Setup guide · from scratch
Sign up for Apple Business Manager and create the admin Managed Apple Account
Create your organisation's free Apple Business Manager account — the portal that owns every Apple token and app licence. Needs a brand-new work email and D-U-N-S verification (allow several business days), so start this FIRST.
≈ 30 min
Apple — iPhone, iPad & Mac · step 1 of 12 · ≈ 30 minNext ›
Do these first — this guide assumes you already have:
- A brand-new work email not already tied to any Apple ID, iCloud or App Store account.
The Decolla way — the one bit no tool can click for you.
Apple Business Manager (business.apple.com) needs a human to sign in, so this stays manual on purpose. Decolla makes it painless: the wizard shows these exact screens at the moment you need them and flags precisely what to bring back — a token, a file, an ID — so the automated steps either side of it run without a hitch.
⏱ A genuine human step — Decolla cuts the coordination around it, not the sign-in itself.
Before you start
- A brand-new work email address that has never been used for any Apple ID, iCloud or App Store account.
- Your organisation's LEGAL registered name and address (Apple cross-checks these against D-U-N-S).
- Your organisation's D-U-N-S Number - free from Dun & Bradstreet, but allow several business days if you have to request one.
- A senior contact (CEO/CTO/CFO) Apple can telephone to verify the organisation is real.
The steps
- Open a web browser and go to https://business.apple.com/.
- Click 'Sign up now' (or 'Enroll now').
- Enter your organisation's LEGAL name, optional website, and country/region.
- For the admin email use a WORK email that is NOT already tied to any Apple ID,…
- Enter your real, legal human name — job-title placeholders like 'IT Admin' are…
- Provide a verification contact Apple can telephone (name, email, role of a…
- Enter the one-time code Apple emails you, then the second code sent to your phone.
- Sign in, open Settings and enter your organisation's D-U-N-S Number (get one free…
- Watch the organisation status until it reads verified.
- Once verified, accept the Apps and Books / VPP terms and conditions.
0 of 10 done
Step 1. Open a web browser and go to https://business.apple.com/.
Screenshot: ABM landing page before sign-up (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Why: This free portal becomes the root of all Apple management - it will own every token and app licence you later hand to Intune.
If this step errors: Apple tokens in Intune: APNs, ADE and VPP renewal explained
Step 2. Click 'Sign up now' (or 'Enroll now').
Screenshot: The sign-up / enroll entry button (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Watch for: If your organisation already has an Apple Business Manager or the older Apple School Manager account, sign IN instead - Apple will not let you create a second one for the same company.
Step 3. Enter your organisation's LEGAL name, optional website, and country/region.
Screenshot: Organisation details form filled in (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Watch for: Use the exact LEGAL registered name, not a trading name - Apple cross-checks it against your D-U-N-S record and a mismatch stalls verification.
If this step errors: Apple Business Manager stuck on D-U-N-S verification
Step 4. For the admin email use a WORK email that is NOT already tied to any Apple ID, iCloud or App Store account — it becomes the top administrator Managed Apple Account.
Screenshot: Admin email field (redact the address) (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Why: This email becomes the top administrator Managed Apple Account - the master identity for the whole ABM tenant.
Don’t: Do NOT use an email that already has an Apple ID or iCloud attached - Apple rejects it - and do not use a personal address that could leave with one employee.
On a schedule: Record which email this is in your shared vault - it is the master ABM admin and is needed to recover access.
If this step errors: ABM federation Apple ID conflicts: the 60-day rename
Step 5. Enter your real, legal human name — job-title placeholders like 'IT Admin' are rejected by Apple.
Screenshot: Name entry field (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Don’t: Do NOT use a role placeholder like 'IT Admin' or 'Support' - Apple rejects non-human names and it delays approval.
Step 6. Provide a verification contact Apple can telephone (name, email, role of a CEO/CTO/CFO).
Screenshot: Verification contact form (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Why: Apple telephones this person to confirm the organisation is genuine - a wrong or unreachable number is a common cause of a stalled sign-up.
Step 7. Enter the one-time code Apple emails you, then the second code sent to your phone.
Screenshot: Two-code verification entry screen (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Watch for: The one-time codes expire quickly - have both the mailbox and the phone in front of you before you start this step.
Step 8. Sign in, open Settings and enter your organisation's D-U-N-S Number (get one free from Dun & Bradstreet first if needed); Apple verifies over several business days.
Screenshot: Settings > D-U-N-S Number entry field (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Why: The D-U-N-S Number is how Apple confirms your organisation legally exists - without it verification cannot even begin.
Watch for: No D-U-N-S yet? Request one FREE from Dun & Bradstreet first - it can take several business days, so this is the true long pole of the whole Apple rollout.
On a schedule: If you must request a D-U-N-S, start it days before you need ABM - it gates everything Apple.
Step 9. Watch the organisation status until it reads verified.
Screenshot: Verification pending / verified organisation status (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Watch for: Verification commonly takes several business days. This is the step that delays the entire Apple journey, which is exactly why this guide is first - start it before anything else Apple.
Step 10. Once verified, accept the Apps and Books / VPP terms and conditions.
Screenshot: Apps and Books terms-accepted confirmation (captured during a live customer build — coming to this page)
Why: Until these terms are accepted, no app licences or VPP/location tokens can be created - so this is what unlocks the rest of the Apple track.
On a schedule: Re-accept whenever Apple updates the terms - an un-accepted update silently blocks new app purchases across the whole tenant.
Put these on a schedule
| Step | Recurring action to diarise |
|---|---|
| Step 4 | Record which email this is in your shared vault - it is the master ABM admin and is needed to recover access. |
| Step 8 | If you must request a D-U-N-S, start it days before you need ABM - it gates everything Apple. |
| Step 10 | Re-accept whenever Apple updates the terms - an un-accepted update silently blocks new app purchases across the whole tenant. |
If it goes wrong
The failures people actually hit on this process, each with the diagnosis and fix:
- Apple Business Manager stuck on D-U-N-S verification — ABM enrolment can stall for a week on D-U-N-S checks and Apple's verification call. The exact fixes: record matching, contact briefing, lead time.
- ABM federation Apple ID conflicts: the 60-day rename — ABM federation gives personal Apple IDs on your domain 60 days, then a forced rename. The conflict lifecycle, plus a staff comms email template.
- Apple tokens in Intune: APNs, ADE and VPP renewal explained — The APNs certificate, ADE enrolment token and VPP token all expire yearly and each breaks something different. A one-page matrix and the renewal rules.
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