This article provides information on how to publish an AppMachine app to the App Store as a private Apple Business Manager app. Apple Business Manager apps are delivered privately through the Apple Business Manager Program.


Publishing an app via Apple Business Manager is only possible if:


  • You've signed a Paid Applications agreement on your Apple Developer account.
  • The app is created for the first time and hasn't been approved into the App Store yet.


The process to publish an app via Apple Business Manager consist of four phases:


  1. Creating an Apple ID which is enrolled in the Apple Business Manager Program.
  2. Publishing your app via AppMachine.
  3. Customising the publication in App Store Connect.
  4. Installing an Apple Business Manager app.



Creating an Apple ID which is enrolled in the Apple Business Manager Program.


Apple Business Manager (ABM) apps are distributed privately. During phase 3 of the ABM app publication process, in which you customise the app in App Store Connect, you will be required to provide an Apple ID to which your app will be distributed. In preparation of this phase, this Apple ID will have to be created.


Note that this concerns the Apple ID which will be used to download the app. In other words, this Apple ID will be registered to your app user (your client) instead of yourself. If you use an account which is registered to yourself, Apple will reject the app.


The Apple ID that needs to be created is dependant of the type of business to which your app is distributed:


For schools: https://school.apple.com/#enrollment 
For businesses: https://business.apple.com/#enrollment 


Follow all the steps to complete the enrollment of your Apple ID into one of these programs. The Apple ID which has been created and enrolled into one of these programs will be used again in phase 3 of the ABM app publishing process.


Publishing your app via AppMachine.


The second phase of the process is very straight-forward and involves completing the normal steps within AppMachine to publish your app. In order to publish an ABM app, an Apple Developer license enrolled in the iOS Developer Program is required.


During the publishing process your Apple Developer license will be checked, and your app will be submitted into a 'Waiting for Review' state with Apple. See through the publication process of your app until all steps are completed, and your app is awaiting review by Apple.


Once the publishing process is completed, take the following steps:


  1. Log in to App Store Connect (https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/) with your Apple Developer account.
  2. Open the 'My Apps' section.
  3. Open your app.
  4. From the left-side menu, select the version which is 'Waiting for Review'.
  5. Remove this version from review.


After completing the steps, the state of your app in App Store Connect will be 'Developer Rejected'.


Customising the publication in App Store Connect.


Now that your app is 'Developer Rejected' you can start configuring it to be published as an ABM app.


ABM apps are distributed through the Apple Business Manager Program (ABMP - formerly known as the Volume Purchase Program or VPP). In order to be able to distribute apps through the ABMP, the iOS Paid Applications agreement must be in effect. Take the following steps if the iOS Paid Applications agreement is not yet in effect on your Apple Developer account:


  1. Log in to App Store Connect (https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/) with your Apple Developer account.
  2. Open the 'Agreements, Tax, and Banking' section.
  3. Request the iOS Paid Applications Agreements.


When the iOS Paid Applications agreement is in effect on your Apple Developer account, you can continue with the configuration of the app as an ABM app. To configure the app as an ABM app, take the following steps:


  1. Log in to App Store Connect (https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/) with your Apple Developer account.
  2. Open the 'My Apps' section.
  3. Open your app.
  4. From the left-side menu, open the 'Pricing and Availability' page.
  5. On the bottom of this page, in the 'Distribution for Business and Education' section, select the option 'Available for private distribution to specific organizations on Apple Business Manager'.
  6. Provide the Apple ID which you've created in phase 1 of the ABM app publishing process.



After you've configured the app for ABM app publishing, open the 'Developer Rejected' version of your app from the left-side menu. Click the 'Submit for Review' button in the top-right corner of the page. Answer all questions with 'No' and complete the process by clicking the 'Submit' button.


Your app status should now be back to 'Waiting for Review', which means it is time for Apple to get to work on your app.


Installing an ABM app.


Once the app is approved by Apple, your app will be available through the Apple Business Manager Program (https://business.apple.com/). The app will only be visible to the Apple ID(s) you've provided during the configuration of your app.


In order to install the app, take the following steps:


  1. Log in on https://business.apple.com/ with the Apple ID created in phase 1.
  2. Search and select your app.
  3. Enter amount of copies (quantity) of the app you wish to purchase.
  4. Select 'Redeemable Codes', and review and complete your order.


After completing the order, you will receive a list of redeemable codes/links. These codes can be used to download and install the app onto iOS devices.


For more information please view the following article: