Connect

How to connect Meta to TraceClose (step by step)

Updated October 10, 2026

This is the full guide to generating the token TraceClose asks for when you connect Meta. It takes about 15 minutes and you don’t need a developer: everything happens in the browser, in your business’s BM (Business Manager). Menu names may change a little when Meta updates its screens.

Before you start

• You must be an admin of the BM that owns the ad accounts and the pixel. Otherwise, the Add and Generate new token buttons don’t even show up.
• In TraceClose, only owners and managers can change Settings › Integrations, and the account email must be confirmed.
• Use a system user, never your personal profile’s token: a profile token expires in hours or weeks and stops working when you change your password or leave the company.

Step by step

1. Open Business settings

   Go to business.facebook.com/settings with a profile that is an admin of the BM (the business portfolio that owns the ad accounts). If your business doesn’t have a BM yet, create one at business.facebook.com and add your ad accounts and pixel to it.

2. Have a business app

   Meta only generates system user tokens for an app. At developers.facebook.com, open My Apps › Create App, choose the Other use case and the Business type, and connect the app to your BM. The app doesn’t need to be published or go through review: it’s only there to generate the token. If the BM already has an app (under Accounts › Apps), you can use that one.

3. Create the system user

   In Business settings, go to Users › System users, click Add, give it a name (e.g., “TraceClose”) and choose the Admin role.

4. Assign the assets

   With the system user selected, click Assign assets and give it access to: each ad account TraceClose will read (view performance is enough); the pixel (dataset) that will receive the conversions, with full control; and the app from step 2.

5. Generate the token

   Still on the system user, click Generate new token, pick the app, set expiration to Never and, under permissions, check ads_read. Click Generate token and copy it right away: Meta shows the token only once.

6. Paste it into TraceClose

   In Settings › Integrations, click New connection, choose Meta, paste the token in Access token, fill in the Pixel ID if you’ll send conversions and click Verify and save. Then, in Ad accounts, check the accounts and click Save selection.

Which permissions to check (only what’s needed)

TraceClose only reads your ad account and sends conversion events. Check the minimum:

You don’t need business_management or ads_management: TraceClose doesn’t create, pause or edit campaigns. If Meta rejects conversions for missing permissions even with the pixel assigned, generate the token again and also check ads_management.

Treat the token like a password: don’t send it by email or WhatsApp. In TraceClose it’s stored encrypted and never shown again; to replace it, paste a new one in Edit.

Where to find the pixel ID

In Events Manager, under Data sources, click the pixel: the number appears below its name. It’s also in Business settings, under Data sources › Datasets. The WhatsApp Business account ID and the WhatsApp dataset ID are only needed for conversions from click-to-WhatsApp ads.

Example: Example Co.

Fictional example: the owner of Example Co. is an admin of the “Example Co.” BM. She creates the app “Example Co. - Integrations” and the system user “TraceClose” (admin), assigns the account “Example - Sales”, the pixel “Website pixel” and the app, and generates a token with ads_read that never expires. In TraceClose, she creates the “Main BM” connection with the Ads source and Conversions destination functions, pastes the token and the pixel ID, and in Ad accounts checks “Example - Sales”.

Common errors

• It worked, then a few days later it turned into “Invalid credentials”: almost always a personal profile token (or one from Graph API Explorer), which expires. Generate the token from the system user, with expiration set to Never, and paste it in Edit.
• “Credentials refused by the provider” when saving: the token was copied incompletely, was generated without ads_read, or the app was removed from the system user. Generate a new one and paste it again.
• No ad accounts in the list: the account wasn’t assigned to the system user. In System users › Assign assets, give access to the account and click Reload list in TraceClose. You don’t need to generate the token again.
• Failed conversions in the lead history: the pixel isn’t assigned to the system user, or the connection’s Pixel ID belongs to another pixel. Check both; more causes in the sale doesn’t show up in Meta.
• The Generate new token button isn’t there: your profile isn’t a BM admin, or no app was assigned to the system user (steps 2 and 4).

Frequently asked questions