iOS Question Publishing a B4i app developed for a customer - what's the best approach? (and some conclusions)

[Andris]

I'm almost finished with an app I've developed for a customer and will soon be uploading it to iTunes Connect. This will be my first B4i product. However, somewhere in this process I want to "transfer" the ownership of the app to the customer. It seems that this would be the best point at which to do that. My question to B4i experts out there is: What's the best approach for publishing to a client's account? I'm know that the customer needs an Apple Developer Account in order to publish. Can I then just use iTunes Connect Uploader and use their User ID and Password? Is it that simple? Or is there more to it that I don't realize? I'd appreciate some feedback from B4i veterans before I embark on what looks like a pain-in-the-butt process compared to the Google Play Store ...

 

[f0raster0]

Can I then just use iTunes Connect Uploader and use their User ID and Password?

Yes, it could be the simpler solution.
Note: when login, Apple developer account will ask for a PIN sent to the phone. Then you have to be in contact with your client.

 

[Semen Matusovskiy]

No need to use client's ID / password. An owner of account is able to delegate admin rights to any developer.
To access App Store Connect etc. you will use own AppleID and password.

 

[Andris]

No need to use client's ID / password. An owner of account is able to delegate admin rights to any developer.
To access App Store Connect etc. you will use own AppleID and password.

So are you saying that I, as the developer, can just upload the app to the App Store under my own account, and then just delegate admin rights to my customer (the company I'm doing the app for) after that? But then, on the App Store, doesn't the app show me and my company as the developer, not my customer's company?

 

[Semen Matusovskiy]

My son registrated an account as a company and has full control. Then he added some persons (apple id) with rights (including me).
I access App Store Connect using my own AppleID / Password, which I created before and have no idea about my son's password.
My access rights are limited, but enough to create certificates and to publish.

 

[Andris]

My son registrated an account as a company and has full control. Then he added some persons (apple id) with rights (including me).
I access App Store Connect using my own AppleID / Password, which I created before and have no idea about my son's password.
My access rights are limited, but enough to create certificates and to publish.

Thanks for the info. So after you publish to the App Store, the listing there shows your son and his company as the app developer, right?

 

[Semen Matusovskiy]

In App Store I see a company name only

 

[Andris]

My son registrated an account as a company and has full control. Then he added some persons (apple id) with rights (including me).
I access App Store Connect using my own AppleID / Password, which I created before and have no idea about my son's password.
My access rights are limited, but enough to create certificates and to publish.

You say your son's account is a company account. What if he had registered an individual account instead? I think that then, you wouldn't be able to create certificates even if he added you with admin rights. In that case, could you create certificates under your own account and use them to publish the app under his account? Or is it necessary that the client (your son's company in this case) be registered as a company account in order to publish for his company?

 

[Semen Matusovskiy]

Full story ... I needed the certificates to debug an app, So I registrated my personal Apple ID and paid $99.
Two months later, when app was ready and tested using TestFlight, my son registrated another account as a company. Unlike personal ID, a company needs DUNS etc., so a process is not so fast as for personal ID.

After my son gave me admin rights in company's account, App Store Connect began to show a switcher in right top corner and I can select between my private and company's account. I switched to company's account and made new certificates. Then uploaded latest release to TestFlight.

Can't say exactly, which rights are required for final step (to move from TestFlight to in App Store). Probably, 'administrator' is enough. In my case final steps did my son, I even did not try. Reasons: 1) I am lazy 2) my son had more experience (he published before another apps and knows, what Apple wants).

 

[Andris]

Full story ... I needed the certificates to debug an app, So I registrated my personal Apple ID and paid $99.
Two months later, when app was ready and tested using TestFlight, my son registrated another account as a company. Unlike personal ID, a company needs DUNS etc., so a process is not so fast as for personal ID.

After my son gave me admin rights in company's account, App Store Connect began to show a switcher in right top corner and I can select between my private and company's account. I switched to company's account and made new certificates. Then uploaded latest release to TestFlight.

Can't say exactly, which rights are required for final step (to move from TestFlight to in App Store). Probably, 'administrator' is enough. In my case final steps did my son, I even did not try. Reasons: 1) I am lazy 2) my son had more experience (he published before another apps and knows, what Apple wants).

Thanks Semen. I really appreciate that you shared your experience.

 

[Andris]

For anyone who's interested, here's my current thinking on this subject after quite a bit of research and trial-and-error:

• Approach 1
  If the client is set up with an Apple Developer business membership, which takes quite a bit of additional paperwork and proof of business credibility, then Semen's approach as outlined above is a good way to go. Just have the client register you as a user with Admin privileges and Certificates/Profiles can be generated with little trouble, as well as the publishing of the app.
  
  
• Approach 2
  If the client is set up as an Apple Developer individual membership , you as the app developer can be added as a user to the client's account, but you will not be able to create Certificates/Profiles. This is a pain in the butt, though understandable since it's Apple and they like as much security fencing as possible. This means that the client has to create them for you, with your specific instructions, and then send you the resulting files. I didn't do this because I decided on Approach 3 but with my client, it seemed like it would be problematic, including her having to deal with constant authorization codes being sent to her phone.
  
  
• Approach 3 (seems best)
  It so happens that transferring ownership of an app once developed is pretty easy to do, though I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum or elsewhere on the internet. The process is described here. Just develop and test your app, even with in-app purchases, as if the client wasn't involved. Then, before initial public release, transfer it all to your client. Apparently even the in-app purchases get transferred without a lot of extra work.

So I'm doing Approach 3. I'll add to this thread again after it's all over to let you know how it went.