iPads - Purchasing Apps / ASM Credits / Assigning Apps in SimpleMDM

Purchasing Apps

Log in to school.apple.com and navigate to 'Apps and Books'. Search for the app you need. You may need to enter the full name in order to find the app. The search feature is not the greatest...

Once you find the app you need, check that it is the correct version (iOS vs MacOS).

If this is a freeapp:
- Choose the quantity of licenses needed, assign it to the 'BSD52 (SimpleMDM)' location, and then click 'Get'. You may need to wait a couple of minutes before the purchase finalizes.
- Go to SimpleMDM, then to VPP (Under Apps & Media), and then Sync with Apple.
- Go to 'Catalog' and verify that the correct number of licenses are available. Skip to 'Assigning Apps in SimpleMDM' section and follow the directions to assign a free app.
If this is a paidapp:
- Make sure you have the right amount of available store credit to cover the purchase for the number of licenses needed. If not, skip to the 'ASM Credits' section to add credits and purchase the licenses needed.
- Choose the quantity of licenses needed, assign it to the 'BSD52 (SimpleMDM)' location, and then click 'Get'. You may need to wait a couple of minutes before the purchase finalizes.
- Go to SimpleMDM, then to VPP (Under Apps & Media), and then Sync with Apple.
- Go to 'Catalog' and verify that the correct number of licenses are available. Skip to 'Assigning Apps in SimpleMDM' section and follow the directions to assign a paid app.

ASM Credits

Apple School Manager (ASM) Credits are used to purchase apps in ASM and then deploy/assign those apps to iPads/Macs via SimpleMDM using device-based licensing.

To purchase credits, go to ecommerce.apple.com. Once signed in using our Bethel SD account (in 1Pass), go to 'Solutions & Offerings' > 'Apps and Books Credit'.

You should see only one 'product' called 'Apps and Books Credit for Education'. Click 'Customize Amount'. On the next screen, enter the exact amount you will need to purchase the licenses. The rest of the info for these fields can be found in 1Pass under the item 'Apple Store For Education'.
After all fields have been filled out and verifying the credit amount, click 'Add to Cart'.
Complete the checkout process with a PO# or a P-Card.
Once completed, it may take upwards of an hour to get an email from Apple acknowledging your purcase and another hour to receive the credit email from Apple.
Once you have received the VPP/ASM credit email, you will need to sign in to volumepurcaseprogramcredit.apple.com using the same bethelsd credentials.
Once in there, go to 'Orders' and find the your recent VPP purcase. Click the 'Download Link' for your purchase and open the .csv file it downloads.
Go back to Apple School Manager and find the paid app you need. Enter the quantity of licenses needed. Click on 'Redeem Store Credit' just to the right of the quantity box.
Copy/paste the 'Redemption Code' from the .csv file you downloaded into the 'Redeem Store Credit' box and hit 'Redeem'.
You should now have the available credit amount to purchase the apps.
Choose the quantity of licenses needed, assign it to the 'BSD52 (SimpleMDM)' location, and then click 'Get'. You may need to wait a couple of minutes before the purchase finalizes.
Make sure the location is correct before finalizing the purchase!
Go to SimpleMDM, then to VPP (Under Apps & Media), and then Sync with Apple. You should now see the licenses you purchased.

Assigning Apps in SimpleMDM

Assign a free app by going to 'groups', find the group the iPad is a part of, and then assign the app to the group the iPad is a part of. This is assuming that you want the app on all the iPads in this group.

If you want to assign an iPad a PAID app, check to see if the group exists by searching the 'Groups' for the app. For example, Proloquo2Go is a paid app and there is an existing group for this called 'Proloquo2Go iPad App (PAID). When you add a device to the group, the device will automatically download/install the app (assuming there are available licenses).

If there is no group just yet for this specific app, create one and assign the device to the group in the 'Assign Devices by Name' field (shown in the above screenshot). Then, go to the 'Apps' tab and add the app you're wanting to assign. Don't assign any other profiles. Use the group to only push out the app; nothing else.

TROUBLESHOOTING

You may need to go into the iPad's page (device details), select 'Actions' and then 'Push Assigned Apps and Media' (as shown below) if the app does not seem to be installing.

Make sure the Home Screen Layout profile installed on the iPad includes the app you're trying to install. Otherwise, the app will install but it will be hidden from the user. Modify the home screen layout if needed.
Check the App Restrictions profile and check that the profile is set to allow the app (if it's an allowlist profile).
Check 'Groups' to make sure that the iPad is a part of the group that will receive the app. Or check the device's page and see what groups it is a part of.
Double-check the license amounts and 'Sync with Apple' if necessary. You will not get any errors or any other signs that you are out of licenses so, make sure you're good there.