How do I give someone access to my Microsoft Advertising account?

Everyone who uses Microsoft Advertising is assigned a user role, which gives them permissions to perform specific account functions. Learn about user roles and how to add (invite) or remove users. Give someone access to your account

Everyone who uses Microsoft Advertising is assigned a user role, which gives permissions to perform specific account functions. The person who signs up for the account is given the role of Super Admin, which gives them full permissions, including inviting and deleting other users. If you have more than one person accessing a Microsoft Advertising account, you'll want to know how to invite users and what role to give them.

About user roles

Microsoft Advertising user roles are Super Admin, Standard User, Advertiser Campaign Manager, and Viewer.

Here are the roles in a nutshell:

  • Super Admin. This role has full permissions for all accounts. A Super Admin can manage everything related to billing and payments, account details, and other users (including other Super Admins). The Super Admin can specify which accounts other users have access to. When signing up as a new customer, the first user is the Super Admin. Super Admins can also be set as the Primary Contact to an account.
  • Standard User. This role has permissions to manage campaigns and perform some billing activities on selected accounts. This role cannot add, edit, or delete payment methods; create or delete accounts; or link to or unlink from clients. Standard Users can also be set as the Primary Contact to an account.
Note

Standard Users can now manage some users in the accounts they have access to. A Standard User can add or remove other Standard Users, Advertiser Campaign Managers, and Viewers. This new capability allows Standard Users to also view all the users in the Users tab. However, Standard Users cannot add or delete a Super Admin, nor can they edit a Super Admin's role.

  • Advertiser Campaign Manager. This role has permissions to view selected accounts and add, edit, or delete campaigns within the selected accounts. The Super Admin can specify which accounts the Advertiser Campaign Manager has access to. The Advertiser Campaign Manager can view payment methods, but cannot manage any billing or payment tasks.
  • Viewer. This role has read-only permissions.
View the roles in more detail expando image

Creating and managing campaigns

Super Admin Standard User Advertiser Campaign Manager Viewer
View campaigns green check mark green check mark green check mark green check mark
Run reports green check mark green check mark green check mark green check mark
Manage campaigns green check mark green check mark green check mark

Billing and payments

Super Admin Standard User Advertiser Campaign Manager Viewer
View Payment Methods green check mark green check mark green check mark green check mark
View Billing page**** green check mark green check mark green check mark green check mark
Adjust billing threshold* green check mark green check mark
Create, edit, approve, or cancel insertion orders*** green check mark green check mark
Redeem a promotional offer* green check mark green check mark**
Pay account balance* green check mark green check mark**
Add funds to a prepay account* green check mark green check mark**
Set a payment method as primary* green check mark green check mark**
Set up auto-recharge* green check mark green check mark**
Remove account hold due to payment issue* green check mark green check mark**
Switch payment setting (prepay to postpay or vice versa)* green check mark green check mark**
Add, edit, or delete payment methods* green check mark
Note

*Managing payment methods (including the redemption of promotional offers) can only be performed by the bill-to customer.

**A Standard User can only complete this task if there is a valid payment method available.

***As a Super Admin or Standard User on a client's account, an agency can also create and manage insertion orders on behalf of a client even if the agency is not the bill-to customer.

****If an account owner is the bill-to customer, then the account owner and any direct managers on a Microsoft Advertising account can see billing documents. However, if a direct manager takes over billing, then only the account owner and the direct manager responsible for payments can see billing documents; Any other direct managers won't be able to see billing documents.

Managing accounts, including hierarchies

Super Admin Standard User Advertiser Campaign Manager Viewer
View Accounts page green check mark green check mark green check mark green check mark
Manage account details green check mark green check mark
Approve and reject requests to link a manager account to an account green check mark green check mark
Approve and reject requests to link a manager account to another manager account green check mark
Send, approve, and reject requests to link to manager accounts and to link to accounts (including billing takeover) green check mark
Send, approve, and reject requests to unlink manager accounts and to unlink accounts (including billing takeover) green check mark
Manage addresses green check mark

User and access management

Super Admin Standard User Advertiser Campaign Manager Viewer
Serve as Primary Contact green check mark green check mark
Give access to, edit, and delete users green check mark green check mark*
Note

*A Standard User can only add or remove Standard Users, Advertiser Campaign Managers, and Viewers to the accounts they have access to. A Standard User cannot add or remove a Super Admin.

About managing users

Only Super Admins can manage users in a Microsoft Advertising account.

User management by role:

Super Admin.
  • Access to all users
  • Able to send invites
  • Can update user roles
Standard User.
  • View all users
  • Able to send invites
  • Can't update user roles
Advertising Campaign Manager.
  • Able to view Direct Manager panel only
  • Can't update user roles
Viewer.
  • Able to view Direct Manager panel only
  • Can't update user roles

Most accounts can have as many as 15 users per account.

A best practice for user management is to ensure that each person signs in to Microsoft Advertising with their own user name and password. Having separate user accounts is more secure and also has the benefit of letting you use change history to review changes made by each user. For more information, see Best practices to help protect your Microsoft Advertising account.


Invite a new userexpando image

Shortly after you invite a new user, they will receive an account activation email with instructions on signing in to Microsoft Advertising. Only those with Super Admin and Standard User roles can invite new users.

  1. From the top menu, select Tools > Account access > User management.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Settings and select User management.

  2. Select Invite user from the User Management page.
  3. Enter information about the new user and their account role.
  4. Select Send.
Note

The email address you enter to invite a new user is just for sending the invitation. The new user can sign in to Microsoft Advertising using a different email address.

Change a Primary Contactexpando image

The Primary contact is the main contact for the account and will receive service communications and critical notifications (for example, campaign paused, prepay account balance low, and credit card expiration date approaching). Only Super Admins and Standard Users can be set as a Primary contact.

  1. From the top menu, select Tools > Preferences > Account settings.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Settings and select Account settings.

  2. Next to the Account settings page title, select the edit icon Edit icon.
  3. Next to the Primary contact list, select a user.
Remove a userexpando image

Don't forget to delete old users from your account. This prevents unauthorized people from accessing or changing your campaigns. Only those with Super Admin and Standard User roles can perform this task.

Note

Before removing a Primary Contact from an account, you must designate a new Primary Contact for that account.

  1. From the top menu, select Tools > Account access > User management.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Settings and select User management.

  2. On the User Management page, find the tile of the person you want to remove, and select delete.

What if you want an agency to manage your account?

If you want an agency to manage your account, we recommend that you set up a formal relationship with your agency in Microsoft Advertising, rather than creating a new user. Read more about agency-client relationships.

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