Corporate Apps

[blufrog]

Hi,

If a client approached me and asked for iPad/iPhone/Mac apps to be written instead of Windows apps, what, if anything, would I need to do? Would I still need to register as a developer and pay the fee?

How would I actually sell the app to them? In this instance I would not be interested in selling publicly - just to my client. How would this work?

EDIT: it seems iOS apps are treated differently to OSX apps??

 

[firewood]

Is the client a person who only wants to use the app him/herself on one device? Is this potential client a company (incorporated entity) that only wants to distribute the app to their employees? Do they want to distribute the app to much less than 50 iOS devices? Or do they want to distribute the app to the general public? Do you want to sell them access or copyright to the full source code for the app? What you have to do depends on answers to the above.

For iOS apps, you will need to pay at least $99/annum to run your app on any iOS device. More, if your client wants to do Enterprise distribution.

For Mac apps, nothing (no $99) is necessary if your client doesn't want to distribute the app to the general public, and is willing to put up with random security warnings about your app and click thru them.

 

[ackmondual]

IIRC, Enterprise distribution was $300/yr. But here, you don't need to go through the AppStore. Other restrictions may apply.

 

[acctman]

If someone (client) wants an App created... Quote the a development cost for the app and include the $99 apple dev cost (you should probably already have a dev account if you're an iOS dev). Also let them know once the app is created they'll need to create an iOS dev account under there name in order to submit it to the App Store.

If you do not have an Apple Dev account and/or you've never built an iOS app before I would think twice before venturing into taking someones money with promises of creating an app. If the client is an actual company, they will look to you for guidance through the entire process with Apple. Setting up a company dev account is not the quickest/easiest thing to do. Not to mention your contract with the client needs to clearly state if you will maintain updates, and regular fixes. Not to mention most iOS apps do not get approved the first time through.

Don't go into it if you're unsure on things..
1. Know Xcode and apples license provisioning
2. Have a solid contract with client end terms and update/bug agreements
3. Have knowledge of Apples dev reg / App submission process
4. Have knowledge of what Apples finds acceptable for bugs and depreciated coding usage. Apple will be requiring all new apps to be iOS 8 and 64-bit compatible starting in a few weeks (Feb 1 2015).

My first client app should of taken 3mons but ended up taking a year do to clients delay in responding to Apple and getting things setup on there end. So an app I built in 3mons I had to go back in and adjust the coding to work with new iOS updates in order to pass submission. Time wasted...

 

[blufrog]

Hi,

Thanks for the info.

I've had a few clients interested in tablet-style apps in the past (nothing specific) but in the meantime they started to use iPhone/iPads just for personal use, and figured if they ever changed their mind, they're most likely going to want apps for these devices.

I'll dig more into the licensing issues etc.. I'm 99% sure they would want them for internal use only.

I can understand Apple wanting to review any software for the platform for QA purposes, but otherwise it seems to be of limited value.