What Is a Meta Business Portfolio? (2026)
What is a Meta business portfolio?
A business portfolio is the Meta Business Suite container, formerly called Business Manager, that holds a business's Facebook Pages, Instagram and Threads accounts, ad accounts, catalogues, pixels and apps, plus the people and partners who work on them. Each asset belongs to one portfolio. You can personally create up to two portfolios and belong to any number.
Think of a business portfolio as the legal owner’s filing cabinet on Meta. Your Page, Instagram account, ad accounts, catalogue and pixel go in it, and every person or agency who touches them gets access through it, at a level you set. It is the same idea Business Manager was, under a new name inside Meta Business Suite. Getting it right early matters, because an asset can sit in only one portfolio and some moves can’t be undone.
What does a business portfolio hold?
Meta describes a business portfolio as a way to bring Facebook Pages, Instagram accounts, Threads accounts, ad accounts, catalogues and other business assets together, and manage both the assets and the people who access them in one place (About business portfolios). Through it you can:
- See and manage assets such as commerce accounts, datasets and apps
- Give people only the access they need for their job
- Run ads across Facebook, Instagram and Threads
- Work with partners, agencies and consultants
- Add system users for API access
- Review security risks in Security Centre
Meta also says you need a business portfolio to use Meta Business Suite, enrol in monthly invoicing, run ads about social issues, elections or politics, verify your domain, and create a publisher block list.
Is a business portfolio the same as Business Manager?
In practice, yes. The old Business Manager tools page, facebook.com/business/tools/business-manager, now redirects to Meta’s Meta Business Suite page, and the help centre describes everything as a business portfolio inside Meta Business Suite (How Meta Business Suite works). The role names changed with it. Meta’s permissions article gives the old names: full control was the business admin role, basic access was the employee role, and apps and integrations was the developer role (About business portfolio permissions).
The old name survives in two places: Meta’s developer documentation still calls the API the Business Manager API, and many searches still say Business Manager. They mean the same container.
Who can access a business portfolio?
Meta has three kinds of users: people, partners and system users (About users in your business portfolio). People are individuals you add. Partners are other businesses, such as an agency or a client, and they must have their own business portfolio. System users represent servers or software making API calls, and not every account has them.
People get one of these access levels (About business portfolio permissions):
| Access level | What it allows | Meta’s note |
|---|---|---|
| Full control | Everything: settings, people, assets, partners, and deleting the portfolio | Formerly the business admin role |
| Basic | Work only on the assets assigned to them | Formerly the employee role; the default for new people |
| Apps and integrations | Set up the Conversions API, monitor events, edit apps, create access tokens | Formerly the developer role |
| Finance | View or manage transactions, invoices, account spend and payment methods | An advanced option added on top of another level |
| Temporary | Basic access for 3 to 75 days | Revoked automatically when it expires |
Access to each asset is set separately. Someone can have full control of one ad account without full control of the portfolio, and Meta says portfolio-level permissions override asset-level ones for ad accounts (Add an ad account to your business portfolio). Give agencies partner access to specific assets rather than adding their staff as people with full control; how do I take over a Meta ads account from an agency? covers the reverse move.
How do I create a business portfolio?
Meta’s steps (Create a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite):
- Go to business.facebook.com and log in with your Facebook profile or a managed Meta account.
- Click the drop-down menu below Home in the top left, then Create a business portfolio.
- Enter a name that matches your business’s public name. Special characters aren’t allowed.
- Enter your first name, surname and business email address if you logged in with a Facebook profile.
- Click Create, then confirm the business email address from the email Meta sends.
- Add assets: your Page, Instagram account, ad account, pixel and any apps, then add people and partners.
Meta warns that a new business portfolio or ad account may not have every advertising feature at first; Business Support Home shows what you can use and what to do to unlock more. Once created, you have full control, and your contact information is visible to people you add.
What limits apply to a business portfolio?
The numbers Meta publishes:
- Portfolios per person. You can personally create up to two business portfolios, and there is no limit on how many you can belong to (Create a business portfolio).
- One home per asset. Business assets can belong to only one business portfolio. Another portfolio can be given shared access, but not ownership.
- Ad accounts. A new portfolio can create one ad account, rising to three after a campaign delivers and a payment is made. An ad account created inside a portfolio stays there permanently and can’t be deleted or transferred (Add an ad account to your business portfolio). The full rules are in how many ad accounts can a Meta business portfolio have?
- People per ad account. One person can manage up to 25 ad accounts, and an ad account can be assigned to up to 25 people (Ad account limits).
Because ownership is hard to reverse, decide who owns the portfolio before you add assets. Have the business own it, with at least two people holding full control.
What happens if you delete a business portfolio?
Deletion can’t be reversed after a 24-hour pending period (How do I delete my business portfolio?). Meta permanently erases event source groups, the asset library and projects, and removes your access to other businesses’ Pages, ad accounts and pixels. Pages go to another portfolio or back to the owner’s personal profile. People keep their assigned access to each Page and ad account and continue through their personal profiles. Only someone with full control can delete, and not every portfolio is eligible. If a portfolio has been restricted rather than deleted, see what should I do first when Meta disables my ad account?; for the vocabulary around all of this, see the Meta ads glossary.
FAQ
Do I need a business portfolio to run Facebook ads?
Not strictly; ad accounts outside a business portfolio still exist. But Meta says you need a business portfolio to use Meta Business Suite, enrol in monthly invoicing, run ads about social issues, elections or politics, verify a domain, and create a publisher block list, and it is how you share access safely.
How many business portfolios can I create?
Meta says you can personally create up to two business portfolios. There is no limit on how many portfolios you can belong to, so an agency employee can work inside many clients’ portfolios through partner access or by being added as a person.
Where do I find my business portfolio ID?
Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite and select Business portfolio info in the left menu. The ID number is shown below your portfolio’s name. Partners need it to share assets with you, and Meta asks for it when granting access to things like monthly invoices or a Meta pixel.
Can an asset be in two business portfolios?
No. Meta says business assets can belong to only one business portfolio. Another portfolio can get shared access, for example as a partner, but ownership stays with the first portfolio. An ad account created inside a portfolio can never be transferred out of it.
Sources
Sources: Meta Business Help Centre, About business portfolios, About business portfolio and business asset permissions, About users in your business portfolio, Create a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite, Add an ad account to your business portfolio, Ad account limits, How do I delete my business portfolio?, Find your business portfolio ID and How Meta Business Suite works; Meta for Developers, Business Manager API; the redirect of facebook.com/business/tools/business-manager (checked 2 Oct 2026).