Meta Business: Business Suite, Business Portfolio and Setup

Meta Business is the set of free tools Meta provides to run a business on Facebook and Instagram. The three you will use most are Meta Business Suite (daily work: posts, inbox, insights), the business portfolio (formerly Business Manager: who owns and can access your Pages, accounts and ad accounts) and Ads Manager (advertising). All of them start at business.facebook.com.

This guide explains what each tool does, how they differ, how to set everything up in the right order, and where the native tools reach their limits.

What is Meta Business?

“Meta Business” is not one product. It is the umbrella for Meta’s business tools, which share the same login and the same business portfolio.

For ads specifically, see our Facebook Ads Manager guide.

Meta Business Suite vs Business Manager (business portfolio)

Meta renamed Business Manager accounts to business portfolios. The business portfolio is the container that holds your assets and people; Meta Business Suite is the dashboard where you do the daily work with those assets. You manage the portfolio from the settings of Business Suite.

What replaced Creator Studio?

Meta shut down the old Creator Studio in 2023 and moved its tools (publishing, insights, monetisation, Instagram content) into Meta Business Suite. In June 2026, Meta announced a new, AI-powered Facebook Creator Studio app for creators, in limited beta with a waitlist. For businesses, Meta Business Suite remains the main tool.

How to set up Meta Business step by step

1. Log in to Meta Business Suite at business.facebook.com; a Facebook account or an Instagram account both work. Our guide to the Meta Business Suite login covers each option and the usual errors.

2. Create a business portfolio if you do not have one: business name, your name and a business email (see Meta’s help on creating a business portfolio).

3. Add your Facebook Page. If you do not have one yet, our Facebook business Page guide explains how to create it.

4. Connect your Instagram account. It must be a professional (business or creator) account. Once connected, its posts, comments and DMs appear in Business Suite.

5. Add people with the right access. Give full control only to a few admins, and partial or task access to others. Agencies should be added as partners with their own business portfolio ID, never by sharing a password.

6. Add an ad account and a payment method if you plan to advertise.

7. Turn on two-factor authentication, and require it for everyone in the portfolio from the security settings.

8. Set up inbox basics: instant reply, away message, saved replies and FAQ for Messenger and Instagram DMs.

How to connect Instagram to Meta Business Suite

1. Make sure your Instagram account is a professional (business or creator) account.

2. In Business Suite, open Settings, then the accounts section, and choose Instagram accounts.

3. Click to connect an account and log in to Instagram when prompted.

4. Allow access to Instagram messages if you want DMs in the Business Suite inbox.

5. Check that the account is assigned to the right Page and business portfolio, then give your team access to it.

Meta’s help on connecting an Instagram account to Meta Business Suite lists the variants for mobile and desktop.

Meta Business Suite on desktop vs mobile

What you can do in Meta Business Suite

• Planner: create and schedule posts, Stories and Reels for Facebook and Instagram in a calendar.

• Inbox: Facebook and Instagram comments and messages in one place, with labels, saved replies and assignment to teammates.

• Automations: instant replies, away messages and frequently asked questions for messages.

• Insights: reach, engagement and audience for Facebook and Instagram, with exports. Our Instagram Insights guide explains the metrics.

• Ads: boost posts or open Ads Manager for full campaigns.

Where Meta Business Suite falls short

For a small business with moderate volume, Business Suite is free and often enough. Its limits show up as volume and channels grow:

For moderation specifics on Facebook, see our guide to Moderation Assist and ad comment moderation.

Common Meta Business setup mistakes

• One person holds all admin rights. If that person leaves or loses their account, the business can lose its Page. Keep at least two admins.

• The agency owns your assets. Your Page, Instagram account and ad account should belong to your business portfolio; agencies get partner access.

• Sharing passwords. It breaks security and makes 2FA useless. Use roles and partner access instead.

• Instagram connected to the wrong portfolio. Check it under accounts in business settings before running ads or automations.

• No two-factor authentication. Hijacked business accounts are a common problem; 2FA is the simplest protection.

Where Blabla fits

Blabla sits next to this stack, not inside it: your business portfolio keeps owning the Page, the Instagram account and the ad account, and Blabla connects to them through Meta’s official API with a standard authorization. It picks up where the “falls short” table above stops. The inbox adds TikTok and YouTube comments to your Facebook and Instagram comments and DMs, with ad comments on the Pro plan. Moderation runs on its own around the clock, with AI filters you describe in a sentence instead of fixed keyword lists. Replies can be written by AI from your FAQ rather than fixed templates, and comment-to-DM automations reply in private to anyone who comments your chosen keyword on Instagram or Facebook. Agencies get one workspace per brand. Blabla’s post scheduling for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok is in a beta with limited access. Request beta access. If Business Suite keeps up with your volume, it remains the simpler choice.

Conclusion

Meta Business comes down to three tools: Business Suite for daily work, the business portfolio for ownership and access, and Ads Manager for campaigns. Set them up in order (portfolio, Page, Instagram, people, security), keep assets in your own portfolio, and turn on 2FA. Add specialised tools only when the native inbox can no longer keep up.