🧭 Overview
If one of your clients was onboarded as a child account under your agency's Search Atlas subscription and they now want to manage their own account independently, the process involves transferring ownership and setting them up with their own direct billing. Because this change affects subscription structure and billing relationships, it requires assistance from the Search Atlas support team to complete safely.
This article walks you through what to prepare and how to initiate the process so the transition is smooth for both your agency and your client.
📋 What Happens During the Conversion
When a child account is converted to an independent account, the following changes take place:
- The client's account is detached from your agency's parent account.
- The client takes on direct billing responsibility with their own Search Atlas subscription.
- The agency loses administrative access to that client's account unless explicitly re-invited.
- All existing data, projects, and settings within the client's account are preserved during the transition.
- The client will need a valid payment method added to their account before the conversion is finalized.
✅ Before You Start: What to Prepare
To avoid delays, gather the following information before contacting support:
- The client's account email address — the email used to log in to their child account on Search Atlas.
- Your agency account email address — so the support team can locate the parent-child relationship.
- Confirmation from the client — ensure your client is aware of and agrees to the transfer, including that they will be responsible for their own subscription and billing going forward.
- Desired plan for the client — if known, have the plan name or tier ready so the support team can set up billing accordingly.
🪜 Steps to Initiate the Conversion
- Notify your client of the upcoming change and confirm they are ready to manage their own subscription and billing.
- Ask your client to add a payment method to their account by navigating to the top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab and selecting Add Payment Method. This step ensures billing can be activated immediately once the account is detached.
- Contact the Search Atlas support team via the live chat widget (see the support section below) and provide the client's account email, your agency account email, and any plan preferences.
- The support team will detach the child account from your agency's parent account and configure direct billing for the client.
- Once the conversion is complete, confirm with your client that they can log in, access all their data, and that billing is active on their end.
⚠️ Important Considerations
- Data is preserved: All projects, reports, keywords, and settings within the child account remain intact after the conversion. Nothing is deleted during the process.
- Agency access is removed: Once the account is detached, your agency will no longer have admin access to the client's account. If you need ongoing access (for example, to continue providing services), the client must re-invite you as a team member from their account via the top-right corner (avatar) → Team Members.
- Billing timing matters: The support team will coordinate the detachment to minimize any billing overlap or gaps. Let the support team know if there are any specific timing requirements.
- The client becomes the account owner: After conversion, the client is fully responsible for their subscription, renewals, and any usage-based charges.
🙋 Need Help with This Process?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.
Additional Notes
You must be the Agency Owner to perform this action. Sub-users and team members do not have permission to detach child accounts. Also: ensure there are no unpaid balances on the child account before initiating the transfer. The candidate also provides self-serve UI steps (avatar > Team Members > Child Accounts > Detach Account > Confirm Detach).