Skip to main content
Register for live online SeeClickFix Trainings | Learn More...

Search

We are excited to announce the launch of updated product names, logos, and headers within our user interfaces as part of the CivicPlus® Solution Rebranding initiative. These changes mark the first step toward creating a cohesive and seamless user experience across all solutions in our portfolio. As part of this transition, users may notice minor design updates. While the functionality you rely on remains unchanged, we are in the process of updating screenshots and other resources on our Help Centers to reflect the new branding. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to complete these updates.

Publish an iOS Mobile App in the App Store

  • Updated:

This document outlines the process for establishing accounts for publishing apps in the Apple App Store.

 

The major steps for Apple are:  

  1. Identify an existing or create a new Apple ID to be the owner of the store accounts.
  2. Identify an existing Apple ID or create a new ID at developer.apple.com.
  3. Identify or create an Apple App Store Connect Account (previously known as iTunesConnect Account).
  4. Invite SeeClickFix to be an Admin member on your Apple accounts.

 

You can find Apple documentation regarding this process at:

 

Note: While Apple now requires apps to be submitted directly by the provider of the app’s content Google does not have this requirement. We recommend that SeeClickFix publish the Google Play marketplace app on your behalf to streamline the process. 

 

Tips for Setting up Apple Accounts

As we have worked with dozens of organizations to set up these accounts with Apple, we’ve learned a few tips to help simplify the process.  Please note the following items:

  • The person registering the accounts with Apple must have the LEGAL AUTHORITY to sign an agreement on behalf of the organization. Apple frequently requests written proof of that authority during the registration process.  At times, this has meant the person required to set up the accounts is the town or city manager.
  • Be sure to use an email address from your organization and not a personal email address when registering (ie, john.smith@cityofawesome.com, not john.smith@gmail.com).
  • The process requires setting up two-factor authentication for Apple ID. This generally requires that the person setting up the Apple ID has access to an Apple device.  If you do not have access to an Apple device, you will need to contact Apple support directly and ask for a waiver of this step. 

 

Create Apple Developer and App Store Connect Accounts

If your organization already has an App Store Connect account (previously known as iTunesConnect account), skip to the Authorize SeeClickFix section below.

  1. Identify an existing Apple ID or create a new ID
    • ID must be for the person who is or will be the Team Agent:
    • The team agent is the person with the developer account Team Agent role who is responsible for entering into legal agreements with Apple, including app transfer agreements.
  2. Using the Apple ID created in step #1, enroll in the developer program as an Organization
    • You will need to provide details about your organization and the person being authorized as the Team Agent. More information about this can be found at the end of this document in the “Identifying Your Organization and Team Agent for Apple” section.
  3. Using the Apple ID created in step #1, log in to App Store Connect

 

Waiver of Annual Developer Fee

There is an annual $99 fee charged by Apple to enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Apple waives this for nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities based in the United States. You may request the waiver during enrollment or if you are already a registered developer.

 

View more information on the waiver.

 

Identifying Your Organization and Team Agent for Apple

During enrollment, you will have to identify your organization and confirm that your Team Agent is authorized to enter into agreements with Apple.  Here is the form that you will be asked to complete by Apple:

 

Apple Organization Enrollment Form.

 

Authorize SeeClickFix Access to Apple Store Accounts   

At this point, you should have...

  • an Apple ID for your team agent
  • an Apple Developer Account for your organization
  • an Apple App Store Connect Account

 

The next step is to authorize SeeClickFix to upload and publish apps through your account. View the Apple documentation for App Store Connect.

 

Add mobile@seeclickfix.com to your App Store Connect account. 

  1. Log in to the Apple Developer.
  2. Click on People on the left-hand navigation.
  3. Select the blue button in the middle of the screen to Go to App Store Connect.
  4. Then select the blue + button to add a user.
  5. Fill out the form with the following info:
    • First name: SeeClickFix
    • Last name: Engineering
    • Email Address: mobile@seeclickfix.com
    • Role: Admin
  6. Under Developer Resources, check off the box for Access to Certificates, Identifiers, and Profiles.

 

If your organization manages multiple mobile applications via App Store Connect, please contact us to discuss our alternate permissions solution.

 

Note: As our engineering team works on your app transfer and updating processes, you will receive emails from Apple about the process.  While some of these may seem odd, they are part of the process, and our engineering team is aware of them.  You can generally ignore the emails about the app being updated/processed. An example email that is triggered during the transfer process is titled “Potential Loss of Keychain Access.” This email can be ignored as it just means our engineers are in the process of updating your app.  

 

The one email from Apple that will require your action is if they update their agreement terms. Apple has a history of updating this agreement at least annually and sometimes more frequently. When the agreement changes, the Team Agent will be notified by email. Until your Team Agent logs in and agrees to the updated terms, SeeClickFix will not be able to issue any updates to your mobile app. 

 

Application Transfer Details

If SeeClickFix has previously published your app, the app ownership must be transferred to your Apple accounts as the first step to publishing updates to the app under your name.

 

In order for us to begin the transfer process, you must have already added mobile@seeclickfix.com as a member of your team as documented in the “Authorize SeeClickFix Access to Apple Store Accounts” section above.

 

Once the transfer has been initiated, your Team Agent must log in to your account and accept the transfer.  If you want to restrict SeeClickFix access to the transferred app, please contact us to discuss our alternate permissions solution.

 

View additional information on accepting an app transfer request.

 

When accepting the transfer, you’ll need to provide info for metadata. Here’s our suggested info:

Comments

Let us know what was helpful or not helpful about the article.

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.