Your agency tells you they need to run a Facebook ad, and the first question is - "send us access to your Ads account". And you either have no idea whether that account even exists, or you have one, but it's been sitting untouched for years.

This text covers both cases - how to open an account from scratch, and how to give someone (an agency, an employee) access, without handing over your personal Facebook password.

First, let's clear up three different terms

This is the biggest source of confusion, so let's clarify it before getting into the steps.

Your personal Facebook profile is your private account (name, friends). It's always the foundation - you log into everything else through it, but it's never "opened" or shared with an agency.

A Business Manager is a business workspace created through your personal profile, and inside it live ad accounts, business pages, and the people who have access - all organized in one place.

An Ad Account is the specific account inside the Business Manager where budget gets spent, campaigns get created, and a payment card gets linked. This is what an agency actually means when they say "send us access to the Ads account".

How to open a Business Manager, if you don't have one yet

1. Open business.facebook.com in your browser and sign in with your personal Facebook account.
2. Click Create account.
3. Enter your business name, your name, and a business email address.
4. Click Submit - the Business Manager gets created instantly.
5. Fill in additional business details when asked - address, website, business type.

How to open an ad account inside the Business Manager

1. Inside the Business Manager, click the gear icon for Business settings, in the top right corner.
2. In the left menu, choose Accounts, then Ad accounts.
3. Click Add, then choose Create a new ad account.
4. Enter a name for the account (say, your business name), choose a time zone and currency - these can't be changed later, so be sure they're correct before confirming.
5. Click Next and confirm the account is for your business.
6. The account is created - next you'll link a payment method.

How to link a payment method

1. Within that same ad account, go to Ad account settings.
2. Find the Payment method section and click Add payment method.
3. Enter your card details - this card will be automatically charged for ad spend as it accrues.

How to link your business Facebook Page

For ads to be created at all, your business's Facebook Page needs to be linked to the Business Manager.

1. In Business settings, choose Accounts, then Pages.
2. Click Add - if the page is already yours, choose Add a Page and find it by name. If the page doesn't exist yet, choose Create a new Page.

How to add an administrator or agency - Option 1: adding a person directly

This is the simplest way, and best when you're adding a specific person (an employee), not an entire agency.

1. In Business settings, choose Users, then People.
2. Click Add and enter the email address of the person you're adding.
3. Choose a role - Admin for full control, or Employee for more limited access.
4. In the next step, choose exactly which ad account (and/or page) that person should have access to, and at what permission level.
5. Click Send invite - the person gets an email notification and has to accept it for access to become active.

How to add an agency - Option 2: via their Business Manager ID (recommended)

When working with an agency, a safer and more professional approach is to give them access through their Business Manager ID, instead of through an individual's personal email address - this is called Partner access, and the agency gets access as a business entity, not as an individual.

1. Ask the agency for their Business Manager ID - a string of numbers they find in their own Business Manager under Business settings > Business info.
2. In your own Business Manager, go to Business settings > Accounts > Ad accounts.
3. Select the specific ad account, then click Assign partners or Partner access.
4. Enter the Business Manager ID the agency sent you.
5. Choose the access level the agency gets (usually Full control, for an agency running campaigns).
6. Confirm - the agency gets a notification, and access becomes active once they accept it on their end.

This method is better than adding an individual person from the agency, since access stays tied to the agency as a whole - if the person who was working with you changes within the agency, you don't need to change anything on your end.

How to find your own Business Manager ID (if someone asks you for it)

1. In the Business Manager, go to Business settings.
2. In the Business info section, the ID usually shows up right under the business name, as a string of numbers.

How to remove someone's access

1. Go back to Business settings > Users > People (for individuals), or Accounts > Ad accounts > Assigned partners (for agencies).
2. Find the person or partner whose access you want to remove, click the three-dot menu next to their name, then Remove.

Why you shouldn't share your personal Facebook password

• Sharing a password means the agency has access to your private profile too, not just the business side - that's far more than they actually need
• Facebook actively monitors and penalizes shared accounts, which in the worst case can lead to a temporary or permanent block
• When someone has access through their own account (instead of your password), that access is easy to revoke instantly once it's no longer needed, with nothing to change on your own account

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a personal Facebook profile to create a Business Manager? Yes - a Business Manager is always created through a personal profile, but the profile itself stays private and separate; nobody who gets access to the Business Manager sees your personal profile, friends, or posts.

What if I already have an old, abandoned Ads account but don't know the login details? If the account is linked to your personal profile, sign into business.facebook.com with that profile and check the Ad accounts section - the account should show up there automatically, with no separate password needed.

How long does it take for the account to be open and ready to use? Creating the account is instant, but Facebook occasionally requires additional identity or business verification before the account can actively spend budget - this usually takes anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.

Can I have multiple ad accounts within one Business Manager? Yes, a single Business Manager can hold multiple ad accounts at once, useful if you have several businesses or brands.

What if an agency is asking for access and I don't even know if I have a Business Manager? Sign into business.facebook.com with your personal profile - if a Business Manager exists, you'll see it right away on the home screen. If it doesn't exist, follow the creation steps described earlier.

In closing

Opening an account and granting access only feels complicated the first time - after that, adding a new person or agency takes a few minutes, with zero risk to your personal profile.

If an agency or employee is currently using your personal password for access, it's worth switching that over to Partner access or a direct add as soon as possible - it's both safer and more professionally handled.