> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mad-kitty.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Facebook setup

> Everything Bidder needs on the Meta side — and how to set it up

[Bidder](/team/bidder) launches and manages your Meta ads, but it plugs into infrastructure that has to exist on Facebook's side first. Bidder's in-app setup chat walks you through all of this step by step — this guide is the reference behind it, for the parts that happen inside Meta's own tools.

## The four prerequisites

Before Bidder can connect, four things must exist (about 15–20 minutes of clicking if you're starting from zero):

<Steps>
  <Step title="A business portfolio">
    Meta's container for all your business assets (this is what used to be called a *Business Manager*). Your ad account, Page, and pixel all live inside it.

    <Warning>A **personal ad account** — one created outside a business portfolio — will not come through when you connect. Bidder only works with ad accounts owned by a business portfolio.</Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="A Facebook Page">
    Every ad runs *as* a Page — it's the name and avatar people see on your ads. You need at least one Page connected to your portfolio.
  </Step>

  <Step title="An ad account with a payment method">
    The ad account is where campaigns live and money is spent. It must be created **inside** your business portfolio, with a working payment method attached.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Admin access for whoever connects">
    The person who clicks **Continue with Facebook** in the app needs full control (admin-level access) of the business portfolio, so they can grant Bidder access to the ad account and Page in Meta's permission dialog.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step-by-step guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a business portfolio" icon="briefcase" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/business-portfolio">
    The container that owns your ad account, Page, and pixel.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Ad account & payment" icon="credit-card" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/ad-account-and-payment">
    Create the account inside your portfolio and attach billing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create a Facebook Page" icon="flag" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/facebook-page">
    The identity your ads run under.
  </Card>

  <Card title="A dedicated account for Bidder" icon="user-gear" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/dedicated-bidder-account">
    Why Bidder works best in its own ad account — and the honest trade-offs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Install your pixel" icon="crosshairs" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/install-your-pixel">
    Make conversions from your own website visible to Bidder.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reconnect an expired login" icon="rotate" href="/team/bidder/facebook-setup/reconnect-facebook">
    Fix the "Facebook access has expired" banner in two minutes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Things you do NOT need yet

* **A pixel** — Bidder can create one for you during setup, or wire up an existing one.
* **An Instagram account** — optional; ads can run on Instagram through a Page-backed identity without one.
* **Custom audiences** — Bidder sets up the exclusion audience it needs.

## Good to know

* **Meta may want identity verification.** New portfolios sometimes get asked to verify the person or organization behind them. This can take up to a day — plan for it.
* **New accounts are feature-gated.** Meta grants some advertising features only after an account has history (delivered campaigns, confirmed payments). You can check your account's status anytime in [Business Support Home](https://www.facebook.com/business-support-home).
* **Didn't see your ad account after connecting?** The two usual causes: the account is a personal one outside a portfolio (see the warning above), or it simply wasn't ticked in Facebook's permission dialog — reconnect and make sure the account and Page checkboxes are selected.

## Account disabled or restricted?

Check [Business Support Home](https://www.facebook.com/business-support-home) — it shows whether your accounts or portfolio are disabled or restricted and lets you request a review. Common causes for new accounts are policy flags on ad content, unusual activity, and payment failures. You can keep going through Bidder's setup while an appeal is in flight; launching just has to wait until the account is active.