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How to Create a Meta Business Account

Cody Schneider•

If you're planning to run ads or manage a business presence on Facebook and Instagram, setting up a Meta Business Account is your first, non-negotiable step. This central hub is the key to unlocking professional marketing tools, collaborating with a team, and keeping your personal and business activities completely separate. This guide will walk you through creating your account step-by-step and show you how to set it up for success.

What Exactly is a Meta Business Account?

Think of the Meta Business Account (formerly known as Facebook Business Manager) as the professional control panel for all your company's assets across Meta's platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. It's a dedicated space, separate from your personal Facebook profile, designed to organize and manage every aspect of your business marketing.

Without one, you’re basically running your business out of your personal pocket. With one, you get a briefcase full of professional tools. Here’s why it's so important:

  • Separates Work and Personal Life: Your personal Facebook profile is used to log in, but absolutely nothing from your profile gets shared with your business colleagues. No one will see your vacation photos or personal posts. It keeps your professional life clean and tidy.

  • Centralized Asset Management: It brings all your business resources - like your Facebook Page, Instagram account, Ad Account, and tracking Pixels - together under one roof. No more trying to remember who has access to what.

  • Secure Team and Agency Collaboration: You can grant specific permissions to employees, contractors, or marketing agencies without ever sharing your login credentials. You control who can access which assets and what they're allowed to do, from posting content to running ad campaigns.

  • Access to Powerful Tools: A Business Account is your gateway to essential marketing tools like Meta Ads Manager, Commerce Manager, Events Manager (for the Meta Pixel), and advanced audience-building features.

  • Streamlined Billing: Manage all your advertising payments and see your spending history in one consolidated place, making financial tracking much simpler.

Before You Start: What You'll Need

The setup process is pretty straightforward, but you’ll save time by having these few things ready to go:

  • An active personal Facebook profile. This is required to create a Business Account and verify your identity. Again, rest assured that no one you grant access to will see any of your personal profile information.

  • An existing Facebook Business Page. If you don't have one yet, you can create one during the setup process. It's best to have it ready, though.

  • Basic business information. This includes your official business name, registered address, phone number, and website URL.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Create Your Meta Business Account

Ready to get started? The process takes about 10 minutes. Just follow these steps carefully, and you’ll have your account up and running in no time.

Step 1: Go to the Meta Business Site

Open your web browser and navigate to https://business.facebook.com/overview. You’ll see an overview of the platform and its key features. In the top right corner, click the blue button that says "Create account".

Note: If you are already logged into Facebook, it may automatically use your current profile. Make sure you are logged into the personal Facebook account you want to be the primary administrator of the business.

Step 2: Enter Initial Business Details

A pop-up window will appear asking for some basic information. Fill in the following fields:

  • Business and account name: Enter your official business name here. This is what your team members and partners will see.

  • Your name: This should pre-fill based on your Facebook profile name.

  • Your work email address: Use a professional email address associated with your business (e.g., you@yourcompany.com). Meta will send a confirmation link here, and it’s where all important notifications about your account will go.

Once you’ve filled everything in, click "Next."

Step 3: Add Your Business Address

The next screen asks for more detailed information about your business. Be sure to use your company's registered physical address, not a P.O. Box. The fields include:

  • Country

  • Street Address

  • City, State, and ZIP code

  • Business Phone Number

  • Website URL

You’ll also need to specify if this account is to promote your own business or to provide services to other businesses (like if you're a marketing agency). Select the appropriate option and then click "Submit."

Step 4: Verify Your Email Address

After you click "Submit," Meta will send a confirmation email to the work address you provided. Go to your inbox, open that email, and click the confirmation link inside. This is a crucial step to verify that you own the email address and fully activate your account. If you don't see it, check your spam or junk folder.

And that's it! Your Meta Business Account is now created. Now you just need to populate it with your assets and team members.

Setting Up Your New Account: Your First Three Steps

Creating the account is just the beginning. The real power comes from connecting your assets and people. You'll be automatically redirected to your Business Manager dashboard (sometimes called the Business Suite). Here’s what to do next.

1. Connect Your Facebook Page

Your Facebook Page is likely the first asset you'll want to add. Don't worry, you're not creating a new one, you're 'claiming' the one you already own and bringing it under the management of your new Business Account.

  • In your Business Manager dashboard, look for an option that says "Business settings" or a gear icon (⚙️) usually in the bottom-left corner.

  • On the left-hand navigation menu, under "Accounts," click on "Pages."

  • Click the blue "+ Add" button, and you’ll see three options: "Add a Page," "Request Access to a Page," and "Create a New Page."

  • Since you already own the Page, choose "Add a Page."

  • Start typing the name of your Facebook Page, and select it when it appears in the list. Click "Add Page."

As long as you are already an admin of that Page from your personal account, it will be added instantly. Your Page is now managed within your Business Account.

2. Create or Add an Ad Account

An Ad Account is where you manage your ad campaigns, billing, and performance metrics. You can't run ads without one.

  • In "Business settings," go to "Ad accounts" on the left-hand menu.

  • Click the "+ Add" button. You’ll see three options again:

    • Add an Ad Account: Choose this if you own an existing ad account you've been using personally and want to move it into the business. Warning: This action is irreversible. Once you move an ad account into Business Manager, you can't move it back out.

    • Request Access to an Ad Account: For agencies who need to run ads on behalf of a client.

    • Create a New Ad Account: This is the recommended option for most new businesses. It creates a fresh, clean ad account owned by your business.

  • If you create a new one, you'll be prompted to enter an account name, select your time zone, and choose your currency. This is important - get it right, because you can't change the time zone or currency later!

After creating the ad account, be sure to assign yourself (and any relevant team members) as an admin so you can actually use it.

3. Add People or Partners

This is where the collaboration features really shine. You can add your team members or grant partner access to an agency securely.

Adding Team Members (People)

  • Go to "Business settings" and click on "People."

  • Click "+ Add" and enter the work email address of the team member you want to invite. You can assign them as an Employee (standard access) or Admin (full control). It’s best to only grant Admin access to people who absolutely need it.

  • On the next screen, you assign them to specific assets. Select your Facebook Page and Ad Account from the list, and use the toggles on the right to decide what permissions they have (e.g., "Create Ads," "View Page Performance," "Publish Content").

  • Click "Invite." Your team member will get an email invitation to join your business.

Adding an Agency (Partners)

  • Never add an agency by making someone an "employee." The proper way is to grant Partner access. This is more secure and gives you better oversight.

  • In "Business settings," go to "Partners."

  • Click "+ Add" and choose "Give a partner access to your assets."

  • Enter the Partner Business ID provided by your agency. They will give you this number.

  • Just like with a person, you then assign the partner access to specific assets (your Page, ad account, Instagram, etc.) and give them a role (like "Advertiser" or "Analyst").

With these three steps complete, your Meta Business Account is properly set up and ready for you to start managing your marketing efforts like a pro.

Final Thoughts

Setting up a Meta Business Account is a foundational requirement for any serious marketing on Facebook and Instagram. It takes you from a casual user to a professional manager, giving you the tools, security, and organization needed to scale your efforts, collaborate with a team, and gain clear insights into what’s working.

Once you start running campaigns, you’ll find that your marketing data isn't just in Meta but scattered across Google Analytics, your email platform, and your storefront. At https://www.graphed.com/register, we created a way to solve this chaos. We connect to all your marketing and sales sources - including Facebook Ads - and let you build real-time, consolidated dashboards just by asking questions in plain English. Instead of spending hours in spreadsheets, you can get instant answers and focus on strategy.