Business Manager and Ad Account Setup

Meta Business Manager (now Meta Business Suite's admin layer) is the account structure that holds a client's Facebook Page, ad account, and Pixel together, and how you set this up on day one determines how smoothly the rest of the engagement goes.

There are two common setups: working inside the client's own Business Manager as an added partner (safer for the client — they retain full ownership and can revoke access instantly), or having the client grant you Partner access to specific assets from your own Business Manager. For new client relationships, requesting Partner access to their existing Page and ad account is usually the cleaner, more trust-building option, since it doesn't require the client to hand over primary ownership of assets they'll want to keep regardless of whether your engagement continues.

Whichever structure you use, confirm access to all three critical assets before you consider onboarding complete: the Facebook Page, the ad account, and the Meta Pixel (or Conversions API setup) on their website. Missing any one of these typically surfaces as a frustrating mid-campaign blocker, so verifying access in week one — not when you're ready to launch — saves real time later.