Meta Business Manager Setup in 2026
- Frederic Wolny
- Dec 3, 2025
- 12 min read
Updated: Aug 11
Content Table
What is the Meta Business Manager (Facebook Business Manager?
The Meta Business Manager is the central platform for advertisers who want to run ads on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. The major advantage is that this tool allows you to manage all components ("assets") in one central place: your Facebook Page, Instagram account, ad account, pixel, payment methods, and more.
Its primary purpose is organization.
Definition of the term:
Officially, Meta does not refer to Business Managers, but to Business Portfolios. However, the term Meta Business Manager is much more commonly used.
There is also no separate Facebook Business Manager or Instagram Business Manager. Everything is combined within the Meta Business Manager.
So if you are looking for a company account, the Meta Business Platform, a professional Meta account, the FB Business Manager, or Meta for Business, you've come to the right place.
What are the requirements for the Meta Business Manager setup?
Setting up Meta Business Manager has never been particularly user-friendly.
Most people want to launch their ads right away—but Meta puts the brakes on and says:
“Hold your horses. First, I want to make sure there is a real person, a real company, and a valid payment method behind your ad account.”
Meta wants to prevent ads from being run without anyone paying for them in the end.
That is why several security measures must be completed to avoid mistakes during setup.
In this article, I will guide you through all the important steps one by one.
Setting up your personal Facebook profile
Yes, you read that correctly. The first requirement is your old Facebook profile.
Important: You can only create a Meta Business Manager using a personal Facebook profile.
These requirements are essential for setting up your Meta Business Manager:
You can only have one Facebook-profile
Many people feel the urge to create a second, business related profile on Facebook. However, this violates Facebook's Community Guidelines. Doing so may result in your profiles being blocked. This brings us to point two:
Your personal Facebook-profile may not be blocked.
Don't create a second Facebook-profile if your first profile has been blocked, because Meta can easily identify you via your devices and IP address, which will quickly lead to your second profile being blocked. In extreme cases, try to unblock your first account with the help of support. Or use a family member's Facebook-profile. (I didn't say that out loud.)
Your Facebook-profile needs your real full name.
This simply means that you have to enter your real first and last name. No abbreviations, no fantasy names. If you only use Facebook privately, it doesn't matter, but as soon as you want to place ads, you have to be clearly identifiable. You don't need a profile picture. Why this is so important: In case of unusual activity, you have to verify your personal Facebook-profile with your ID card. If you haven't followed my advice, this is where it ends for you. For Meta, it's also considered unusual activity if your profile has been unused for a long time and suddenly wants to set up a Meta Business Manager.
Your Facebook-profile must be protected by two-factor authentication (2FA).
This is the most important security measure for your profile. This prevents unauthorized access to your profile and, later on, to your Business Manager, because we will make 2FA mandatory for all members of your Business Manager. Find out how to set up 2FA for your Facebook profile.
You must agree to personalized advertising on Meta. (Ad preferences)
The rule at Meta is simple: if you want to show personalized ads, you must also allow to receive them. You can set this up in your profile under Account/Settings/Settings&Privacy/Account Overview/Ad Preferences.
You have to:
Agree to advertising in general
Enable personalized advertising
Keep your Instagram profile in mind.
You don't need a personal Instagram profile. You can simply create one for your brand. There are two things you need to keep in mind for Instagram:
Remember to protect it with two-factor authentication (2FA). You can now also log in to Business Manager using your Instagram account.
You must also have agreed to personalized ads in your Instagram profile.
Keep your passwords and email addresses ready.
You will need access to your Facebook, Instagram, and email accounts for this process. Have your passwords ready, as you will need to log in to each account and confirm various verification emails.
Add your business email address to your Facebook account.
Until now, it wasn’t strictly necessary, but now it’s mandatory. Meta is further tightening access to Business Manager.
Therefore, you and all your employees should add your business email address to your Facebook accounts.
You can set this up in your Facebook profile under Account/Settings/Settings & Privacy/Account Overview/Contact Information.
Click on Contact Information. Here you’ll find all the email addresses and phone numbers you can use to log in.
Click on Add Contact Information.
Select Add Email Address.
Enter your business email address.
You will now receive a code at your business email address.
Enter the code.
You will then receive another code at your primary email address.
Enter the code.
Done!
Your employees should also add their work email addresses to their accounts.
That way, you can send invitations to their work email addresses.
Note:
I mean in the Account Overview, not on your public Facebook-profile. No one can see the email addresses you’ve added except you.
New in 2026: Passkeys for Meta
Recently, you may have been required to create a passkey to verify your identity. If this applies to you, you will be notified.
Can people see my personal Facebook profile in Meta Business Manager?
The biggest fear many users have is that someone could view or even access their personal Facebook profile through Business Manager.
That’s not possible—don’t worry.
If your personal Facebook profile is suspended, you will no longer be able to run ads on Meta.
Reactivation is only possible within 180 days of the suspension, and depending on the violation, it may not be possible at all.
That’s why you should follow all safety guidelines from the very beginning.
Prepare you payment method for the Meta Business Manager
Your payment method is the most important basis for placing Meta Ads, alongside your Facebook profile.
The following points should be noted here:
Use your credit card or PayPal.
Use either a credit card or a PayPal account. If using a credit card, make sure it is enabled for online purchases. If necessary, you can also place ads using prepaid credit. However, this is not recommended, as the campaign will end as soon as the budget is used up. You want to avoid this if you want to place ads continuously. Never use direct debit for payment. This is far too risky and can quickly lead to your payment method being blocked. This brings us to point 2:
Always ensure that you have sufficient funds available for your payment method.
Always ensure that you have sufficient funds available on your payment method to cover Meta's direct debits. Failed payments are the quickest way to have your advertising account, profile, and, in the worst case, your payment method blocked.
It is almost impossible to unblock a blocked payment method.
Your payment method may not be blocked.
If too many payments fail, Meta will block your payment method. You’ll then need to contact support to have it unblocked.
Don’t simply create a new advertising account or a new Business Manager.
Payment method blocks are always tied to the specific payment method and apply across all Business Managers.
This means you cannot use a blocked payment method in a new Business Manager.
How do I create the Meta Business Manager?
Once all of the above points have been fulfilled, you can finally get started.
This is how you set up the Meta Business Manager:
Go to www.business.facebook.com and log in. If you do not yet have a personal Facebook profile, you will need to register here first.
Click on “Create Account.”
Please note: Each user can only create two Business Managers.
If you have already created two Business Managers, you will now receive an error message. Please either ask your business partner to create the Business Manager via their account or use an existing Business Manager.
Enter the name of your company, your own name, and your business email address in the pop-up window and click on “Submit.”
You will then receive a verification code via email at your address, which you must confirm.
You can also read about this directly on Facebook: (source)
One last tip before we begin: Make sure to set aside enough time for setup, especially if you also need to create a personal Facebook profile. If you try to run ads too quickly, Meta will flag it as spam.
As a general rule, I recommend setting aside two weeks for setup.
Not sure if you should really set it up by yourself?
How do I log into the Meta Business Manager?
There are two ways for you to log in to your Meta Business Manager:
Log in with your personal Facebook profile
This is the standard method and should always be used.
You will have access to all Business Managers connected to your Facebook profile.
Log in via Instagram
You can now also log in to the Meta Business Manager using your Instagram account.
However, this only works if the Instagram account has already been added to Business Manager.
You will also only have access to the Business Manager your instagram account is connected to.
Access should be restricted to prevent unauthorized access.
You can also switch off this option in the settings.
NOTE: You can grant the Instagram account access to all assets in Business Manager just as you would with a Facebook profile.
However, you cannot grant the Instagram account full admin access.
The status always remains “Everything (except sensitive actions)”
What are sensitive actions?
The million dollar question.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found an explicit list of these; Meta only mentions:
Deleting a Facebook Page
Running ads (based on my experience)
That’s why I always recommend granting access via a Facebook profile.
Note:
Always log in on your laptop or pc, the access via mobile is very restricted.
There is no separate business-login.
How do I set up the Meta Business Manager?
After the creation you can continue with the setup.
First, Meta takes you back to the Meta Business Suite. From there, click the “Settings” button at the bottom left to switch to the new Business Manager view.
Bonus tip: Bookmark all the important URLs to save yourself a lot of time—the internal linking between the tools is terrible.
Your first settings to change in the Meta Business Manager should be:
Adding a second administrator as a backup
Either another person from the company or your service provider. You can find the settings under Settings/People. Always make sure that at least two people are listed as administrators in your Business Manager in case one person loses access or is blocked. To learn how to add someone in Business Manager, see: Adding people.
Setting the 2FA as mandatory for all members of Business Manager
Under Company Information, you will also find the Business Options section. Under “Two-Step Authentication” select “All” from the drop-down menu. This means that anyone who wants to access the BM must authenticate themselves with 2FA. This is the best protection against misuse of your advertising accounts.
This will protect your Business Manager from the most significant risks, such as account suspensions and hacker attacks.
Adding the company information
On this page, you can configure all settings related to your Meta Business Manager.
In the first section, you can add the primary Facebook Page for your Meta Business Manager and change the logo for your Meta Business Manager. You’ll also find your Business Portfolio ID there.
In the second section, enter all the information about your business. This includes your business name, address, phone number, website, and VAT ID under the “Tax ID” heading.
The next step is adding assets to the Meta Business Manager
All components of your Business Manager are called “assets.” These include advertising accounts, Meta pixels, Facebook pages, and Instagram accounts.
How do I add users to the Meta Business Manager?
You can invite users who you want to have access to Meta Business Manager along with you. You can add either
individuals
external partners, such as agencies or freelancers
or system partners
as users. Learn how to add users to the Meta Business Manager.
How do I add assets to Meta Business Manager?
In Meta Business Manager, you can manage various business assets such as
Facebook Pages
Instagram accounts
WhatsApp accounts
Threads accounts
Ad accounts
Data sources and Meta Pixel
Catalogs
Apps
Payment methods
and Domains
These form the foundation for collaborating with employees, agencies, and ad accounts. I explain how to add and properly link each asset step by step in the guide “Adding Meta Business Assets".
What types of verifications exist in the Meta Business Manager?
There are several items in your Meta Business Manager that can or must be verified. You can find these under “Authorizations and Verifications” at the very bottom of the menu.
Depending on your country, there are a number of different verifications—but don’t worry, you don’t have to complete them all.
The most important verification types are:
Business Verification
Identity Verification
Phone Number Verification
Learn which verification methods are available, when they're required, and how to complete each of them step by step.
Meta Business Manager restricted: What can I do?
The worst-case scenario on Meta is always a restriction
If that happens, the first two questions are:
Which specific asset has been restricted?
When was the restriction imposed?
Depending on what has been restricted, you’ll need to take different steps.
Generally speaking, you have 180 days to file an appeal against the restriction. After that, the restrictions are considered permanent.
Learn what to do if your Business Manager account is restricted.
How do I set up the Meta Business Manager for my agency?
In principle, setting up the Meta Business Manager for agencies is the same as for sole proprietorships.
The difference when managing multiple client projects is maintaining a well-organized structure for partner access to client accounts in order to avoid access issues, security risks, and unnecessary administrative effort.
Instead of managing clients within your own Business Manager, each client company should have its own Meta Business Manager.
This ensures that ownership remains clearly defined and that ad accounts, Facebook Pages, Instagram accounts, Pixels, and other assets can be managed securely at any time or transferred to other service providers if needed.
FAQ: What else do I need to know about the Meta Business Manager?
How much does the Meta Business Manager cost?
The Business Manager itself is completely free—you don't pay any usage fees.
However, you do have to pay for:
Running campaigns
The service provider (agency or freelancer)
Do I need a Google Account in order to set up the Meta Business Manager?
You don’t need a Google Account just to set up Meta Business Manager.
BUT, you’ll need a Google Account as soon as you:
Want to integrate the Meta Pixel into Google Tag Manager. You need a Google Account to create a Google Tag Manager account.
Want to connect the Meta Pixel to Google Analytics, or generally track your traffic from Meta in Google Analytics. You need a Google account to set up Google Analytics.
Want to automatically forward your Instant Leads from Meta to a Google Sheet.
Want to view reporting for your Meta Ads in Looker Studio.
Verification emails from Meta aren’t arriving in my business email inbox. What can I do?
For some business email addresses, emails from Meta don’t arrive because they’re blocked by the server.
In this case, contact the system administrator for your email account.
Do I need to install anything to set up Meta Business Manager?
No, you don't need to install anything for Meta Business Manager; all the applications are web-based.
However, you do need to install the Meta Pixel. You can find out how to do that in this article.
How do I change the language of Business Manager to German?
You don’t change the language for Meta Business Manager within Business Manager itself, but rather in your personal Facebook account. The language settings for your personal account are applied to Meta Business Manager and all other tools.
Here’s how to change the language in your personal Facebook account:
1. Go to facebook.com
2. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner and, if necessary, switch to your personal profile.
3. Go to Settings & Privacy.
4. Go to Language.
5. Go to Facebook Language.
6. Select the desired language.
What’s the difference between Meta Business Suite and Business Manager?
Meta Business Suite is officially the place to manage your business on Facebook. In my opinion, the term “place to manage your organic activities” fits better. Everything that has nothing to do with paid ads is handled here.
Everything related to paid ads is handled through Meta Business Manager.
You can find more information about the differences in this article.
Can I add a Facebook group as an asset to Business Manager?
No, unfortunately not. Facebook groups are not business assets and therefore cannot be added to or managed in Business Manager.
Is there a difference between large and small businesses?
Generally speaking, no. The process is always the same.
The difference is that large businesses usually have multiple assets, such as ad accounts, Facebook Pages, and Instagram accounts.
In some cases, they may also have multiple Meta Business Managers if they need multiple billing recipients.
But the setup and linking process always remain the same.
Do you need help setting up your Meta Business Manager?
That's quite a lot of stuff to take care of.
If you need help setting it up, just let me know. As a 2x
Meta-certified media planner, I’ve done this hundreds of times.
I’ll guide you through every step professionally via video call:
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