What Permissions Can I Give to Facebook Ads Users?

Quick Answer

Facebook Ads Manager offers four core permission levels for ad accounts: Manage ad account (full control), Advertiser (create and edit campaigns), Analyst (view reports only), and two finance roles (Finance Editor and Finance Analyst). Business Manager itself adds a separate layer with Admin access and Employee access.

The Complete Permissions Map

Facebook has two overlapping permission systems — Business Manager-level and Ad Account-level. Here's what each role can do:

Permission	Create Ads	Edit Ads	View Reports	Manage Billing	Add Users
Manage ad account	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Advertiser	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Analyst	No	No	Yes	No	No
Finance Editor	No	No	Yes (spend)	Yes	No
Finance Analyst	No	No	Yes (spend)	View only	No

On top of that, Business Manager has two business-level roles:

Business Role	Scope
Admin access	Controls the entire Business Manager — users, pages, ad accounts, billing
Employee access	Only sees assets specifically assigned to them

A user's effective permission is the combination of their business role plus their asset-level role.

When to Use Each Role

Manage ad account — Co-founders, senior marketers, trusted business partners. They can do everything including delete campaigns and add users. Use sparingly.

Advertiser — Your day-to-day media buyer, in-house marketer, or agency account manager. They can run campaigns but cannot touch billing or users. This is the default for most team members.

Analyst — Stakeholders who need to see results but should not touch anything. Useful for founders who want visibility, clients reviewing performance, or finance team members who only need read-access to metrics.

Finance Editor — Your bookkeeper, accountant, or finance lead. They can update payment methods, download invoices, and manage spend caps. They cannot create or edit ads.

Finance Analyst — Same as Finance Editor but view-only. Good for auditors or finance team members who need to reconcile spend without the ability to change payment methods.

Real-World Setup Examples

Solo founder + freelance marketer:

You: Admin + Manage ad account

Freelancer: Employee + Advertiser

Small team (3 people):

Founder: Admin + Manage ad account

Marketing lead: Admin + Manage ad account

Junior marketer: Employee + Advertiser

Agency working with a client:

Client: Admin + Manage ad account (on their own Business Manager)

Agency: Added via Partners (never as direct users)

Enterprise team:

CMO: Admin + Manage ad account

Media buyer: Employee + Advertiser

Finance: Employee + Finance Editor

Executives: Employee + Analyst

Permission Assignment Template

Use this checklist when onboarding any new user to your Ads Manager:

User: [name]
Email: [email]
Business Role: [Admin / Employee]
Ad Account Access: [Manage / Advertiser / Analyst / Finance Editor / Finance Analyst]
Pages: [which pages they can publish to]
Pixels: [which pixels they can view/manage]
Custom Audiences: [can they create or view]
Removal trigger: [date or event that requires their removal]

Saving this for every user makes offboarding fast. When someone leaves, you already know exactly what to revoke.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Giving everyone Admin. It feels easier, but it means anyone can add or remove users — including accidentally removing you. Default to the minimum role needed.

Mistake 2: Forgetting Pages and Pixels. Ad account access does not include Page or Pixel access. If your marketer cannot see Page insights or install the pixel, you need to assign those assets separately.

Mistake 3: Not removing users when they leave. Check Business Settings > Users > People quarterly. Remove anyone who no longer works with you.

Mistake 4: Giving agencies direct user access. Use Partners in Business Settings instead. This lets you revoke agency access with one click without touching your own user list.

The Hidden Cost of Permission Management

Most founders spend more time managing Facebook permissions than they'd like to admit. Onboarding a new marketer, offboarding an old one, fixing "I can't see the ad account" tickets — it's death by a thousand cuts.

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