Facebook Business Manager is a tool designed for agency use that allows an agency owner to assign Page and Ads account access of client accounts to employees at the agency. Facebook has steadily encouraged adoption by more than just agencies – including requiring it for the use of customer email audiences and verifying your domain – and getting used to the Business Manager interface feels both overwhelming and unnecessary to many small business owners.

We’ve previously looked at how to accept an invitation to manage a Facebook Page in someone else’s Business Manager and how to move your Facebook Page and Ads Account into Business Manager. Now let’s look at the steps to request access to manager another Facebook Page in your Business Manager, and how to invite employees, vendors or contractors to work in your Business Manager account.

How To Request Business Manager Access to a Facebook Page & Ads Account

How to Request Access to a Facebook Page in Business Manager 

From Business.Facebook.com, click on your Business Manager (if you see a list of multiple Business Managers you’ve previously been added to), then Business Settings –> Pages –> Add.

From the menu in the left sidebar, click on Pages, then the blue “+ Add” button. Choose “Request Access to a Page” to request access to another’s Facebook Business Page.

Note: It is important that if you trying to add a Facebook Business Page that is not yours, into your Business Manager, that you “Request Access to a Page” and not “Add a Page”.

If you haven’t already designated your own Page as the Primary Page for your Business Manager, you’ll be prompted to do so first.

Begin typing the name of the Page you’re requesting Business Manager access to. As you type, Facebook will auto-populate Business Page choices for you.

Before you complete your request for access, Facebook will ask you to decide what type of access you would like. You can simply toggle the bottom switch if you’re requesting full Admin access.

After clicking on the blue Request Access button, you’ll receive confirmation of your request.

At this point, the current admins on the Facebook Page that you requested access to, will need to approve your request. They should visit Settings –> Page Roles to see and respond to the pending request.

Once an admin responds to the request, you’ll see the Facebook Business Page in your Business Manager.

How to Request Business Manager Access to a Facebook Ads Account

Much like the process to request access to another Facebook Business Page in your Business Manager, start with the Ad Accounts tab, and then the “+ Add” button to request access to a Facebook Ads account in your Business Manager. Choose “Request Access to an Ad Account” if the ad account is not owned by you.

Under the black bar in the screenshot below is a numeric code that you can send to the owner of the Ads account you are requesting access to, for that account owner to use to grant you access.

How to Add a User to your Facebook Business Manager

If you need to add an employee or contractor to your Business Manager account, visit the People tab and click to add. Note: There are differences between the top level access a User added as an Employee has, and the top level access a User added as an Admin has. If you want a person to be able to assist with all aspect of your Business Manager including Domain verification, you need to add them as an Admin instead of an Employee.

Enter the email address of the person you want to invite to manage a Business Page or Ads account through your Business Manager. 

On the next screen, select the access you want to grant that employee in your Business Manager.

Once the person you added to your Business Manager accepts your invitation, you’ll be able to see and assign access in this view. Make sure to assign them to all assets they’ll need to work on. This might include a Facebook Business Page, Ads account, Catalog, and Pixel.

Although making and setting up all the connections and permissions can be tedious, once you get passed this stage, managing a Business Page and an Ads account works the same way as it always did.

Note: If you are moving your Facebook Business Page and Ads Manager account into Business Manager, you need to make sure that you add yourself as a user on your own Facebook Business Manager. It can seem unnecessary, especially since you are the person creating the Business Manager, but you do still need to add yourself as one of the Business Manager users.

I Can’t Access Some Business Manager Settings. Why Is That?

If you’ve been added to someone else’s Business Manager with top level access or have tried adding a new User to yours, granting them top level access, but that person isn’t able to see all of the normal areas inside Business Manager’s Business Settings, it might be because that person was added as an Employee vs. an Admin.

Here is what the left-hand sidebar of an Employee’s view of a Business Manager’s Business Settings looks like:

And here’s what the left-hand sidebar of ad Admin’s view of a Business Manager’s Business Settings looks like:

In both view, the Employee and the Admin have been granted top level access. However, you can see that Users added to a Business Manager as an Employee can’t access almost half of the sections inside a Business Manager. This includes features like verifying domains and creating Block lists. You can remove a User and re-invite them to your Business Manager as an Admin to correct this.