Meta Business Manager
Create the Business Manager that owns your WhatsApp assets, secure it, and start business verification.
The Business Manager (Meta calls it Business Portfolio in newer screens) is the container that owns your WhatsApp Business Account. Everything else hangs off it.
Create it
Go to business.facebook.com and choose Create account
Sign in with the Facebook account that should administer the business.
Enter your business name, your name and a business email
Use the legal or trading name customers would recognise. It appears in Meta's review of your display name later, and a mismatch causes rejections.
Fill in the business details
Address, website or social page, country and phone. A real, reachable website or active social page materially speeds up verification.
Turn on two-factor authentication
Do this now, not later
Meta requires 2FA on the admin account before you can create system users — the step that produces your access token. People routinely hit this as a blocker halfway through setup.
Go to Business Settings → Security Centre and enable two-factor authentication. Setting it to Required for everyone is the sensible default for a business account.
Add the people who need access
Business Settings → Users → People. Add anyone who will manage WhatsApp.
- Admin — full control, needed to create system users and generate tokens.
- Employee — day-to-day access, cannot create tokens.
Add at least one second admin. If a sole admin loses access to their Facebook account, recovering a Business Manager is slow and painful.
Start business verification
Verification is Meta confirming your business is real. You can begin messaging without it, but it gates the things you will want soon: higher messaging limits, more phone numbers, and an official display name.
Go to Business Settings → Business Info → Start verification and expect to supply:
- Your legal business name, address and phone number
- A document proving the business exists — certificate of incorporation, business licence, tax document, or a utility bill in the business name
- Proof you control the phone number or domain
Make the details match exactly
The name and address on your document must match what you typed into Meta character for character. "Ltd" vs "Limited", or a missing suite number, is enough to fail a review and cost you several days.
Review usually takes a few business days and can take longer. Start it early and carry on with setup while you wait — it does not block the next steps.