Who will own the Pages, profiles and ad accounts?
Your business should own every account: the Facebook Page, the Instagram account, the LinkedIn Page, the Google Business Profile and any ad accounts. Providers should be added as partners, managers or admins. Meta's business tools let the owning business share a Page or ad account with a partner while keeping ownership, and Meta says a partner with full control still cannot share the asset with another business. On Google Business Profile, a profile can have several owners but only one primary owner, and that should be someone in your business. Ask the provider to confirm all of this in writing before any access is set up.
How will they get access to our accounts?
The answer should name each platform's access settings. On Meta, the provider gives you their business portfolio ID and you assign the Page or ad account with the tasks they need. On Google Business Profile, you invite them as a manager, which lets them edit information, respond to reviews and manage posts but not add or remove users. On LinkedIn, a content admin can create and manage Page posts without full control of the Page. If a provider asks for your password instead, treat it as a warning sign. A shared password gives full control, cannot be limited to certain tasks and has to be changed everywhere when the arrangement ends.
Who approves each post, and how?
Ask to see the approval step itself: what you receive, how often, how you mark changes and what happens if you do not reply. A sound arrangement publishes nothing you have not approved, or nothing outside rules you have agreed in writing. Ask whether approval is per post or per batch, whether a second person in your business can approve when you are away, and whether there is a record of who approved what. Ask what happens to scheduled posts if something changes suddenly, such as a closure or a local emergency, and who can pause them.
What is included, and what is not?
Ask for the scope as a list: posts per month, platforms, image preparation, video, replies to comments and messages, paid ads, reporting and meetings. Ask what is excluded as directly as what is included. Replies to customers and paid ads are the two items most often assumed and not covered. If ads are part of the work, ask whether the quoted figure contains the ad spend or only the fee to manage it, and whose payment method is attached to the ad account. Ask who writes the posts and what they need from you each week, such as photos of real jobs.
What will reports show, and what is promised?
A useful report lists what was published, what was approved or changed, and the platform's own figures for the period, such as reach, clicks and messages. Ask for the platform data itself, since a score invented by the provider tells you little. Be cautious about promises. The ACCC tells businesses not to make promises they cannot keep or predictions without solid evidence, and no provider controls how a platform distributes posts. A provider who promises followers, reach or a set number of enquiries is promising something outside their control.
How does the agreement end, and what do we keep?
Ask for the notice period, any minimum term, any setup or exit fee, and what is handed over when you leave: published posts, unused drafts, image files, captions and any voice or style notes. Ask how quickly the provider's access will be removed and who removes it. If the agreement is a standard form contract you cannot negotiate, Australia's unfair contract terms laws may apply. The ACCC says that from 9 November 2023 these protections cover new or varied standard form contracts with small businesses that have fewer than 100 employees or under $10 million in annual turnover, and penalties apply. This is general information, not legal advice.