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Agency contract checklist

Score up to three agency contracts against the same clauses and see which have deal-breakers on account ownership.

By Antoine Martin, Founder, Web Marketing International.
Published 4 November 2026. Last reviewed 4 November 2026.

Short answer

Enter Yes, Partly, No or Not asked yet for each clause and each agency. The score is the share of points earned on the clauses you have answered, so an agency is not marked down for a question you have not asked yet.

How to use it

Rename the three columns after the agencies whose contracts you are comparing, then work down the list with the document open. Choose Not asked yet for anything the contract does not answer. If I am one of your three, score me the same way. The ownership questions come from the platforms’ own help pages: Google Ads access levels[4] and removal[5], Analytics roles[6] and Meta’s business portfolio permissions[7][8]. The VAT questions come from the Federal Tax Authority[1][2], and the dispute question from the UAE Government portal[3].

The checklist

Agency contracts you are comparing

Who is signing

Does the contract name the legal entity that will sign and invoice, matching its licence and invoices?

Check the licence through the official channel for its licensing authority.

Fees

Is every fee listed separately, including any set-up charge, with what each covers?

So that two quotes can be put on the same basis.

Is advertising spend shown separately from the agency fee, and paid in a way you can see?

Billing is its own access level in Google Ads, so payment can stay with your business.

Does the contract say how and when fees can change, and how much notice you get?

A blank here leaves the decision to the agency.

VAT and invoices

Does the contract say whether fees include VAT, and show the agency's tax registration number?

The Federal Tax Authority states the registration thresholds and that a tax invoice shows the supplier's registration number.

Will invoices be tax invoices issued within 14 calendar days of the supply?

The Federal Tax Authority's 2022 guide gives 14 calendar days. Check current guidance.

Term and exit

Are the start date, minimum term and renewal terms clearly stated?

Check whether the term renews automatically.

Is the notice period stated, with who can give it, in what form and what you still owe?

Ask whether any set-up fee is refundable.

Does the contract say what is handed over on exit: access, reports and creative, and by when?

Agree the list before work starts, not on the last day.

Ownership

Will the ad accounts (Google Ads, Meta) be owned by your business, with you holding the top access level? Deal-breaker

Google Ads Admin controls access. In Meta, only people with full control of the portfolio can share assets with partners.

Will your business hold the Administrator role on your analytics property? Deal-breaker

In Google Analytics the Administrator manages users and an Editor cannot.

Will at least two people in your business be administrators?

Google warns an account with one administrator may lose access to its tags if that user is unavailable.

Does the agency receive only the access level its contracted work needs, written into the contract?

For example Standard rather than Admin in Google Ads.

Can you remove the agency's access yourself, at any time, without its agreement? Deal-breaker

Access and security in Google Ads has a Remove access action. Ask the agency to confirm in writing.

Scope and reporting

Does the contract state what is included, what is excluded and what you will receive each month?

A blank on exclusions is a decision left until later.

Can every reported figure be checked in accounts your business owns?

If you cannot trace a figure, you are trusting a summary.

Disputes

Does the contract say which law and forum apply to a dispute, and has a lawyer read it?

The UAE Government portal says the federal arbitration law applies unless the parties agree otherwise. Ask your lawyer.

Results

Agency A
No answers yet0 of 17 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
Agency B
No answers yet0 of 17 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
Agency C
No answers yet0 of 17 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.

A score only compares the answers you entered. Treat any deal-breaker as decisive, and do not compare two columns until you have asked both the same questions.

How the score works

  • Yes earns the full weight of the clause, Partly earns half, No earns nothing.
  • The score is points earned divided by the maximum points for the clauses answered. If you answer two clauses weighted 3 and 2, with Yes to the first and Partly to the second, the score is (3 + 1) / 5, which is 80 percent.
  • The three clauses marked as deal-breakers all concern who controls your accounts. A No on any of them shows a warning. Treat it as decisive until the contract is changed.
  • The weights are my judgement, not a standard. They show what I think matters first.

The checklist runs in your browser and stores nothing you type. It cannot tell you whether a clause is lawful, fair or enforceable, and a high score is not a legal opinion. Take the contract to a qualified UAE lawyer before you sign.

What to do with it

Turn each No, Partly and Not asked yet into a written question to the agency. The reasoning for each clause is in what an agency contract in the UAE should say, the reading method is in how to review an agency contract before you sign, and the set-up of the accounts is in who should own your ad accounts. If a clause is unclear, you can ask me about it.

Sources

  1. UAE Federal Tax Authority, Registration For VAT. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  2. UAE Federal Tax Authority, Tax invoices (VAT 2022). Accessed 4 November 2026.
  3. UAE Government portal (u.ae), Alternative methods to settle commercial disputes. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  4. Google Ads Help, About access levels in your Google Ads account. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  5. Google Ads Help, Remove a user's access to your Google Ads account. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  6. Analytics Help, Roles and data restrictions. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  7. Meta Business Help Centre, About business portfolio and business asset permissions in Meta Business Suite. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  8. Meta Business Help Centre, Give a partner access to business assets in your business portfolio. Accessed 4 November 2026.