How to set up agency billing

Hello Vladimír,

Thank you for using our Microsoft Advertising Learn Q&A Platform!   

Thank you for your message. I’m happy to provide some guidance on how agency billing works in a linked client–agency setup and what configuration options are available.

When a client account is linked to an agency (manager) account and the agency funds the advertising spend, invoices are generated based on the payments profile attached to the client account. The legal name and address shown on the invoice are taken from the payer details in that payments profile.

• Managing your clients as an agency on Microsoft Advertising

As an agency, you can do the following:

• Create or use a payments profile owned by your agency
• Enter your agency’s legal name and address as the payer
• Assign this payments profile to the linked client account in the Billing settings
• Continue topping up the account via bank transfer from the agency’s bank account

With this configuration, issued invoices will be addressed to your agency and show your agency’s name and address.

One important limitation to be aware of is that the company ID / registration number is not controlled at the payments profile level. This information is taken from the advertiser verification in the account settings and is tied to the verified advertiser (typically the client). At the moment, there is no option to override or separately specify a company ID for the payer only. This is expected system behavior.

In summary:

• Most billing details (payer name, address, payments profile) can be changed in Billing → Settings
• Advertiser-level details, including company ID, remain linked to the verified advertiser and cannot be modified by the agency unless the agency itself is set up as the advertiser of record

If you would like, I can also guide you step by step through the agency–client linking process or review your current billing setup to make sure everything is configured correctly.

I hope the information provided here will at least partly answer your question.  If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our support. I have also sent you a private message asking for further details. You are more than welcome to respond to me so we can find the best solution for you.

Kind regards, 

Arsen D. | Microsoft Advertising Support Specialist | 800-518-5689

In Microsoft Advertising, who is billed and what appears on the invoice is controlled by the account hierarchy and the client link configuration between the agency (manager account) and the advertiser (client account).

For an agency setup where the agency is billed (and therefore the invoice should show the agency’s legal details), the client link must specify that billing responsibility is with the agency, not the client:

1. Ensure the relationship is an agency–client link
   • The agency must have a manager (Customer) account and the client must have an Advertiser account.
   • The agency sends a client link invitation to the client account.
2. Set the agency as the bill-to party in the client link
   • When creating the client link via the API, the agency must set the IsBillToClient element in the ClientLink request.
   • For agency billing:
     • IsBillToClient = false → the agency is billed directly by Microsoft for that advertiser account.
   • This configuration determines who receives the invoice and whose details appear as the billed entity.
3. Effect on invoices
   • When the agency is the bill-to party, Microsoft bills the agency directly for valid ad clicks for those linked advertiser accounts.
   • The invoice is issued to the agency’s legal entity (manager account), not to the advertiser.
4. Company ID and address on the invoice
   • The billing entity details (name, address, tax/company identifiers) come from the billing profile/legal information of the account that is responsible for billing.
   • For Microsoft Advertising/Xandr contracts, changes to the billing name and address that appear on the invoice are not done in the payment profile UI; they must be requested through Microsoft Advertising support:
     • To change the billing name and/or address on the invoice, submit a request via the Microsoft Advertising Customer Support Portal under Client finance → Update of customer information or My Account Questions, and provide the new entity details and reason for change.
     • For Xandr/Monetize or Invest contracts, the same process is used to request an entity name change so that the invoice reflects the correct legal entity details.
5. What to do in this scenario
   • Confirm that the client link between the agency and the advertiser is configured so that the agency is responsible for billing (i.e., IsBillToClient is set so the agency is billed).
   • If invoices are already being issued to the agency but are missing the agency’s company ID or show the wrong legal entity details:
     • Use the Microsoft Advertising Customer Support Portal and open a Client finance / Update of customer information or My Account Questions request.
     • Ask specifically for an update of the billing entity information (name, address, company ID/VAT) for the contract so that future invoices show the agency’s company ID and address.
   • The payer’s address in the payment profile alone is not sufficient to change the legal entity details on the invoice; those must be updated via support as described.

References:

• Account Hierarchy and User Permissions
• Microsoft Invest - Billing and Settlement FAQ
• Microsoft Monetize - Billing and settlement FAQ