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This guide helps you choose the right account structure before you start inviting users, creating subaccounts, centralizing billing, or managing client-owned accounts. Use it when you are deciding between:
  • one shared account
  • multiple team members in one account
  • parent/subaccount structure for centralized billing and customer isolation
  • agency access inside a client-owned account
  • hybrid models that combine both approaches

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Start With The Simplest Model That Fits

Use the simplest structure that matches your real operating needs.

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Team Members vs Subaccounts

This is the most important distinction.

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Add a team member when:

  • they should work inside the same account
  • they should see the same agents, contacts, and conversations
  • they share the same operational surface

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Create a subaccount when:

  • data should stay isolated
  • billing or governance differs
  • one customer, client, brand, or department should not see another
  • defaults, branding, or access policies should differ by account
  • a parent account should pay itellicoAI centrally and handle its own downstream customer billing
  • your API integration needs a separate account context per customer
If the question is “should this person collaborate on the same operation?” use team members. If the question is “should this operation be isolated from another one?” use a subaccount.

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Parent/Subaccount Model vs Agency Access Model

Use the parent/subaccount model when your company owns the itellicoAI relationship, gets one central invoice, and handles its own downstream customer billing. Use agency access when the client owns and pays for their own itellicoAI account and your team needs elevated access to manage it. Hybrid setups are common. For billing decisions, workflows, and a full side-by-side comparison, see Client Service Models.

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Who Controls What

Internal operations team

Start with one account and multiple team members.Add subaccounts only if you later need strict separation between brands, regions, or departments.
Use subaccounts when each brand needs its own conversations, contacts, or public-facing settings.
Use parent-billed subaccounts when your company owns the central itellicoAI relationship, wants one parent invoice, and handles downstream customer billing itself.
Use agency access when each client owns its itellicoAI account and invites your team to help manage setup, maintenance, or optimization.Use subaccounts instead when the agency prefers to own the parent account relationship and rebill clients directly.
Use parent-billed subaccounts for customers you package or rebill, and agency access for customers who prefer direct platform billing.

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Common Mistakes

If people are meant to collaborate on the same agents and conversations, add members and roles first. Do not create extra accounts unless you need isolation.
If customers or clients should not see each other’s data or internal operations, give them separate accounts instead of shared member access.
Subaccounts are operational boundaries, not just organization labels. Use them when the boundary actually matters.

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Next Steps

Accounts and Subaccounts

Learn the core hierarchy and access model

Team Management

Invite members and assign roles in a shared account

Subaccounts

Create isolated child accounts

Client Service Models

Compare parent billing, agency access, and hybrid setups