Two-factor authentication and shared logins conflict by design, since the code goes to one person's device. The fix is to stop sharing logins: connect client accounts to a management platform through platform authorization and give each person their own login, so 2FA protects the client's account without blocking the team.
The friction is real and the resolution is structural. Networks push two-factor authentication because account takeovers are common, but a code sent to the client's phone is useless to an agency team member at 9am, and the workaround most teams reach for, routing codes through one person, makes that person a bottleneck and a single point of failure.
Two-factor authentication assumes one account belongs to one human with one device. Agency work violates that assumption constantly: several people need to act on behalf of a brand, sometimes across time zones. Sharing a login and forwarding codes technically works and quietly defeats the purpose of the second factor, since the whole point is proving the specific person is present.
Do not log into client accounts at all. Connect them once through the network's authorization flow to a management platform, then work from the platform. The client keeps two-factor authentication fully enabled on their own account, the agency never needs a code, and every team member logs in with their own platform credentials, secured with their own second factor. Cloud Campaign works this way, with unlimited users on every plan so per-person logins never carry an extra cost, which removes the last practical excuse for credential sharing.
Initial setup and periodic reconnections sometimes require the client to authenticate. Handle those on a short scheduled call where the client enters their own credentials and approves the prompt, which takes minutes and keeps the second factor meaningful. Where a client insists the agency hold access directly, ask them to add the agency to their business manager rather than sharing a password, and set that expectation during onboarding.
Encourage clients to enable two-factor authentication on every account and to keep their own recovery methods current. An agency that pushes clients toward stronger account security, rather than asking them to weaken it for convenience, is demonstrating exactly the judgment they are paying for.
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