Launching your branded mobile app is a collaborative process—VTS will work with you and gather your input for creating your branded app. We'll need your images, logos, color palettes, and icons to help tailor your unique needs and designs into the experience. However, the app design work can't get started without a few key items.
In accordance with Google Play Store's release guidelines, there are some requirements that need to be met before we can get the app in your customers' hands. In particular, your business needs to register as a Google Play Store Account Owner, and then invite VTS to the account to manage the app.
To guide you through this process, we really recommend progressing through each step in order. Once the requirements are met and you've successfully added VTS to your Developer account, we'll take over the responsibility of launching, updating, and maintaining your branded app.
If you're already a Google Play Store Account Owner, you can use your existing account and assign us as Admin.
What you'll need
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- D-U-N-S Number: Verifies your organization's identity and legal entity status.
- This can take up to 30 business days if you do not have a D-U-N-S Number. You can choose to expedite for a fee with Dun & Bradstreet.
- Not sure what your DUNS number is? You can look it up for free here.
- Legal Entity Name: Google Play does not accept DBA’s, fictitious businesses, trade names or branches. The legal entity name will appear as the “seller” for your app(s). IE: Seller: ABC Company, Inc.
- A contact phone number and email address for Google Play users: This number is shown on Google Play so users can contact you.
- A contact phone number and email address for Google: This number will only be used for Google to contact you if needed. It is not shown on Google Play.
- Signing Authority Confirmation: Confirm that you have the authority to bind your organization to legal agreements and provide the contact information of an employee who can verify your signature authority.
- Government-issued photo ID for the Account Holder to verify identity.
- Credit Card for payment
Providing App Store Access
Step 1
Check if you already have a Google Play Store account. If you do, proceed to Step 3.
Step 2
Set up a Google Play Store account. This account will become the Account Owner. You are responsible for:
- Storing your account owner credentials safely. If these credentials are lost, many of the important tasks that only account owners can do cannot be accomplished anymore. It is very important to store these credentials safely and provide access to Customer organization.
- Keeping the account up-to-date (typically by agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions).
- Processing VTS requests to account owners.
Step 3
For new white label apps, you will create a new placeholder app that will be filled in with the VTS Activate App. Select Create App on Google Play and walk through the below screen to create the app.
Step 4
Add VTS email mobiledeveloper@vts.com as App Access Admin (all permissions) for the VTS white label app through the Add app setting.
Step 5
Customer will help VTS set up automatic delivery of app updates. Customer’s account owner generate a Google Play Store JSON key using the steps in the next section and provide us the Google Play Store JSON key securely.
How to generate Store Keys for automatic app delivery
Step 1
Open the Google Play Console. Select Account Details, and note the Developer Account ID listed there.
Step 2
Create a new project in Google Play Developer API. Enter "VTS Fastlane" for the project name and click CREATE.
Step 3
Open service accounts on Google Cloud and select the project you just made.
Step 4
Click the + CREATE SERVICE ACCOUNT button at the top of the Google Cloud Platform Console. Make sure you're on the right project by looking for the Developer Account ID from earlier in the light gray text of the second input, before .iam.gserviceaccount.com. If not, open the picker in the top navigation bar and find the one with the correct ID.
Step 5
Add a service account name like vts-fastlane. Copy the email address below the service account ID for later, then click DONE.
Step 6
Click on the triple dots under Actions and choose manage keys.
Step 7
Click ADD KEY, then Create New Key.
Step 8
Make sure JSON is the key type, then click CREATE. Save the file on your computer—and remember where you save it.
Step 9
Open the Google Play Console and select Users and Permissions.
Step 10
Click invite new users.
Step 11
Paste the email address we saved earlier in the email address field.
Step 12
Choose the permissions you'd like this account to have. We recommend Admin (all permissions), but you might want to manually select all checkboxes and leave out some of the Releases permissions such as Release to production, exclude devices, and use Play App Signing.
Step 13
Click Invite user to finish.
Removing a beta program app
If you participated in our beta program for Google Play apps, you might need to remove the beta version from Google Play. If you notice 2 apps available in the store, you can remove the beta version so only the public version of your white-label is available for download:
- Uninstall the internal testing app through the Play Store app on your Android device.
- Go to the internal tester URL in your preferred browser. The URL will follow this format: https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/[some-numeric-id]. The ID was a number sent by email when you applied for the beta program—if you can't find it, reach out to VTS and we'll help you locate the number.
- Clink the LEAVE THE PROGRAM button at the bottom.
- Close the Play Store app and reopen it. You should see the production app now.
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