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Agency server-side tracking handbook

One handbook for every client: onboarding questions, access checklist, build steps, handover and monthly care.

4 min read · Updated October 26, 2026

In this guide

1. Onboard 2. Access and ownership 3. Build 4. Launch and hand over 5. Monthly care Common mistakes in agency projects Make it yours A realistic example Frequently asked questions

Before you start

Use one checklist for every client. It prevents missed steps and makes handovers calm.
Collect access and ownership first, and the client's numbers before you build.
Finish with a handover note and a monthly care routine.

Agencies lose time and goodwill when each client project is built from memory. A handbook fixes that. This one is a checklist in five stages. Adapt it, keep it in a shared place and update it after each project. See also server-side tracking for agencies and the setup checklist.

1. Onboard

0 of 5 done

Collect the client's website, platform and checkout detailsList the ad platforms and their account ownersPull a baseline: shop orders and platform purchases for the last 30 daysAsk about consent tool and privacy contactAgree scope, price and timeline in writing

For online stores

Orders from your store, back to the ad that earned them

Your store sends the order once. Open Tracked passes it on to each ad platform, cleaned and deduplicated.

2. Access and ownership

0 of 6 done

Tag Manager access for your named userDomain or DNS access for the tagging subdomainAd accounts with the roles needed to create tokensThe client owns the hosting accountBusiness tokens, not personal onesA list of who holds each access

3. Build

0 of 6 done

Create the tagging subdomain and verify itCreate or import the web and server containersTurn on the standard power-ups: Custom Loader, Data Store, Cookie Keeper, Enricher, Bot DetectionSet up platform tags with shared event IDsConnect consent signals and test accept and rejectTest a real order in Preview and each platform

Ask AI

Ask Ari instead of digging through reports

Ari reads your tracking and ad data and answers in plain words.

4. Launch and hand over

0 of 5 done

Publish both containersCompare numbers daily for a weekWrite a one-page note: what exists, who owns what, how to testHold a short handover callGive the client the baseline and the result

5. Monthly care

Common mistakes in agency projects

SymptomAccess is delayed

Likely causeThe client does not know who owns what.

FixSend an access checklist in the first message.

SymptomThe agency owns the accounts

Likely causeThe client cannot leave.

FixPut everything under the client's ownership.

SymptomNumbers are blamed on tracking

Likely causeNo baseline.

FixRecord the baseline before you start.

SymptomNobody monitors after launch

Likely causeNo care routine.

FixSchedule it and charge for it.

Make it yours

Add steps that are specific to your clients: a platform, a consent tool, a reporting format. Remove what you never use. The best handbook is short enough that people follow it. Review it every quarter and add what you learned from the last three projects.

A realistic example

An agency of eight people takes on three new clients in one month. Before the handbook, each set-up depended on whoever was free and each client received something slightly different. With the handbook, the account manager sends the access checklist on day one, the specialist follows the build list, and the second person runs the launch checks from the same page. All three clients launch within three weeks, each gets a one-page note and each is on the monthly care routine. When one of the specialists goes on leave, a colleague opens the client's note and the checklist and carries on without a call. The handbook did not make the work easier. It made it repeatable, and repeatable work scales.

The short version

3 things to remember

Scroll and the points stack up.

Use one checklist for every client. It prevents missed steps and makes handovers calm.

Collect access and ownership first, and the client's numbers before you build.

Finish with a handover note and a monthly care routine.

Frequently asked questions

What should an agency handbook for tracking include?

Onboarding, access and ownership, build, launch and handover, and monthly care.

Who should own the accounts?

The client, with the agency as a named user.

Why record a baseline?

So the result of the work can be shown honestly.

How often should I update the handbook?

Quarterly, with lessons from recent projects.

Can I reuse this for every client?

Yes. Adapt the platform-specific steps.

Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?

No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.

Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?

No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.

Fix your tracking at the source

Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.

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Written by

The Open Tracked team

We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?

Write to us Read the docs

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