To manually allocate ad credits from Business Center, go to the Payment Management page, find the ad account you want to fund, click Add Balance, enter the amount, and confirm. That’s the full process. TikTok does not support auto-allocating ad credits, so this manual step is always required — no workaround exists. Source: TikTok
Before you start, there are a few things worth knowing that many advertisers miss.
Who Can Allocate Ad Credits in Business Center?
Not everyone in your Business Center has access to this function.
Only Finance Manager and Admin roles can edit and manage balance allocation for each ad account. If finance roles are not applicable in your Business Center account, then only Business Center Admins can manage the monthly budget of each ad account. TikTok
If you don’t see the option, your account role likely doesn’t have permission. Ask your Business Center Admin to either complete the allocation or upgrade your role to Finance Manager.
Step-by-Step: How to Manually Allocate Ad Credits
On the Payment Management page in the Business Center, under each owned ad account, you can manually allocate ad credits to your ad accounts. Source: TikTok
Here are the exact steps:
- Log in to TikTok Business Center
- Go to the Finance tab in the left-hand menu
- Select Payment Management
- Find the ad account you want to allocate credits to
- Click Add Balance
- Choose the amount you want to transfer
- Click Confirm
That’s it. The credits will appear in the selected ad account and be ready for ad spend.
Important Rules Before You Allocate
This action is permanent, and a few behaviors are not obvious up front.
Once ad credits are issued from a Business Center to a TikTok Ads Manager account, they cannot be withdrawn to the Business Center level. This action is permanent and irreversible. Source: TikTok
Also, how these credits behave inside the ad account matters:
- Ad credits issued from Business Centers to TikTok Ads Manager accounts are not assignable to campaigns and are consumed before any available cash or credit balance.
- You cannot transfer an ad credit from the ad account once you transfer it in. Your available balance for transfer does not include taxes and frozen cash. Source: TikTok
So allocate only what you need. Once it’s in the ad account, it’s locked there until it’s spent or expired.
Does Payment Portfolio Change This Process?
If your Business Center has been upgraded to Payment Portfolio, cash and credit lines can be shared automatically — but ad credits still follow a different rule.
At this time, only the credit line and cash balance can be shared across ad accounts. Ad credit will continue to be manually allocated.
Even in a Payment Portfolio setup, if you have available ad credits, your ad credits will be used before the credit line or cash for campaign spending.
So your credits always burn first — make sure you’re comfortable with that before allocating.
What Happens After Allocation?
Once credits land in the ad account, they start depleting with each campaign that runs. You can track them anytime.
To check your ad credit balance:
- Log in to TikTok Ads Manager
- Go to Tools → Finance under Settings
- View your credits on the Payment page
- Click View Details for a full breakdown
You can check what kind of free credit you have from the Promotions tab in TikTok Ads Manager. The Restrictions column in the Status table will indicate if your ad credit must be assigned to a campaign.
Quick Reference Summary
| Action | Possible? |
|---|---|
| Manually allocate credits to ad account | ✅ Yes |
| Auto-allocate ad credits | ❌ No |
| Withdraw credits back to Business Center | ❌ No |
| Assign these credits to a specific campaign | ❌ No |
| Credits spend before cash/credit line | ✅ Yes (automatic) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ad credits in the Business Center be allocated automatically?
No. TikTok does not support auto-allocating ad credits. Even if your Business Center uses Payment Portfolio — which allows automatic sharing of cash and credit lines — ad credits must always be manually allocated through the Payment Management page.
What happens if I allocate too many ad credits to an ad account?
You can’t undo it. Once ad credits move from the Business Center to a TikTok Ads Manager account, they cannot be withdrawn or transferred back. Allocate only what you plan to spend, because the remaining credits will either get used by campaigns or expire unused.
Do Business Center ad credits need to be assigned to a specific campaign?
No. Ad credits issued from the Business Center to a TikTok Ads Manager account are not assignable to individual campaigns. They apply automatically to overall ad spend and are consumed before any cash or credit line balance in that account.
Who has permission to allocate ad credits in Business Center?
Only users with the Admin or Finance Manager role can allocate ad credits through the Payment Management page. Regular users or viewers do not have this access. If you can’t see the option, contact your Business Center Admin to adjust your role.
Where can I check how much ad credit is available after allocation?
Log in to TikTok Ads Manager, go to Tools, click Finance under Settings, and view your Payment page. You can also check the Promotions tab to see credit status, expiry dates, and any restrictions that apply to your allocated credits.
Are credits consumed before or after my cash balance?
Credits are always consumed first. When a campaign runs, TikTok deducts from ad credits before touching any cash or credit line balance in the account. This applies even inside a Payment Portfolio setup where cash is shared across accounts.
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