Working with a marketing agency to manage your Facebook and Instagram advertising is a smart move for many businesses. But sharing your Business Manager login or giving the agency full admin control over your account is not the way to do it. Meta Business Manager has a Partner system specifically designed for this situation, and using it properly protects both you and the agency.
This guide explains exactly how to give an agency access to your Meta Business Manager — including your Pages, ad accounts, Instagram, and pixels — using the Partner access method.
Why It Matters
When you use the Partner system to grant agency access, the agency's employees can work within their own Business Manager while managing your assets. You stay in control of what they can access and what they can do. If the relationship ends, you revoke the partnership from your side — there is no need to change passwords, audit every account, or wonder if they retained access somewhere.
This also protects the agency. If your account is ever audited or has issues, the partner relationship clearly documents which assets they had access to and when. It is a cleaner, more professional arrangement than sharing logins or adding individual agency employees as admins.
What You Need Before You Start
You need to be an Admin of your Meta Business Manager. You need the agency's Business Manager ID — ask them for it. Every Business Manager has a unique numeric ID, which the agency can find in their Business Settings → Business info. You should know exactly which assets you want to give them access to: specific Pages, ad accounts, Instagram accounts, pixels, or the full Business Manager.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Get the Agency's Business Manager ID
Before you can add the agency as a partner, you need their Business Manager ID. Ask your agency contact for this number. They can find it by going to business.facebook.com → Business Settings → Business info. The ID is a long numeric string displayed near the top of the page.
Step 2: Open Your Business Manager
Go to business.facebook.com and log in with your Admin account.
Step 3: Go to Business Settings
Click the gear icon in the left sidebar to open Business Settings.
Step 4: Navigate to Partners
In the Business Settings left sidebar, scroll down to find Partners (sometimes listed under the "Users" or "People and assets" section). Click Partners. You will see any existing partner relationships and an option to add new ones.
Step 5: Click "Add"
Click the Add button to open the partner invitation dialog.
Step 6: Choose "Give a partner access to your assets"
You will see two options: Give a partner access to your assets and Ask a partner to share their assets with you. Choose Give a partner access to your assets — this is what you use when you are the client giving the agency access to your Business Manager's assets.
Step 7: Enter the Agency's Business Manager ID
Paste or type the agency's Business Manager ID into the field provided. Click Next or Confirm to proceed.
Step 8: Select the Assets to Share
You will now see a list of all assets in your Business Manager. Go through each section and assign the appropriate access level:
Pages: Select your Facebook Page and choose the role — Admin or Employee (with specific tasks). For most agencies, Employee access with full task permissions is appropriate. Reserve Admin for cases where the agency genuinely needs to manage Page settings and roles.
Ad accounts: Select the ad account(s) the agency will manage. Choose the access level — Admin, Advertiser (to create and manage campaigns), or Analyst (to view only). For an agency that is running ads for you, Advertiser access is typically sufficient.
Instagram accounts: Select the Instagram account(s) the agency will manage and assign the appropriate role.
Pixels and data sources: If the agency needs access to your Meta Pixel for ad optimization and tracking, add the pixel under the Data sources section and assign them Analyst or Admin access.
Step 9: Send the Partner Invitation
Once you have selected all the assets and roles, click Send request or Confirm. Meta will send a notification to the agency's Business Manager. The agency must accept the partnership from their end before they gain access.
Step 10: Confirm Acceptance With the Agency
Let your agency contact know that you have sent the partner invitation. They need to accept it from their Business Manager — someone with Admin access on their side must do this. Once accepted, they will see your assets in their Business Manager and can begin working.
Common Issues and How to Fix Them
The agency's Business Manager ID is not being recognized. Double-check that the ID is correct — it should be a long number with no spaces or letters. Also confirm that the agency's Business Manager account is active and not restricted by Meta.
I added the agency but they say they cannot see the assets. The agency must accept the partner invitation from their own Business Manager. Ask them to go to Business Settings → Requests to find and accept the incoming invitation.
I want to give the agency access to the ad account's billing but I am not sure how. Only an Admin of the ad account can access billing settings. If you give the agency Admin access to the ad account, they will be able to see billing. If you prefer to keep billing private, give them Advertiser access instead — this lets them run ads without seeing financial information.
I accidentally gave the agency full admin access to my Business Manager. Remove the partner and reinvite them with the correct asset-level permissions. Full Business Manager admin access should never be given to a partner — always use asset-level assignments instead.
Tips to Get the Most Out of Agency Partnerships
Share only what they need. Use the asset-level access controls to give the agency access only to the specific Pages, ad accounts, and pixels they are actively working with. Avoid giving them access to assets that are unrelated to your project together.
Conduct a quarterly access review. Partner relationships can linger after projects end. Set a calendar reminder every quarter to review your Partners list and remove any relationships that are no longer active.
Keep at least one internal admin on all assets. Even when working with an agency, make sure at least one person at your company has Admin access to all key assets. If the agency relationship ends suddenly, you need to be able to access everything without their help.
Document the partnership. Keep a record of when partner access was granted, what assets they have access to, and what the agreed scope of work is. This documentation is useful for audits and for resolving any disputes about what the agency was authorized to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between adding an agency as a Partner versus adding individual agency employees to my Business Manager?
Adding the agency as a Partner means the agency manages access for their own employees from within their Business Manager. You do not need to manage individual people — you manage the partnership. Adding individual employees directly to your Business Manager means you are responsible for managing each person, which becomes messy when agency staff change. Partner access is the professional and recommended approach.
Can the agency create ad campaigns on my behalf once they have access?
Yes, if you have given them at least Advertiser access to your ad account. They can create, manage, and optimize campaigns from within their Business Manager using your ad account — and the spending will be charged to your billing method on file.
Will the agency be able to see my personal Facebook profile or personal data?
No. Partner access is strictly limited to the business assets you share. They cannot see your personal Facebook profile, your personal messages, or any data outside of the specific Pages, ad accounts, and Instagram accounts you have explicitly given them access to.
How do I remove agency access when the relationship ends?
Go to Business Settings → Partners, find the agency's partner entry, and click to remove or end the partnership. This immediately revokes their access to all assets you shared. They will no longer see your assets in their Business Manager.