Meta Commerce Manager — how the merchant panel works
How Meta Commerce Manager works for sellers: panel areas, shop setup, catalogs, order handling, payouts, and policy standing after the 2025 checkout change.
Meta Commerce Manager — how the merchant panel works
Product summary
Commerce Manager is the panel where a business manages the catalog of products it promotes on Facebook and Instagram, and optionally a shop — a digital storefront that unlocks additional selling tools. Its named areas are Overview, Catalog (with Products, Sets, Data sources, and Events), Shops, Ads, Insights (the tab appears once you have a shop), and Settings; sellers on Meta's on-platform checkout also get order and payout tooling. The biggest recent shift: as of September 2025, Shops on Facebook and Instagram use website checkout, so buyers browse the shop on Meta's apps and complete the purchase on the seller's own site. This page describes the panel as Meta documents it for sellers (verified August 2026).
Key concepts
| term | meaning |
|---|---|
| commerce account | Account created when you set up a shop; it unlocks the shop-related tools in Commerce Manager. |
| catalog | Holds information about the products or services you promote across Meta technologies. |
| data source | Supplies product data into a catalog — a feed file, manual entry, a Meta Pixel, or a synced e-commerce platform. |
| shop | A customizable digital storefront shown on Facebook and Instagram, set up and managed from Commerce Manager. |
| collection | A group of products you feature together in a shop. |
| checkout URL | The link that moves shoppers from your shop to the checkout process on your website; without one the shop isn't visible. |
| business portfolio | The container for Pages, catalogs, and people; full control of it is a prerequisite for most setup steps. |
| commerce eligibility requirements | Meta's standing rules an account must keep meeting to sell on its commerce surfaces. |
How common tasks work
Set up a shop
| task | where | steps | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create the shop | Commerce Manager | 1. Go to Commerce Manager. 2. Create a commerce account — the shop is created during account creation. 3. Work through the Set up your shop checklist. | Needs full control of the business portfolio, Page, and catalog; Instagram visibility needs an Instagram business account, and a Facebook Page is optional if you only sell on Instagram (as of August 2026). |
| Pass review | Set up your shop → Checking your shop info | 1. Wait while the commerce account is reviewed. 2. Track status in Commerce Manager and by email. | Review can take up to 4 weeks (as of August 2026). |
| Configure shipping | Set up your shop → Set up default shipping profile | 1. Choose the countries and states you ship to. 2. Add at least one shipping speed with delivery-day estimates and any free-shipping cart minimum. 3. Save. | Documented speeds including handling: Standard 5–8 days, Expedited 3–5, Rush 2–3 (as of August 2026). |
| Add a checkout URL | Set up your shop | 1. Enter the URL where buyers complete checkout on your website. | Required for the shop to be visible (as of August 2026). |
| Publish | Set up your shop | 1. Finish every checklist task. 2. Select Publish shop. | Optional enhancements: auto-personalized home-page layout, ratings and reviews pulled from your site and third-party sources, offers detected from your website and ads. |
Manage catalog items
| task | where | steps | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a catalog | Commerce Manager → Get started / Assets | 1. Select Add products. 2. Keep Online products selected. 3. Choose the business portfolio and name the catalog. 4. Optionally connect a Meta Pixel or app SDK. | Meta recommends using only one catalog where possible; a pixel or SDK connection is required to run Advantage+ catalog ads (as of August 2026). |
| Add products | Catalog → Data sources | Options: 1. Connect a data feed — spreadsheet or XML, uploaded once or on an hourly, daily, or weekly schedule. 2. Manually add products with a form. 3. Add via a Meta Pixel. 4. Sync from an e-commerce platform you already sell on, such as Shopify. | Platform sync setup is completed on the other platform's website; products can also be added later via Skip. |
| Organize and feature | Catalog → Sets, and Shops | 1. Create product sets to run ads or feature as collections. 2. Group shop products into collections. | All catalog products are included in a shop by default, and you control which appear (as of August 2026). |
| Grant access | Catalog setup / Settings | 1. Assign people with Partial access or Full control. 2. Or assign another business by business portfolio ID or by invite link. | Invite links are single-use and expire in 30 days (as of August 2026). |
Handle orders — on-platform checkout sellers
| task | where | steps | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| See what to fulfill | Orders → Waiting to be shipped | 1. Open an order to see the customer's name, items, quantity, shipping type, and address. | Order tooling applies where Meta's on-platform checkout is in use — described as available in the US and to a limited number of other businesses — and feature availability varies by country (as of August 2026). |
| Wait out the order hold | Orders | 1. New orders show a processing status while payment authorization and fraud analysis run. 2. Fulfill once the hold clears. | Holds usually clear in about 30 minutes but can last up to 24 hours; failed checks cancel the transaction (as of August 2026). |
| Ship and confirm | Orders | 1. Ship the full order within your handling time (default 3 business days). 2. Mark it shipped with a tracking number from a carrier that offers tracking and delivery confirmation — buy prepaid USPS or UPS labels in Commerce Manager, or mark orders shipped with another carrier. | Missing or unrecognized tracking can delay payment; orders not marked shipped within 30 days are canceled by Meta (as of August 2026). |
| Support buyers | Commerce Manager inbox | 1. Respond to customer inquiries within 2 business days. | Issues you can't resolve may become claims that Meta evaluates (as of August 2026). |
Payouts — on-platform checkout sellers
| task | where | steps | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set payout details | Payouts | 1. Provide payout information, such as a bank account, during checkout setup. | Payouts are issued in US dollars to the bank account on file (as of August 2026). |
| Get paid | Payouts | 1. Payouts arrive within 30 days after an order is marked shipped. 2. Consistent on-time delivery can qualify you for faster payouts. | A selling fee is included in payouts, and Meta's payment processors act as merchant of record (as of August 2026). |
| Reconcile | Payouts | 1. Review reference IDs, payout dates, and amounts. 2. Download financial reports and tax forms. | Payout delays tied to eligibility investigations can be sent for review via Meta Business Support Home (as of August 2026). |
Stay eligible — policies and account standing
| task | where | steps | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meet the baseline | Account-wide | Keep meeting Meta's five commerce eligibility requirements: 1. Comply with its policies. 2. Represent your business and your domain. 3. Be located in a supported country. 4. Demonstrate trustworthiness. 5. Provide accurate information and follow best practices. | Failing them can mean losing access to commerce surfaces — Marketplace and shops — or a disabled account (as of August 2026). |
| Track standing | Commerce Manager / Meta Business Support Home | 1. Use the Overview area's issues-to-fix and suggested-actions list. 2. Send payout or eligibility concerns for review in Meta Business Support Home. | The former Account Health evaluation feature is no longer available (as of August 2026). |
Limits & gotchas
- As of September 2025, Shops use website checkout; shops that relied on checkout on Facebook or Instagram had the method updated or became invisible until the seller acts, e.g. by creating a checkout URL (as of August 2026).
- A shop without a checkout URL isn't visible to buyers (as of August 2026).
- Commerce account review can take up to 4 weeks before a shop can publish (as of August 2026).
- Meta recommends one catalog where possible, and a shop connects to a catalog selected during setup (as of August 2026).
- On-platform checkout orders: default 3-business-day handling window, tracking with delivery confirmation mandatory, automatic cancellation after 30 days unshipped (as of August 2026).
- On-platform checkout payouts arrive within 30 days of marking an order shipped, in US dollars, with a selling fee applied (as of August 2026).
- Post-purchase experience management inside Commerce Manager was discontinued with the checkout change, and metrics for purchases completed on Meta no longer apply in ads reporting (as of August 2026).
- The Account Health evaluation feature has been retired (as of August 2026).
FAQ
Do I need a shop to use Commerce Manager?
No. Commerce Manager manages a catalog of products to promote on Facebook and Instagram on its own; setting up a shop is optional and unlocks the additional tools for selling physical products, such as storefront customization and shop insights.
What happened to checkout on Facebook and Instagram?
As of September 2025, Shops moved to website checkout. Discovery stays on Meta's apps — shop home page, collections, and product pages — but the purchase completes on the seller's website, which also changed available conversion locations and checkout-related ads reporting. Meta's payouts documentation still describes on-platform checkout for the US and a limited number of businesses. Verify in the product: which checkout model your account uses varies by region and account.
Why isn't my shop visible?
The documented causes: no checkout URL has been added, the commerce account review (up to 4 weeks) isn't complete, or the shop used the retired on-platform checkout and still needs its update actions. Verify in the product: shop feature availability varies by country.
When do payouts arrive?
For on-platform checkout sales, within 30 days after you mark an order shipped, with faster payouts possible after a consistent delivery record; missing tracking numbers delay payment. Verify in the product: website-checkout sellers are paid through their own site's payment setup, not through Commerce Manager payouts.
Where do performance numbers live?
The Insights tab appears once you have a shop and covers sales and product performance, while the Overview area lists issues to fix and suggested actions for your catalog and shop.