How to Create a Meta Business and Facebook Ad Account

In thbusinesslaunching ads on Facebook and Instagram followed individual paths. Now, agencies, marketers, and companies can manage everything through Meta Business Suite with improved cross-platform connectivity between Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

To get started with Facebook advertising, you (or your client) will need a Meta Business account. This article will guide you through all the steps to create a Business Portfolio, a Meta Ads account, and— most importantly—how to connect them to run ads for your Facebook or Instagram Page.

💡 Pro tip: In a nutshell, to be able to advertise, you must first create a business account with either your personal Facebook or Instagram account, create a new Business Portfolio (business account), followed by a Meta Ads account.

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BONUS: We’ll let you in on a secret to make setting up your business manager accounts even easier…just keep reading to find out! 🤭

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What is a Meta Business Account?

A Meta Business Account, sometimes used interchangeably to refer to a Meta Business Portfolio, is where you keep and manage your Facebook pages, Instagram profiles and other business assets. It’s also where you can give and revoke user permissions for those assets. It's completely free to create a Meta business account with your personal Facebook account, whether you have an actual business or not.

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Creating a Meta Business Account & Portfolio

Before you start, these are three things you need know:

• To create a Meta Business Account you first need to log in via your personal Facebook or Instagram profiles. This personal profile needs to own the Facebook Page you want to create your Business Account/Business Portfolio for.
• You can create up to two Business Portfolios, but you can belong to an unlimited number of Business Portfolios owned by others. 
• Permissions that you receive—or give someone—through the Business Portfolio will override other permissions. What does this mean? If you gave someone limited access directly through your Page, but gave them Admin access through the Business Portfolio, then they’ll retain Admin access.

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Part 1: How to create a free Meta Business account

Step 1: Go to business.facebook.com using a desktop browser.

Step 2: In this screen, log in with your personal Facebook account by clicking on 'Already have an account?'
Alternatively, you can click 'Sign up with Facebook' to create a new Facebook account on the spot.

Step 3: If this is your first time accessing Meta Business Suite with your account, you might see this screen asking you to create a Business Page. Click 'Create a Business Page.'
💡 Note: If you already have a Facebook Page, you might be asked to verify your account before you can proceed. Do so to secure your account!

We'll continue to the steps of creating your first Meta Business Portfolio.

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Creating your first Business Portfolio

Signing into Meta Business Suite with your personal account isn't enough. You have to create your first Facebook Page in order to unlock business features.

Step 1: Name the portfolio and fill out your name and email. Use your business email (the one you use to conduct business or email customers) with. Click 'Submit.'

Step 2: Check your inbox for the confirmation email. You're now ready to use Meta Business suite!

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Part 2: How to create a new Meta Business Portfolio

A Meta Business Portfolio keeps various Facebook, Instagram and other business assets together so they can be managed from one place. You can have multiple business portfolios, for example, for different clients or businesses.

Step 1: In Meta Business Suite, hover over and click on your profile picture in the left-hand menu, right under the Meta logo.

Step 2: Click 'Create a business portfolio.'

Step 3: Enter basic contact details, then click 'Create.':

• Business Portfolio name: this should match your company’s public name, as it will be visible on Meta’s platforms. Avoid using special characters.
  
  
• Your full name: The name of the person setting up the portfolio.
  
  
• Business email address: Meta will use this email to contact you about your account. It won’t be shown to customers.

Step 4: (Optional) You'd be asked to add business assets (Pages, Instagram accounts, etc) to this portfolio. Select those applicable and click 'Next', otherwise, click 'Skip' and come back to it another time.

Step 5: (Optional) Add people from your team, marketing agency, freelancers, or partners that will help you manage this business portfolio.
There are three levels of access:

• People: Individual employees or freelancers who need access to your Meta assets. 

• Partners: Marketing agencies or other external businesses that manage aspects of your Meta assets. 

• System Users: Non-human accounts created to interact with the Meta APIs like software and servers.   

Invited users will receive an email with a link for them to accept the invite. 

Step 6: Final step. Review and confirm your choices, then click 'Confirm'. That's all! 🙌

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🛠️ Troubleshooting: Unable to access Meta Business Suite

If you're seeing the dreaded message telling you 'Unable to access Meta Business Suite with this account' while you're trying to make any of the steps above, you can resolve it by simply creating a Business Page (AKA Facebook Page via Meta Business Suite).

On the error message screen, click 'Create a Business Page'. You can follow along the steps above to finish the set up.

💡 Pro tip: You can just create a dummy Page if you are not ready to set up a business Page yet. Doing so will remove the error message, and you have time to continue creating business assets and portfolio in the meanwhile.

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Part 3: How to create a Facebook/Meta Ad Account 

Step 1: In Meta Business Suite's Settings, look under' Accounts' → click 'Ad accounts', or go there directly using this Meta link 🔗.

Step 2: Click on a blue '+ Add' buttons on screen.

Step 3: From the options, select 'Create a new ad account.'

Step 4: Fill in details, such as ad account name, your time zone, and currency. Click 'Next.'

Step 5: Follow the on-screen prompts to declare usage and review the info and terms. Then click 'Create Ad Account'.
⚠️ Note: There are ad account limits per account. Once you create an ad account that's tied to a business portfolio, you cannot delete the ad account. However, you can close it and possibly reactivate it again in future. Read more about closing Meta/Facebook ad accounts.

Step 6: Now you have a Facebook/Meta ad account, but there's just one more step before you can start using it. Add at least one payment method to your Ad account when prompted to do so.

Congrats! You’re now ready to start with Facebook and Instagram advertising and launch your first ad campaign!

🔗 Related article: How to Request Access to a Facebook Ad Account

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How to link other assets to your Meta Business Portfolio

Apart from Facebook Pages, business portfolios can also house other business assets so they can be managed together.

Step 1: Go to 'Settings'

Step 2: Select from the dropdown—Pages, ad accounts, business asset groups, apps, Instagram accounts, and WhatsApp accounts.

Step 3: Click the blue '+ Add' button and follow the on-screen instructions to select and confirm.

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How to delete a Meta Business Portfolio

Step 1: Go to Meta Business 'Settings' → 'Business info' (or use this link to get there directly 🔗).

Step 2: In the top right corner, click 'Permanently delete business.'

Step 3: The confirmation pop up explains what happens when you deleta a Business Portfolio—you may lost some accounts tied into it, so double check before you proceed. Click 'Delete portfolio' if you are certain.

That's all! You have 24 hours to change your mind if this was done by mistake.

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FAQs

What is the difference between a normal Facebook account and a business account?

A normal or personal Facebook account is for individual and social use, whereas a business account unlocks marketing and business features within Meta Business Suite.

Both personal and business accounts are free, but to create a business account, you will use your personal account as your digital identity within the Meta ecosystem. Marketing agencies, freelancers, and social media managers will mainly work from Meta Business Suite to tap into its extensive tools to monetize content, run ads, or grow an audience.

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How does a Meta Business Account fit within the Meta ecosystem?

If you're confused by Meta's Help Centre articles and the number of terms, apps, tools, and features—you're not alone. Things are constantly being changed, phased out, or renamed. Here’s how the Meta Business Account functions either in relation or with other Meta tools:

• Both Meta Business Account and Business Manager account are now called Business Portfolio. Within each Business Portfolio, you can have separate business assets, i.e., Facebook Pages (as seen on the image below). 
• Meta Business Suite is the place from which you manage all Business Portfolios, Ad accounts, and more. It gives the option to handle ads for separate businesses, keeping everything divided into individual folders (portfolios) or client accounts.
• The terms “Facebook Business Manager” and “Facebook Ad Manager” are now phased out. There used to be a separate place where you could run Facebook-specific ads. Now, Instagram and Facebook ads are housed under Meta Ads Manager.

🔗 Related article: Meta Business Suite vs. Business Portfolio

What is a Facebook Ad Account? 

A Facebook Ad account is Meta’s central hub for creating new campaigns, managing Facebook pixel, tracking payments, and the amount you spend on each promotion.

You can directly upload your ad creative and copy into Facebook Ads Manager, set a budget, and define your target audience. 

It’s the ultimate space for managing all your advertising activities on both Facebook and Instagram.

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Secret tip: Use Leadsie to create Meta accounts easily

We’ve made it super easy to set up your Meta Business Portfolio and create a Facebook Ad Account without going through the whole process listed above. 

Instead of going through these various stages and steps or having to guide your new clients through calls, you can do account creation and grant/request access at the same time.

Here’s how Leadsie works:

Are you an agency that runs ads for clients who don't have a Business Manager (Portfolio) or Facebook Ad Account set up yet?

Request asset access via Leadsie and it will show them how to create Meta Business Manager account and a Facebook Ad account in a few clicks. With this simple hack, you'll be running successful ads in no time! 🥳

Still onboarding new clients each month the usual way?

Switch to automated access requests at your marketing agency with a free 14-day trial—no credit card needed.

P.S. And you get to keep the account connections after the trial ends! 🙌