Box or Google shared drives for an agency: keep the work when the project ends

For ongoing agency work, create the production space under the company’s control before work begins, and require the agency to place editable source files there alongside approved exports. A Google shared drive gives the clearest stated custody rule: its content belongs to the team and remains when members leave. Box can also support a company-owned project folder, but its folder ownership and inherited invitations need deliberate handling. Check the editable file’s location before accepting the final export.

Start with the files you need to keep

An approved image is useful for publication. It does not replace the editable design source needed for a later revision. Define both as deliverables and give each an agreed location in the company’s project space.

The downloadable synthetic agency project manifest illustrates a small production set:

Illustrative path	What the agency needs to do	Where it belongs
Agency-production/brief.docx	Comment on the scope	Agency production space
Agency-production/working/design-source.zip	Upload the editable source	Agency production space
Agency-production/final/approved-banner.png	Deliver the approved export	Agency production space
Internal-budget/margin.xlsx	No agency task	Separate internal space

For this example, acceptance covers the editable source and the approved PNG, with the source in a known company location. A link delivered at the end is a useful pointer, but the company should verify that it points to the actual content in its intended space rather than treating a shortcut as proof of custody.

Box: choose the invitation boundary first

For Box, a proposed layout puts Agency-production and Internal-budget beside each other. Invite the agency to the production folder, not a parent containing both. Box folder invitations flow down to descendants, and an inherited parent permission cannot be restricted at a child folder. The parent you invite people to is therefore the meaningful access boundary. Box explains folder permission inheritance.

If the project started in an agency-owned Box folder, settle ownership before closeout. Box says a folder owner can transfer ownership to a direct collaborator, after which the former owner becomes an Editor. Moving an owned folder into a folder owned by someone else also transfers ownership. An enterprise transfer can affect custom URLs, so record any URL the team relies on during a move. Confirm the folder’s named owner directly; uploader identity alone does not establish custody. Box describes collaborator and ownership changes.

A company owner can also set a Box folder so that only owners or co-owners may invite collaborators. That can keep invitation decisions with the people responsible for the project. Box documents folder invitation settings.

Google: dedicate a drive to production

A proposed Google setup uses an organization-created shared drive for the materials the agency may access. Keep Internal-budget/margin.xlsx elsewhere. Google says shared-drive content belongs to the team and files remain when members leave. When an external contributor is allowed to add content to an organization-created shared drive, that content becomes owned by the organization. Google explains shared-drive ownership and external contributions.

Check the organization’s applicable Google edition and access rules before promising outside membership. An outside member needs a Google-associated email, and eligibility depends on those rules. For a narrow task in an existing shared drive, a nonmember folder invitation may suit the scope better than membership across the drive. Drive restrictions still take precedence over file and folder shares. Google describes shared-drive access controls.

Limited-access folders can reduce what nonmanagers see, but they are not a way to exclude a shared-drive Manager. Managers always retain access and are the people who toggle limited access in shared drives. General access or authorized groups may still provide access, and the name of a manually limited folder may remain visible. Use a separate drive or location for a budget that drive Managers should not access. Google explains limited-access folders.

Match access to the editing workflow

Ask how the agency will work before assigning a Google shared-drive role. A Contributor can create, upload, and edit in the web interface. For Drive for desktop or Chrome OS, Contributor access is read-only; desktop creation, upload, and editing require Content manager or Manager. Managers control shared-drive membership. An illustrative designer who must upload design-source.zip through Drive for desktop therefore needs a role that supports desktop uploads, while a browser-only contributor may be able to work as Contributor. Google lists shared-drive role capabilities.

People changes are another reason to use named access and a stable company location. If an agency staffer is replaced, identify that person’s direct, folder, and group routes to the project, remove the access no longer needed, then grant the replacement the appropriate scope. If an internal employee leaves a Google shared drive, the files remain there under the shared-drive ownership rule. For a Box folder owned by an individual who is leaving, resolve its ownership while that owner can still transfer it to a direct collaborator. Google describes file continuity; Box describes folder ownership transfer.

Close out the project in stages

First, accept the editable source and the approved export against the agreed paths. Open the delivered location and verify that the content is in the intended company-owned Box folder or organization-created Google shared drive. Keep any delivery link as a reference to that content, not the sole handoff item.

Next, review access before removing it. Check named memberships, direct shares, and group access. Inspect links to child files and subfolders where they were used. In Box, scheduling a folder link to unshare expires that folder link only: collaborators remain, and links to child files or subfolders are unaffected. Box explains scheduled folder unsharing.

In Google, removing an outside-access restriction later can restore the effect of an existing permission. Review permissions themselves during closeout rather than relying solely on a restriction switch. Google explains how drive restrictions interact with shares.

Questions that should have a named answer

1. Where will the editable source and approved exports reside during production? The answer should name a company-controlled folder or organization-created shared drive and identify who will check both files at acceptance.

2. How will each outside editor work? Confirm whether each person uses the browser or desktop, then check the applicable Google edition, outside-access rules, and role capabilities. For Box, identify the parent folder being invited so its descendants match the intended scope.

3. Who will change access and ownership when people or agencies change? Name the Box folder owner or Google shared-drive Managers, and agree on a review of memberships, direct and group shares, and relevant links at closeout.

Vendor documentation checked October 7, 2026. The manifest is a synthetic worked example; no Box or Google tenant was tested.