If you have a subscription app on iOS, App Store Connect is likely one of your most visited pages (after the Adapty blog, of course 😉). This official Apple service offers a plethora of options, features, and data points, making managing your app almost as important as developing it. Setting everything up for the first time can be difficult, but the information you receive in return is invaluable for the long-term success of your application.

Given the significance of the tool, we created a comprehensive guide that explains it in detail. We wrote this primarily for publishers and marketers, who are more concerned with the app's presentation and performance than with the code itself, and whose actions have a significant impact on the app's profits. The guidebook is quite long. Save this article in your bookmarks for future reference. Let's go!

What is App Store Connect

Apple offers a platform called App Store Connect that lets developers submit and manage their apps on the App Store. App Store Connect allows developers to manage in-app purchases, view analytics and sales data, and upload their apps, among other things. It serves as a central location for developers to oversee every facet of their App Store applications.

Visit https://appstoreconnect.apple.com to access App Store Connect, then enter your Apple ID and password to log in. You must be a member of your company team in order to view the data in your app and to access the dashboard. You must also be enrolled in the Apple Developers program.

You can manage your apps with the platform's many tools and resources, including app analytics, sales data, and app submissions, once you've logged in. It's okay if you don't see every feature at once; we'll talk more about this later. The features you see will depend on your position within the company (developer, publisher, marketer, or financier).

App Store Connect: the main dashboard

For publishers and marketers, App Store Connect's primary dashboard acts as a central hub. It provides a concise summary of the actions and status of your app on the App Store. The dashboard, which appears as soon as you log in, should give you access to the most pertinent information and trends regarding your app.

The dashboard's layout, which has sections devoted to various app management tasks, is intended to be efficient. The most important data that is shown is each app's current status, which includes whether it is being reviewed, whether it is ready to be sold, or whether it needs to be fixed because of things like compliance alerts or submission errors. Developers are notified of any updates or necessary actions through the prominent display of recent notifications.

Additionally, you will find the overall app performance metrics on the main screen. Data on app downloads, earnings, user interaction, and comments from ratings and reviews are all included in this. With the aid of these metrics, you can make well-informed decisions about marketing tactics, feature updates, and App Store optimization, as well as how well your app is performing in real time.

My Apps

All of the apps you have released on the App Store are listed in this section. Important details about each app are shown, including the name, icon, bundle ID, version, and status at any given time. Access comprehensive analytics and performance data, such as download and revenue figures, active devices, user engagement metrics, and more, by delving deeper into each app. You can use this data to monitor the performance of your app and pinpoint areas that need work.

You can also manage app updates and versions in this section of the App Store Connect. Here, you can schedule app releases, submit new versions for review, and control app metadata like screenshots, descriptions, and keywords.

This lets you maintain the relevance and freshness of your app's content for users. In addition, you can interact with users to address concerns or feedback about your app and reply to reviews left by customers.

App Analytics

App Store Connect's App Analytics section contains useful information about how well your apps are performing. This is where you can monitor important data like installs, views in the app store, in-app purchases, and app downloads. To learn more about how users are interacting with your app over time, you can also track user engagement and retention rates. Marketers and publishers can optimize the performance and user experience of their app by making data-driven decisions with the help of these metrics.

In case you want to delve deeper into particular areas of an application's functionality, you can also generate personalized reports using particular data points in this section. Users can be divided into groups according to a range of factors, including device type, location, and demographics, in order to spot trends and patterns that can guide marketing and product development strategies.

Sales and Trends

You can see a financial summary of your app's App Store performance under the "Sales and Trends" section. In-app purchases, app sales, and subscription revenue can all be tracked by developers, who can also access comprehensive reports on revenue trends over various time periods. With the help of this section, which breaks down sales and downloads by geography, developers can determine important markets and gauge the worldwide reach of their app. This data can also be used to gather information on promotional activities, such as the success of marketing campaigns or price changes.

This section exclusively covers financial insights, in contrast to Analytics. For instance, you can quickly evaluate the business performance of your app by looking at subscription data on the summary, retention and churn rates, state, and event pages if it offers auto-renewable subscriptions. Even better, you can view this information right from your Adapty dashboard. It links financial performance to particular paywalls or A/B tests you have been conducting, and it connects directly to the App Store Connect, guaranteeing 99.99% accuracy. In this manner, the outcomes of your product and marketing experiments are visible to you right away.

Payments and Reports

One of the most important sections of App Store Connect is Payments (or just Reports on some screens). You can view comprehensive records of your financial transactions as well as app-related reports for tax and financial analytics purposes here. The earnings, amount owed, and most recent payment are all included in basic monthly financial reports. Developers are able to monitor their revenue over time with the help of this period-based segmentation feature. This section also includes tax documents, where available, that are required to satisfy legal requirements.

Users and Access

It goes without saying that you can manage users, modify their permissions, and access their accounts under the "Users and Access" section. By giving team members distinct roles, the primary account holder—typically the company's founder or the designated head—controls what users can see and do within the account. With App Store Connect, the primary user roles are:

• The primary user with complete control over the account is the account holder. In addition to being able to add and manage users, they can also decide how to distribute apps and handle money.

• Admins can grant or withhold access for the Account Holder, but they do not have the same rights as the Account Holder. Users can be added and managed, their roles and permissions can be set, and they can carry out a number of other app management and distribution-related tasks.

• On App Store Connect, app managers are able to create, modify, and oversee apps. In addition to managing app versions and metadata and viewing analytics and sales data, they can submit apps for review.

• Developing and uploading app binaries is the main responsibility of developers, who have restricted access. They can manage TestFlight beta testing and upload builds, among other app development-related tasks, by gaining access to specific areas of App Store Connect.

• Permission to view sales reports, customer reviews, and analytics data is granted to marketers. Within App Store Connect, they can also monitor trends, generate promotional offers, and keep track of user engagement information.
  
  

This feature guarantees that team members have the access required to carry out their responsibilities efficiently while upholding the security and accuracy of the app's data. Make sure you only invite the appropriate team members and exercise caution when sharing App Store Connect access.

Agreements, Tax, and Banking

Accurate and current legal and financial records can be kept thanks to App Store Connect's "Agreements, Tax, and Banking" section. Product owners and business executives can make sure their apps adhere to the most recent App Store policies by reviewing and accepting Apple's contracts and agreements. Additionally, you can set up and update banking information here, update company details, and make sure that money from app sales and subscriptions is deposited correctly.

Resources and Help

We also strongly advise you to occasionally access the "Resources and Help" section, even though it is not listed on the upper menu. It is a veritable gold mine of knowledge for developers of all skill levels. To aid developers in navigating App Store Connect and the app submission process, this section includes tutorials, support articles, and guides. Although this article is meant to be the definitive resource for all of your questions, this section may help you find a faster solution for a particular issue.