What does advertising on behalf of another business mean?
It is a setting that lets an agency or Meta Business Partner name the client an ad account is used for. Meta says it gives you the client's audience manager features, one-time audience terms and the client's name in the Why am I seeing this ad? dialog, while leaving permissions unchanged. As checked on 2 Oct 2026.
When an agency runs ads from its own ad account for a client, Meta lets it label that account with the client’s business. The label is called the on-behalf-of relationship. It changes the tools and transparency details attached to the account, not who has access. You can set it only once per ad account, and Meta says it cannot be removed or swapped afterward. All of this is as Meta’s pages state it, as checked on 2 Oct 2026.
What does the on-behalf-of feature give you?
Meta says agencies and Meta Business Partners can use it to specify which accounts they use for other businesses. It gives you three things:
- Streamlined terms: you accept the custom audience terms and the Meta business tools terms once for ad accounts that advertise on behalf of the same business. If you don’t identify the business, you accept them every time.
- Access to features: the same audience manager features as the business you advertise for, such as the audience overlap tool and the ability to see custom audience sizes.
- Clearer ad transparency: the business you advertise for appears in the “Why am I seeing this ad?” option on Facebook. If you don’t specify the business, your own business portfolio name may appear instead.
What does it not change?
Meta says the feature doesn’t change the permissions you set on the ad account. The business you advertise for can’t see the ad account unless you grant it permission. Setting the relationship is a label, not a handover of access. To share the account itself, use the separate steps in sharing ad account access with an agency.
What do you need before you set it up?
- Full control of your business portfolio.
- A business portfolio for both businesses.
- One client per ad account. Meta says an ad account should only run ads for a single client.
How do you set it up?
When you create a new ad account in Meta Business Suite, Meta asks whom you will use it for, and you select Another business or client. The menu lists businesses that have shared assets with you. If the business is not listed, you can enter its business portfolio ID. For an ad account already in your portfolio:
- Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite.
- Click Accounts, then Ad accounts.
- Click the ad account you want to edit.
- Choose Edit for that ad account.
- Select Another business or client.
- Pick the business from the dropdown or enter a business ID.
- Click Save changes.
What happens after you send the request?
The business portfolio you entered receives a notification showing your ad account name, your business name and a request for approval. Someone with full control of that portfolio must confirm the relationship, and you can cancel your request any time before they do. Once they confirm, their audience manager features apply to the ad account, and their business name appears in the “Why am I seeing this?” dialog when an ad from the account is shown.
What you can do: tell your client to expect the notification, so the approval is not left waiting.
What happens when the client relationship ends?
Meta says the client should revoke your access to their Page and you should stop using that ad account. The ad account automatically becomes inactive but stays in your business portfolio for historical records. Meta ties the one-time setting to its rule that an ad account should only run ads for a single client.
FAQ
Can I change the client an ad account advertises for?
No. Meta says that once you establish an on-behalf-of relationship with one business, you can’t remove it or replace it with another business. You can specify it only once, because an ad account should only run ads for a single client.
Does the client get to see my ad account?
Not automatically. Meta says the on-behalf-of feature doesn’t change the permissions you’ve set on the ad account, and the business you advertise on behalf of can’t see the ad account unless you grant it permission. The relationship only affects tools, terms and transparency.
What if I don’t name the business at all?
Meta says you accept the custom audience terms and Meta business tools terms every time, rather than once. It also says your own business portfolio name may appear in the “Why am I seeing this ad?” option instead of your client’s.
Sources
- About advertising on behalf of another business (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Advertise on behalf of another business in Meta Business Suite (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Add an ad account to your business portfolio in Meta Business Suite (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.