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Facebook Business Manager: what it is for, and how to give access without losing control
Business Manager, now Meta's business portfolio, holds your ad accounts, pages and pixels. How to structure it and give partner access without passwords.
Published on · Joh · 5 min read
Business Manager, which Meta now calls the business portfolio and manages from Meta Business Suite, is the space that holds everything your business owns on Facebook and Instagram: pages, ad accounts, the pixel, the Instagram account, and the people who have access.
Why it matters
Without a business portfolio, pages and ad accounts are often tied to someone's personal profile: the owner, a former employee, or the agency that created them. The day that person leaves, or their profile is blocked, the business loses access to its own advertising.
The portfolio fixes that: the assets belong to the business, and people only have roles.
What it contains
| Item | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Facebook pages | The identity that runs the ads |
| Instagram accounts | To advertise under your name on Instagram |
| Ad accounts | Where campaigns run and billing happens |
| Pixel and data | What measures visits and enquiries on your site |
| People | Those with access, each with a specific role |
| Partners | Outside businesses you give access to |
Good practice
At least two admins, each with two-factor authentication. If one profile is blocked or someone leaves, the other keeps control. Restricted ad account, what to do.
The ad account and pixel in your name, created in your portfolio. Not the agency's. That is where everything Meta learns about your customers accumulates.
Limited roles. An employee who posts on the page doesn't need access to the ad account and billing.
Giving a provider access without losing control
The right way is never to hand over your login. It is to add them as a partner:
- The provider gives you the ID of their own business portfolio.
- In your settings, you add them as a partner.
- You assign the assets they need (ad account, page, pixel) with the access level you choose.
They work on your account, from their own space. You see everything they do, and can remove access in one click. That is how I work with my clients: the account stays theirs, from the first day to the last.
If an agency set everything up on its side
It is common, and it should be fixed before anything else. Ask for the page to be transferred to your portfolio, and create a new ad account on your side if the old one can't be moved. You will lose the old account's history, but you will never lose it again afterwards.
Further reading: The Facebook pixel and Meta Ads agency or freelancer.
Not sure who owns your accounts? . We take stock together, and put the keys back in your name.