In a Build-Operate-Transfer engagement, the last word matters most. If the transfer is just a meeting and a slide deck, you haven't been handed a team. You've been handed a dependency with a new name.
A real BOT transfer hands over seven things: the team on your payroll, ad and analytics accounts with your people holding admin rights, your data in a CRM you control, documented tracking, a written playbook, creative and brand source files, and tool and vendor contracts in your name. It's done when your team can log in to everything without outside help, export all your data, and run a month of results from the playbook.
- Ad Asthra's BOT runs in four stages over 3 to 6 months: audit and design, hiring onto your payroll, a 90-day pilot, then transfer.
- Seven things should change hands: team, accounts, data, tracking, playbook, assets and contracts.
- Your people need the top access level: Admin in Google Ads, Administrator in Google Analytics, owner on your Business Profile.
- Test it: can your team log in without outside help, export all data, and run marketing from the playbook?
- Plan monthly reviews, training and senior guidance after the transfer, so the team keeps improving.
What is a BOT transfer?
In Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), a partner builds your marketing team and systems, runs them until they're stable, then transfers them to you. At Ad Asthra, that means four stages: audit and design, building the team by hiring onto your payroll, a 90-day pilot to set up routines, KPIs and reporting, and then the transfer. A typical engagement takes 3 to 6 months (how BOT works).
The first stages get the work done. The transfer is what makes it yours. And it's where weak engagements fall apart: the partner leaves, and the business finds the "handover" was a slide deck.
Why the handover is the hard part
Companies that bring marketing in-house rarely struggle with the decision. They struggle with what comes next. In the ANA's research, the top operational challenges for in-house teams were managing workflow as projects grow, scaling efficiently and prioritising work (ANA, 2023). The leading management concern, cited by 63%, was keeping in-house talent energised (ANA, 2019).
A real handover plans for all of that. It transfers not just access, but the ability to run, improve and grow the system without outside help.
The 7 things that should change hands
1. The team
The people running your marketing, hired onto your payroll from day one, now reporting to someone inside your business, with clear roles, goals and a development plan. With Ad Asthra's BOT, if a hire doesn't meet their KPIs in the first 60 days, we replace them at no extra cost.
2. Accounts and admin rights
Ad accounts, analytics, tag manager, social profiles, Google Business Profile, domains and email tools, all owned by your company, with your people holding the top level of access. On the main Google tools, that means:
- Google Ads: Admin access, because only Admins can give account access, change access levels and manage manager-account links (Google Ads Help).
- Google Analytics: the Administrator role, the only one that can add or remove users and assign roles (Google Analytics Help).
- Google Business Profile: a company owner as primary owner, plus at least one other owner, because only owners can add or remove users (Google Business Profile Help).
3. Data
Leads, customers and campaign history in a CRM and storage you control, exportable at any time. Dashboards built on your data, not a vendor's. Why it matters is the subject of If you can't export it, you don't own it.
4. Tracking
Pixels, conversion tags, tag manager containers and UTM conventions, documented so the next person understands what each one does and why.
5. The playbook
A written record of how marketing runs: the weekly and monthly routine, campaign structures, budget rules, what's been tested and what worked, approval steps and who does what.
6. Creative and brand assets
Source files for every ad, video, template and brand asset, in your own drive, plus the brand guidelines that keep new work consistent.
7. Vendor and tool contracts
Subscriptions, software licences and any freelancer or vendor relationships, in your company's name and on your billing.
The handover checklist
| Item | Done when... |
|---|---|
| Team | Each person reports to an internal manager and has written goals |
| Ad accounts | Two people from your company hold Admin access; the partner is removed or set to a lower level |
| Analytics and tag manager | Your people hold Administrator/Admin roles; every tag is documented |
| Business Profile and social | Company accounts are primary owners on every location and page |
| CRM and data | Full export tested; all leads and history in your account |
| Dashboards | Reports run from your data and refresh without the partner |
| Playbook | Written, stored in your drive, and the team has used it for at least a month |
| Assets | Source files and brand guidelines in your storage |
| Contracts and billing | Every tool and vendor billed to your company |
| Sign-off | Your leadership has reviewed a month of results run fully by the team |
How to tell if a handover is real
Three questions settle it:
- Can your team log in to everything without asking anyone outside the company?
- Can you export all your data today?
- Could a new hire learn the job from your playbook?
If any answer is no, the transfer isn't finished. That's also a useful test for any agency relationship you have today. Run the fuller version in the 10-point ownership audit.
What happens after the transfer
The handover isn't the end of improvement. Plan three things from the first day the team runs on its own:
- A monthly review against the same KPIs used during the pilot.
- A training plan, because platforms and tools change every quarter and teams that stop learning stall.
- A senior sounding board. Some businesses hire a marketing head; others keep part-time senior guidance. That's what our Build-Operate-Manage and fractional CMO options are for.
A logistics company completes a BOT engagement with a three-person marketing team. In handover week, the team exports a year of CRM data, rebuilds one dashboard from scratch to prove they can, removes the partner's admin access from every ad account, and runs the monthly review themselves while the partner only observes.
The next month, they run it with nobody observing. That's when the transfer is done.
Want the full journey? Read The 4 moves of BOT, and if you're still deciding between models, BOT or BOM? 5 questions every founder should ask.
How Ad Asthra runs a BOT handover
Every BOT engagement ends with a handover you can test, not just a meeting.
Frequently asked questions
What is a BOT transfer in marketing?
It's the final stage of Build-Operate-Transfer, when the partner hands over the marketing team, accounts, data, tracking, playbooks, assets and contracts so your business can run marketing without them.
How long does a BOT engagement take?
At Ad Asthra, typically 3 to 6 months: around 4 to 6 weeks of hiring and a 90-day pilot before the transfer.
What should be included in a marketing handover?
The team, ad and analytics accounts with admin rights, CRM data, documented tracking, a written playbook, creative source files and brand guidelines, and tool and vendor contracts in your company's name.
Who should have admin access after a handover?
At least two people from your company should hold the top access level on each platform: Admin in Google Ads, Administrator in Google Analytics and owner on your Google Business Profile.
How do I know the handover is complete?
Your team can log in to everything without asking anyone outside the company, you can export all your data, and the team has run at least a month of marketing from the written playbook.
What happens if a hire doesn't work out during BOT?
Ad Asthra offers a replacement guarantee: if a candidate doesn't meet KPIs within the first 60 days, we replace them at no extra cost.
What support is available after a BOT transfer?
Many businesses continue with monthly reviews and training. If you want ongoing senior leadership, Ad Asthra's Build-Operate-Manage model and fractional CMO service provide it.
Sources
- About access levels in your Google Ads account, Google Ads Help
- Access and data-restriction management (GA4 roles), Google Analytics Help
- Add or remove Business Profile owners and managers, Google Business Profile Help
- In-House Agencies No Longer A Trend, They're Here To Stay: ANA Report, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 2023
- New Study Reveals Concerns For In-House Agency Management, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 2019
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