TL;DR
Before ending a refractive marketing engagement, preserve the original inquiry cohorts, event definitions, open administrative actions and tracking dependencies. Reconcile the last report with what the practice can actually retain and test after cutover. A successful account unlink is not proof that historical reporting or future consultation tracking remains comparable.
Define continuity as a reporting problem
A person may inquire under the outgoing agency and attend an evaluation after the new provider begins. A calendar report can then make the new period appear to contain newly generated appointments while the old cohort disappears. This is a conditional transition problem, not an assertion about a standard LASIK decision duration.
Keep the original inquiry receipt and supported source attached to later events where the approved records can establish that relationship. Separate the owner of the original campaign from the person responsible for handling the current request. Changing agencies should not rewrite either fact.
Start with the commercial terms and the practice's permitted record use. Technical exportability, continuing access and permission to send messages are different questions. Resolve actual contract and data issues with their responsible owners rather than treating payment for advertising as an automatic ownership determination.
Require a cohort-preserving exit package
This original acceptance package concerns interpretable acquisition evidence. Keep sensitive records in approved systems, and ask the practice to approve any summary shared with a vendor.
| Package element | What to retain or document | Continuity test |
|---|---|---|
| Original cohort definitions | Receipt period, inclusion rules, duplicate handling and supported source categories | An older inquiry remains in its original group after a later event |
| Consultation event dictionary | Requested, confirmed, attended, rescheduled and unavailable definitions | Incoming report uses the same meaning or marks a defined break |
| Open-action register | Current administrative state, practice owner and approved next action | Unfinished practice work has an accountable receiving role |
| Historical snapshots | Observation dates, cohort ages and actual recorded measures | Prior results can be interpreted without reopening the old dashboard |
| Tracking dependency map | Actual conversion actions, tags, account owners, source fields and limitations | Technical owner can explain what changes at unlink or replacement |
| Public destination record | Active pages, forms, telephone routes and hosting arrangements | Old campaign links continue to reach an accurate supported next step |
| Commercial and permission decisions | Actual access, export, retention and contact restrictions | No new outreach or deletion occurs merely because a file was transferred |
Request field meanings and known exclusions beside the export format. A list of contacts without event dates cannot reproduce a time-based cohort analysis. A screenshot without its definitions may show a former total while leaving the incoming reporting owner unable to interpret it.
Check the account boundary before unlinking
Google says an individual Ads account retains its own campaign history after unlinking from a manager. It also describes effects on shared lists, cross-account conversion tracking and some billing arrangements. Google's unlinking guidance. Inspect the actual dependencies before using that account-history statement as a promise of complete continuity.
Have the authorized account owner record current conversion actions and which account supplies tracking. Identify changes needed by the receiving technical owner and preserve the configuration evidence. Do not copy a platform conversion label into the clinical scheduling report without confirming its event meaning.
A practice may retain account history while losing the outgoing agency's reporting model or a shared component. Distinguish what the platform documents from what the actual contract and technical rehearsal establish. Mark unavailable historical evidence rather than backfilling it with guessed conversions.
Rehearse a later event for an earlier inquiry
Use a clearly labeled synthetic inquiry created through an approved test process. Prevent real outreach and unwanted appointments. Give it an original cohort, supported test source and an unresolved administrative state. Then simulate the permitted later scheduling event after the proposed handoff.
Ask the receiving reporting owner to show the result. The original cohort should remain interpretable, the later event should appear under its verified definition and current responsibility should point to the practice's designated team. Test a duplicate contact and a restricted-contact state as well.
Keep contact permission in its own review. For U.S. HIPAA-regulated uses of protected health information, HHS explains that marketing generally requires written authorization, with limited exceptions and distinctions for specified healthcare communications. HHS marketing guidance. Have the practice assess actual applicability and other relevant rules using the current marketing definition and authorization requirements. A transferred inquiry record is not automatic authorization for a new campaign.
Publish the reporting break instead of hiding it
If definitions or source fields change, retain a transition note: last comparable snapshot ___; changed field ___; evidence unavailable ___; replacement definition ___; effective change ___; owner ___. Keep old and new series separate where necessary rather than smoothing away the break.
Use the website access handoff for system roles and the measurement dictionary for upstream events. This exit package adds the continuity test for consultation cohorts still accumulating evidence after a vendor change.
Close the engagement only against the actual agreement and accepted handover. Record what transferred, what remains with the practice, what is unavailable and who handles open inquiries. Do not remove retained records or access merely because a notice period ended without checking the approved retention and cutover plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does keeping the Ads account preserve every report?
No. Inspect shared dependencies, the agency's model and actual exports. Platform history is a narrower fact than a usable end-to-end consultation report.
Should later evaluations be credited to the incoming agency?
Preserve the original cohort and use the declared attribution method. Current handling responsibility can change without changing the original inquiry source.
What if the old system cannot export event history?
Document the gap, retain permitted interpretable snapshots and establish a prospective baseline. Continue necessary inquiry handling through the approved practice process without inventing missing history.