day the contract ends, and export your data first.
Step 1. Export the reports and account history you want to keep, before access is removed.
Step 2. Remove each agency user from Seller Central's user list.
Step 3. In the Amazon Ads console, unlink the agency's manager account, and separately remove any agency staff who were invited as individual users. Per Leadsie's walkthrough, unlinking the manager account does not remove people invited individually.
Step 4. Change any shared credentials and rotate access for connected tools.
Step 5. Check Brand Registry and storefront roles for leftovers.
If you are moving to a new partner, our guide to Amazon agency alternatives lays out the other models.
FAQ
No. Invite each person individually through Seller Central's User Permissions page and the Amazon Ads console. Shared logins leave no record of who did what, and you cannot remove one person without changing the password for everyone.
It depends on scope. An advertising-only agency usually needs view access to listings, inventory and reports, plus the advertising console. A full account management team may need edit access to listings, inventory and pricing. Bank, tax and user-permission controls should stay with the owner. Treat our table as a starting point and confirm names in your own account.
Yes. The advertising console has its own users and roles. Amazon's advertiser account guide describes inviting users at the manager account or advertiser level with admin, editor or viewer roles, or custom permissions such as reporting only.
Yes, and it is a sensible starting point. Per third-party guides, Seller Central lets you set areas to none, view or edit. Start with view access and upgrade specific areas when the agency has a reason and a process.
The brand. When the brand owns the advertiser account and the payment method, the campaign history stays with you if you change agencies. Agencies work through a manager account or individual invites.
Export your data first. Then remove the agency's users from Seller Central, unlink the manager account in the Amazon Ads console, remove any individually invited agency staff there, change shared credentials and check Brand Registry roles.