How to Give & Request Access to a Meta Business Portfolio

Meta Business Portfolio was introduced to simplify access management and give businesses more control.

But like most elaborate systems, once you start using it, things can get confusing.

There are different types of permissions (portfolio-level vs asset-level), different ways to give access (people vs partners), and multiple ways to request it.

And if you’re working with clients, that confusion often turns into delays, back-and-forth, or insufficient access.

In this guide, you’ll learn how business portfolio permissions work, how to give and request access correctly, and how to keep everything secure, whether you’re managing your own business or working with clients.

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TL;DR: How to manage access in a business portfolio

If you’re short on time, jump to the section that fits what you need:

Part 1: How to add people to a business portfolio — for adding internal team members

Part 2: How to give partner access to assets — for businesses working with agencies or external collaborators.

Part 3: How to request access to a business portfolio (manually) — For agencies that want to request access directly through Meta.

Part 4: The fastest way to request access (with Leadsie) — For agencies looking to speed up onboarding and avoid manual setup issues.

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What is a business portfolio?

A business portfolio (accessed in Meta Business Suite) is a free, centralized hub where you can manage multiple business assets, like Facebook Pages, and control who has access to them; all without relying on personal logins or scattered access.

If you’re a marketing agency, you can also use it to request access to client assets and manage them from one place.

💡 Note: You might also see this referred to as “Meta Business Manager”. Meta has updated the name, but some guides still use the old term.

Your business portfolio can include:

• Facebook Pages
• Instagram accounts
• Ad accounts (up to 25 accounts)
• Catalogues and data sources
• Domains and apps
• People (your team)
• Partners (agencies or external collaborators)

⁉️ Not sure how this differs from Meta Business Suite? Check out our full guide on the differences between Meta Business Suite and Business Portfolio to understand how each tool works and when to use them.

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How does user access work in a business portfolio?

People vs partner access

There are two main ways to do it: people access and partner access.

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👤 People access (for your team)

People access is used to give access to individuals, usually people who work directly in your business.

You invite them using their email address (which must match their Facebook account), and then assign them permissions based on what they need to do.

This is best for:

• Employees
• Internal team members
• Anyone working directly within your business

This type of access is always granted by someone with admin-level permissions, so individuals can’t request to be added themselves.

🤝 Partner access (for agencies)

Partner access is designed for working with other businesses, like agencies or external collaborators.

Instead of inviting a person to join your own business portfolio, you grant access to another business using their business portfolio ID.

This is best for:

• Marketing agencies
• Freelancers with their own business portfolio
• External partners managing ads, content, or data

Unlike people access, partner access can either be granted by you or requested by the partner. For example, an agency can ask for access to specific assets, and you can approve, reject, or adjust what they’re requesting.

👉 Important: Even if you give a partner full access, they don’t own your assets; your business portfolio does. Each business manages its own team internally: you control who has access on your side, while the partner manages their team within their own business portfolio.

As a result:

✔️ They can’t transfer ownership to themselves

✔️ They can’t share your assets with another business

✔️ They can only work within the permissions you’ve assigned
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Business portfolio permissions explained

When giving access, there are two levels of permissions to understand:

• Business portfolio permissions (what someone can do across the entire portfolio)
• Business asset permissions (what someone can do on specific assets)

These two levels work together, but portfolio permissions always take priority. This means someone’s overall access can limit what they can do, even if they have permissions to a specific asset.

For example, someone can have full control of a business asset but not full control of the business portfolio.

An agency might have full control of your ad account, but still can’t add people, change settings, or manage your entire portfolio.

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Portfolio-level permissions

These control what someone can do across the entire business portfolio.
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Full control

This is the highest level of access and is equivalent to an admin role.

People with full control can manage everything, including:

• People and partners
• Business assets (Pages, ad accounts, etc.)
• Settings and security

They can also:

• Assign or remove permissions
• Add or remove assets
• Delete the business portfolio

Because of this, full control should be limited to a small number of trusted people.

Partial access 

This is the default level when you add someone.

People with partial access:

• Can only access the assets they’re assigned
• Can’t manage people, settings, or the full portfolio

They can still see who has full control of the portfolio, but can’t make any changes to it.

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Advanced permissions (optional)

You can also grant additional permissions for more specific roles, such as finance or technical access.

For example:

• Finance access: View or manage billing, invoices, and payments
• Apps & integrations: Manage technical setups like APIs

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Asset-level permissions

These control what someone can do on a specific asset, like a Facebook Page or ad account.

Unlike portfolio permissions (which apply broadly), asset-level permissions are more granular, so you can decide exactly what someone can do on each asset.

Full control (asset level)

This gives someone complete access to a specific asset.

They can:

• Manage and edit the asset
• Create or publish content (if applicable)
• Run and manage ads
• Delete the asset

This level is useful when someone is fully responsible for managing that asset, but doesn’t need control over your entire business portfolio.

Partial access (task-based)

This limits access to specific actions based on the person’s role.

For example, someone might be able to:

• Run ads
• Create or schedule content
• Respond to messages
• View insights and performance

Part 1: How to add people to a business portfolio

Adding someone to your business portfolio is how you give your team access to work on your assets without sharing passwords.

📝 Before you begin, you need full control of the business portfolio to add people.
If you don’t see the “People” tab, this is usually why.

Then follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to Business Settings in Meta Business Suite.

Step 2. In the left-hand menu, click “People” under the Users section. 

Step 3.  Click “Invite people” in the top right.

You’ll be asked to enter the person’s email address, which must match the one linked to their Facebook account.

Step 4. Choose their portfolio-level permissions.

You’ll typically choose between:

• Full control (admin-level access)
• Partial access (default)

💡 Tip: Only give full control to people who need to manage access. Most team members should have partial access.

Step 5. Assign assets and permissions. This is where you decide what the person can actually work on.

You’ll:

• Select specific assets (e.g., ad accounts, Pages)
• Choose what they can do (e.g., manage ads, view insights, post content)

❗ Important: Being added to the portfolio doesn’t automatically give access to assets. If you skip this step, the person won’t be able to see or do anything.

Step 5. Click “Invite,” and the person will receive an email invitation. They’ll need to accept it before they can access anything.

👉 Keep in mind that it can take some time (sometimes up to a few days) for all permissions to fully apply.

Manage, edit, or remove access to your business portfolio

Once someone has access to your business portfolio, you can update or remove their permissions at any time.

You’ll need full control of the business portfolio to make these changes.

1. Head to your business portfolio settings and click “People” 
2. Select the person you want to manage

From here, you can either edit their permissions or remove them completely.

1️⃣ To update someone’s access:

• Click “Manage” next to Business portfolio access to change their overall access level
• Click “Manage” next to a specific asset to adjust permissions individually

You can also use “Assign assets” at the top to give them access to additional assets.

2️⃣ To remove someone completely, click “Remove” at the top of their profile panel.

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Part 2: How to give partner (agency) access to assets

If you’re working with an agency, you’ll need to grant them partner access to your business portfolio assets rather than adding them as an individual user.

This allows them to manage things like ads, content, or messages without taking ownership of your assets.

📝Before you get started, you’ll need:

• Full control of the business portfolio
• Your partner must have their own business portfolio
• You’ll need their business portfolio ID

Then follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to Business Settings in Meta Business Suite.

Step 2. Click “Partners” in the left-hand menu under the Users section. 

Step 3. Click “Add,” then choose “Give a partner access to your assets.”

This tells Meta you want to share access with another business (not an individual user).

Step 4.  Enter the partner’s business portfolio ID.

This is a 16-digit ID that your partner needs to send you. They can find it under “Business info” in their settings.

🔗 If they’re not sure how to locate it, you can send them this quick guide on finding your business portfolio ID.

Step 5. Next, select the assets you want the agency to access, such as:

• Ad accounts
• Facebook Pages
• Instagram accounts

💡 Tip:  Only share what they actually need. For example, if they’re only running ads, they may not need access to your Page or messages.

Step 6. Set their asset permissions by choosing between:

• Full control (broad access)
• Partial access (specific tasks like managing ads or content)

Step 7. Click “Assign assets” to complete the setup.

In some cases, another admin may need to approve the request before it goes through.

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Remove a partner (agency) from your business portfolio

If you stop working with an agency, you can remove their partner access at any time in Meta Business Suite.

Removing a partner will revoke their access to any assets you’ve shared with them.

You’ll need full control of the business portfolio to do this.

1. Go to your business portfolio settings and click “Partners”
2. Select the partner you want to remove
3. Click Options > Remove from business portfolio
4. Then confirm by clicking “Remove partner.”

Once removed, everyone in that agency will lose access to your business portfolio and its assets.

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✉️ Simple access request message template (for agencies)

If you’d rather have your client add you as a partner (instead of sending a request yourself), you can send them a quick message like this:

Hi [Name],

To get started, we’ll need access to your Meta business assets.

Could you please add our business as a partner in your business portfolio using the ID below and grant access to the following:

• [Ad account name] – ad management access
• [Facebook Page] – content/management access
• [Instagram account] – content access

Business ID: [XXXX]

If it’s easier, we can also send a request from our side—happy to guide you through it if needed.

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Part 3: How to request access to a business portfolio (manually)

When working with a client, there are two ways to get access to their assets:

• Ask the client to add you as a partner (covered in the section above), or
• Send a request directly from your side

Here, we’ll focus on how to request access from your own business portfolio.

📝 Before you get started, make sure:

• You have full control of your business portfolio
• Your client has their own business portfolio
• You have their business portfolio ID and email address

Step 1. Go to Business Settings in Meta Business Suite.

Step 2. Click “Partners” in the left-hand menu under the Users section

Step 3. Select “Add” then select “Ask a partner to assign you their assets”

Step 4. Enter your client’s details

You’ll need:

• Their business portfolio ID (found under Business info)
• Their email address

👉 If they’re not sure how to find their ID, you can share this guide.

Step 5. Choose the desired roles and permissions. This is where you tell the client what you actually need access to.

You’ll define your role, select the types of assets (like ad accounts or Pages), and choose the level of access you’re requesting.

The client can approve, reject, or adjust your request.‍

Step 6. Once you send the request, your client will receive a notification to review and approve it.

You can also track or cancel the request from your Partners tab.

Part 4: Request access to a business portfolio with Leadsie (the fastest way)

In practice, getting access from clients often involves:

❌ Waiting for clients to find and share their business portfolio ID

❌ Following up to get requests approved

❌ Fixing incorrect permissions or missing assets

❌Helping clients figure out where to review or approve requests

And even when you follow the right steps, things can still stall…especially if the client isn’t familiar with Meta’s setup. 😖

Leadsie is a client onboarding software that removes most of that friction. Instead of walking clients through multiple steps, you send them a secure access link.

From there, they:

1. Log in to their account
2. Select the assets you need
3. Grant access in just a few clicks

No need to deal with business portfolio IDs or navigate complex settings.

Why agencies use Leadsie

✅ Faster access with less back-and-forth: Clients don’t need instructions; you send a link, and they assign access minutes.

✅ Fewer setup mistakes: Because clients select assets directly, you avoid missing permissions or incorrect access

✅ Built with security in mind: Access is granted through official platform permissions, so clients stay in control throughout the process

✅ Works across 31+ platforms: You can request access to Meta, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, and more with a single link.

✅ Better client experience: The process feels simple and intuitive, even for non-technical clients.

✅ Built-in offboarding: When a project ends, you can remove access directly from the Leadsie dashboard in just a few clicks without manually going into each platform.

⚡ Agency hack: Get access to all your clients’ marketing accounts with one Leadsie link 

Are you an agency that needs access to multiple marketing or social media accounts?

With Leadsie, you can request and receive access to all your clients’ accounts in just a few clicks. 

Leadsie is a client onboarding software that simplifies requesting and giving access to marketing assets, social media, and ad accounts with one secure link. Get access to your clients' X, Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok, Shopify, LinkedIn, and other platform accounts without sharing passwords. 🔒

Leadsie automates account access management to deliver a fast, secure, and seamless client onboarding experience, helping you impress clients and showcase professionalism from day one.

✅ Minimize frustrating chaser emails and calls for access

✅ Reduces your agency's turnaround time by over 50%

✅ Scales with your agency as you grow beyond onboarding 5-10 new clients a week

✅ Makes it possible to get access to 31+ social, marketing, and analytics platforms at once

✅ Start billable work and billing cycles for your new clients without delays

🎁 Try a free 14-day trial on us—no credit card needed!‍

P.S. It's risk-free, and you get to keep your account connections after the trial ends. 🙌