iOS Apple Developer Member Center - How to submit apps on a client's behalf

Question

I need to submit an app on behalf of a client, but I only have Team Admin and not Team Agent access. How can I submit the app for them through Xcode? Do I have to have the username/password of the Team Agent in order to do this?

Adaline

Answer 1

As an admin you can do almost everything: (there was an image)

Surprisingly, not to submit apps (ref):

From the apple documentation (ref)

The admin role grants access to all tasks in iTunes Connect except for those assigned to the legal role. A team agent is always assigned the admin role, and this access cannot be revoked without changing which person on the team acts as the team agent. An admin can assign iTunes Connect roles to other people on the team.

There must be a possibility to change the agent role, but:

A team agent is legally responsible for the team and acts as the primary contact with Apple. The team agent can change the access level of any other member of the team.

Which means that is a very serious decision to do.

Pensile

But that list doesn't actually say I can upload a binary. When I try to enter iTunes Connect from the Member Center, it shows me the page for my own personal developer account instead of the team I was invited to. – Adaline

@Adaline So you do have an iTunes Connect link at iOS Dev Program (see an updated image) being logged in with the customer team selected ? – Pensile

I log in to the Member Center and choose the appropriate team. After I choose iTunes Connect, however, it displays the iTunes Connect for my own individual account instead. – Adaline

@Adaline my further investigation comes to developer.apple.com/programs/roles/index.php which shows, that only an agent is able to submit the apps. – Pensile

this was my suspicion all along. Can there be more than one agent? Can the agent role be re-assigned? – Adaline

@Adaline There must be a possibility, i believe only an agent himself might do it in some way. See the answer update. – Pensile

Okay, well, what's the best solution for a developer who has created a project to deliver it to his/her client for submission? The client doesn't have Xcode. Can they use Application Loader? – Adaline

@Adaline they don't need Xcode to submit an app, you can build an appstore ipa file for them and the app will be submitted with itunesconneect by them. – Pensile

Answer 2

We can now do this without access to the team agent's account. The team agent will need to add user's to their iTunes Connect account as either 'admin' or 'technical' roles. Then those user's would be able to upload new binaries for the App Store. Here are detailed instructions from Apple: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnect_Guide/7_ManagingYourTeam/ManagingYourTeam.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40011225-CH2-SW1

Swihart

Answer 3

I have clients create a new, dedicated Apple ID for their company in iTunes Connect that is the Agent, and use that Apple ID rather than my own to submit the apps.

Wearisome

I didn't know you could create a separate Agent. I thought the agent is the one who initially creates the developer account with apple? If this really is possible, can I use that in Xcode to submit their app? If not, can I use Application Loader? – Adaline

That's what I mean: the client creates a brand new account that is the Agent account. I do not believe you can assign a new agent to an existing account short of contacting Apple directly to arrange it. – Wearisome

Oh so they would have to basically re-join the Developer program with a new "person ID" then, right? I was thinking they could just create a new "person ID" and then ask Apple to make the switch for them. Seems to be a pain. Personally, if I had a company-based Developer account I wouldn't want to create a whole new account just to switch Team Agents. – Adaline

Well, companies really should create a generic "team agent" account that isn't specifically tied to someone's existing Apple ID. This would allow them to provide the password as required, and change it when required. – Wearisome

Yes, but the Team Agent role practically grants all rights. There should be some separate role the only allows app submission for cases such as mine when third-parties are doing the submission on the client's behalf. – Adaline

What there should be and what there is are often very different. :-) I agree, it would be a nice addition, but sometimes you have to kludge your way through problems like this because there's no elegant solution available. – Wearisome

Yes. The difficulty I have now is that I want to create an .ipa file to give to my client but Xcode 4.3 seems to only be generating .xcarchive files for me! – Adaline

Once you've archived, click Distribute. Then select Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc Deployment. Then select the distribution code signing identity, and finally select where to save the file. The saved file is the IPA. This is also how you would generate an IPA for, say TestFlight, which if you're not using, you should use. – Wearisome