Billing subscriptions for SaaS model with free IOS app
I am currently working on a product that my clients will pay me monthly. Their product is just a web app, but all of their customers will be able to download the free app for IOS or Android. In order for their clients to log in, they will be given a login from my clients' web application. The free app is completely optional for my clients' clients. My clients will be able to use the web app even without using their clients using the app.
My question is ... will I have to pay Apple for a percentage of my customers' site subscriptions? The app experience for my clients' clients is completely free. If I have to pay Apple, how can I do it? It would be very foolish for my clients to pay for an app when they aren't even using the app.
Just wondering if there are any IOS developers running into a similar situation and how did you handle it?
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You won't have to pay for the apple, but you will need to make sure that the app itself does not link (or possibly mention) an external payment processor. It would be great if the application allows you to log into a paid account, just without buying the application, bypassing Apple's payment system. You may also want to consider making in-app payments additional for app users and others in other ways.
See 11.13 on the App Store Overview Recommendations page .
An example of such a system can be seen in the Amazon Kindle app for iOS, where you can sign in to your amazon account and read books that you purchased with your account, but cannot buy books through the app.
EDIT: however see clause 11.12 in the link above, you may need to use in in-app purchases for users who use the app as it says, "Apps offering subscriptions must do this with the IAP, Apple will share the same 70 income / 30 split with developers for these purchases. " You can still offer a separate subscription for non-users.
EDIT 2: As in 11.14 If your app provides approved content ("magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video and cloud storage"), you can "read or play approved content ... that is subscribed to or purchased for outside of the app if there is no in-app button or external link to purchase approved content Apple will only receive a portion of the revenue for in-app purchases.
Relevant recommendations:
11.12:
Apps offering subscriptions must do so using the IAP, Apple will share the same 70/30 revenue share with developers for these purchases as stated in the Program License Agreement
11.13:
Apps that link to external purchase or subscription mechanisms to be used in the app, such as a buy button that is sent to a website to buy a digital book, will be rejected
11.14:
Apps can read or play approved content (specifically, magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video, and cloud storage) that are subscribed to or purchased outside of the app if the app doesn't have a button or external link. App for purchasing approved content. Apple will only receive a portion of the revenue for in-app purchases.
11.15:
Apps can only use automatic renewal of subscriptions to periodicals (newspapers, magazines), business apps (corporate, work, professional, cloud) and media apps (video, audio, voice) or the app will be rejected
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