The First Twenty-Four Hours: A Checklist for a Newly Delivered Account — Account Academy

At delivery: preserve the handoff

The first day is for acceptance and control, not for putting an account to work. Treat a delivered Meta, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, or other platform account as a product that needs inspection. This checklist covers whether the agreed item was delivered, whether access works, and whether the account can be responsibly secured. It does not cover warming up an account, creating campaigns, or sending traffic; those are separate tasks.

Do immediately: Save the seller’s written description, the agreed account type and scope, delivery instructions, and any stated deadline for raising acceptance issues. Keep these records in a place your team can access. Do not rely on a chat message that may be difficult to find later.
Do immediately: Record when delivery occurred and when the seller’s check window ends. Set a reminder well before the end so there is time to inspect the account and report a genuine discrepancy.
Do immediately: Keep the handoff materials private. Do not paste passwords, recovery details, or verification codes into a shared document or general team chat.
Can wait: Organizing long-term operating notes or preparing campaign plans. Neither is part of acceptance, and neither should distract from checking the delivered account.

If the delivery differs from what was agreed, pause. Record the mismatch and contact the seller through the agreed channel while the check window is open. Do not attempt to make an unsuitable account appear acceptable by changing its identity or concealing its status.

As soon as access is available: confirm you can enter

Use the platform’s normal sign-in process and the access method provided for the delivery. Check that you can reach the account or business environment you were told to expect. A successful login alone does not establish that the right account was delivered, so compare what you see with the written handoff.

Do immediately: Confirm that the login works and that you can reach the relevant area: for example, Meta Business settings, Google Ads, or TikTok Ads Manager, depending on the product purchased.
Do immediately: Check the account name, business or organization context, and visible account identifiers against the seller’s description. Record discrepancies without making assumptions about why they occurred.
Do immediately: Note any access barriers, prompts, restrictions, or requests for additional verification. Follow the platform’s legitimate process. If you cannot complete it with information you are entitled to use, stop and ask the seller or platform for clarification.
Can wait: Exploring every menu or reviewing unrelated settings. During acceptance, focus on access and the promised scope rather than making operational changes.

Do not try to bypass identity checks, security prompts, or platform restrictions. If the account’s access cannot be established through the ordinary process, that is an acceptance issue to document and resolve—not a cue to look for a workaround.

During the initial inspection: run the acceptance sheet

Use a written acceptance sheet instead of relying on memory. The exact checks depend on what was sold: an advertising account, a business portfolio, a page, or another account type may have different components. Check only the items included in the agreement, and mark each as present, missing, inaccessible, or unclear.

Do immediately: Confirm the account type and platform match the agreed description.
Do immediately: Check that promised assets or permissions are visible. Depending on the product, this may include an ad account, business portfolio, page, payment profile, or administrator access.
Do immediately: Confirm the level of access you were promised. Do not assume that being able to view an account means you can manage it, or that a visible asset belongs to the delivered business context.
Do immediately: Note obvious signs that the account is restricted, disabled, incomplete, or awaiting action, if those are visible in the platform interface.
Can wait: A broad audit of historical performance, old campaigns, or creative materials unless those were explicitly included in the purchase and are necessary to establish whether the delivery matches the agreement.

Keep the sheet factual. “The promised asset is not visible under this business” is more useful than guessing at the cause. If an item cannot be checked because access is incomplete, mark it as unresolved rather than treating it as a pass.

Before changing anything: record the delivered state

A clear record helps your team distinguish what came with the account from changes made after delivery. It also makes it easier to explain a discrepancy to the seller or seek help from the platform. Record only what is needed for acceptance and internal control; avoid collecting personal information that is not relevant.

Do immediately: Capture the date of delivery, the time of inspection, the account or business identifiers visible in the interface, and the results of each acceptance-sheet item.
Do immediately: Save appropriate screenshots of relevant pages, taking care not to expose passwords, authentication codes, or sensitive recovery details. Store the screenshots securely rather than in a public or broadly shared folder.
Do immediately: Write down any account status messages or unresolved prompts in their own words, without embellishing or interpreting them.
Can wait: Building a detailed account history or a full operational audit. That work belongs in a separate review and should not delay reporting a delivery problem.

Avoid making discretionary edits before recording the initial state. If a security change is needed to protect access, make a note of what changed and when. The goal is a reliable handoff record, not an attempt to alter or disguise the account’s condition.

Once access is confirmed: secure recovery and sign-in

Recovery details determine who can regain access if a password is lost or a security check is triggered. Check which email address and phone number are attached, who controls them, and whether the seller has agreed to transfer them. Do not assume that a mailbox or number has been transferred simply because account credentials were delivered.

Do immediately: Identify the recovery email and phone details shown in the platform’s security settings, where accessible. Compare them with the handoff agreement.
Do immediately: If the agreement includes transferring recovery contacts, move them through the platform’s normal settings and verification steps, provided the change is permitted and you control the replacement contact.
Do immediately: Confirm that your team can access the replacement mailbox and phone through authorized, secure arrangements. Keep recovery access separate from casual shared notes.
Can wait: Removing or changing details that are outside the agreed scope until ownership and permissions are clear. Ask the seller or platform for clarification rather than taking over an unrelated personal contact.
Can wait: Additional security housekeeping that is not needed to establish control, provided no immediate exposure is evident.

If the platform does not permit the proposed transfer, or the seller cannot provide a legitimate route to control recovery, pause and resolve the issue. Do not use someone else’s inbox or phone as a substitute for authorized access.

After recovery is addressed: review payments and advertising settings

A delivered advertising account may have payment or advertising settings that affect whether it is ready for legitimate future use. The acceptance check is to understand what is present and whether it matches the agreement—not to spend, launch ads, or test ways around platform controls.

Do immediately: Review the visible payment profile or billing area, if it was included in the delivery. Note whether it is present, accessible, and associated with the expected business context.
Do immediately: Check for unfamiliar payment methods or billing details. Do not use a payment method unless your organization is authorized to use it. If the details belong to the seller or another party, clarify removal or transfer through an approved process.
Do immediately: Review visible advertising account status, spending controls, and any notices relevant to whether the account is restricted or requires attention. Record what the interface shows.
Can wait: Adding a new payment method or adjusting operational settings until your organization has confirmed that the account is appropriate and authorized for its intended use.
Can wait: Campaign creation, audience setup, budget decisions, and traffic activity. Those are outside acceptance and should follow a separate plan.

Never try to evade billing checks, platform review, or account restrictions. A warning or restriction is information to document and address through the platform’s legitimate process, not a problem to hide.

Before the check window closes: report gaps and agree next steps

Compare the acceptance sheet with the seller’s written description. Separate confirmed mismatches from items that remain unclear because access is incomplete. Then send a concise report through the agreed communication channel, with supporting evidence where appropriate.

Do immediately: Contact the seller about missing access, incorrect account type, absent promised assets, unexpected recovery details, or visible restrictions that materially differ from the handoff.
Do immediately: Include the relevant acceptance-sheet item, what you observed, and what clarification or remedy is needed. Keep the message factual and retain a copy.
Do immediately: Ask for a clear response before the seller’s stated check window ends. Use the reminder set at delivery; do not wait until the final moment to raise an issue.
Can wait: Disputes about items that were not part of the agreement, unless they reveal a security or compliance concern. First establish the agreed scope and seek clarification.
Can wait: Further changes while a material discrepancy remains unresolved. Avoid expanding access or making operational edits that could complicate the handoff record.

If the seller’s response does not resolve a serious access or ownership concern, pause use and seek appropriate platform support or advice. Keep the account’s status and your communications documented.

By the end of the first day: put access under team control

Once acceptance is complete—or unresolved items have been clearly recorded—store access in the team’s approved password vault. A vault helps keep credentials out of personal notes and makes controlled team access easier to manage. It does not replace platform permissions or security procedures.

Do immediately: Store credentials and relevant account identifiers in the approved vault, with access limited to teammates who need them. Do not store one-time verification codes as reusable credentials.
Do immediately: Confirm that the team can retrieve the necessary login and recovery information through authorized channels. Keep a record of who is responsible for maintaining it.
Do immediately: Check that the reminder for the end of the seller’s check window is active and assigned to someone. Add a note to review any outstanding acceptance issue before that point.
Can wait: Broader team documentation, campaign preparation, and the planning of future account activity. Keep these separate from the acceptance record.
Can wait: Any use of the account for advertising. This checklist ends with acceptance and controlled access; it does not describe warming up an account or running campaigns.

The first day is complete when your team can state what was delivered, what was checked, what remains unresolved, who controls authorized access, and when the seller’s check window ends. If those points are not clear, keep the account paused and resolve the gaps before treating it as an operational tool.