# Publish your app to the App Store and Google Play

Source: https://docs.meetscarlet.com/publish-your-app/
Updated: 2026-11-07

Apple only lets an app go out under your own name, so your app is published from your own Apple Developer account and your own Google Play account. You own them and keep them; we build the app and handle the review inside them.

> Takes time: Plan on 4 to 6 weeks, almost all of it waiting for Apple and Google to check your business. Start today. Your web app works the whole time, so clients can book from your web address while you wait.

## What you'll need

- Your business's legal name and address, exactly as they appear on its registration.
- A website for your business, and a work email on your own domain (like you@yourstudio.com, not a Gmail address).
- To enroll as an owner or officer of the business.
- $99 a year for the Apple Developer Program, and $25 once for Google Play. You pay Apple and Google directly.

## The steps

Do these in order. Steps 1 and 2 are the slow ones; the rest take minutes once Apple and Google say yes. In the admin, the App Store and Google Play setup step lists the same steps as a checklist with a link to each official page. Choose Mark as done on each one as you finish it, and the line above the list counts them, like 1 of 5 store steps done. The last one marks itself done when both keys are connected. Your progress is saved with your studio, so they're there on any computer or phone, and owners and managers see the same list.

1. **Get a D-U-N-S number (free)** A D-U-N-S number is a 9-digit ID for your business from Dun & Bradstreet. Look yours up through [Apple's D-U-N-S lookup](https://developer.apple.com/enroll/duns-lookup/). If you don't have one, ask for it there. It takes up to 5 business days, sometimes longer.
The legal name and address must match your business registration exactly. A different spelling is the usual reason Apple pauses an enrollment.

1. **Join the Apple Developer Program as a company ($99 a year)** Start at [Apple's enrollment page](https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/). Choose **Company / Organization**, not Individual, and enroll with your D-U-N-S number. You need the website and the work email on your own domain.
Apple calls to check who you are. Answer that call: a missed call is the most common cause of delay.

1. **Add Scarlet to App Store Connect** In [App Store Connect](https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/), open Users and Access and invite **apps@meetscarlet.com** as Admin. Then, under Integrations, request access to the App Store Connect API. Only you, the account holder, can do that.

1. **Join Google Play as an organization ($25 once)** Create your [Play Console](https://play.google.com/console/signup) account, choose Organization, and use the same D-U-N-S number. In Users and permissions, invite **apps@meetscarlet.com** with permission to create apps. Later, when you [add your Google Play key](#google-key), you also invite your own service account there, for releases.

1. **Send us your keys** Once Apple and Google have approved your accounts, make one key in each, then add them in the admin: in the App Store and Google Play step of setup, or later under Your app › Publish with Connect App Store or Connect Google Play (either one opens that step). Only the studio's owner can add them, with [two-step sign-in](https://docs.meetscarlet.com/invite-your-team/#two-step) on. If two-step sign-in is off, a note in place of the key cards asks you to turn it on; a manager sees a note asking the owner to open this step. The next two sections show how. If a key later shows Needs attention, or Not connected because the store stopped accepting it, see [If something looks wrong](https://docs.meetscarlet.com/if-something-looks-wrong/#stores). We use the keys to build, upload and follow your app through review.

[Screenshot: The App Store and Google Play setup step: the cost, $99 a year to Apple and $25 once to Google, and the time, about 4 to 6 weeks, mostly waiting on Apple and Google; 0 of 6 steps done. The first step, Get a D-U-N-S number, is open with Look up your D-U-N-S number and I have my number. Below it the Apple steps (join the developer program, add Scarlet to App Store Connect, give Scarlet your Apple key) and the Google Play steps (join as an organization, give Scarlet your Google Play key), then Finish setup, dimmed, and Leave this for later.]

## Add your App Store key

1. **Make the key** In App Store Connect, go to Users and Access, then Integrations, then Team Keys. Create a key with App Manager access.

1. **Download it once** Download the **.p8** file. Apple lets you download it only once, so keep it somewhere safe.

1. **Add it in Scarlet** On the App Store key card, choose Add key. Enter the Issuer ID (shown at the top of the Team Keys page) and the Key ID (in the Key ID column next to your key), choose the .p8 file, then Check and save key.

[Screenshot: The Add your App Store key form under the checklist: how to make the key, then Issuer ID and Key ID boxes with hints, Choose the .p8 file, Check and save key and Cancel.]

## Add your Google Play key

1. **Make a service account** In [Google Cloud](https://console.cloud.google.com/), create a service account and download a **JSON** key for it.

1. **Give it access in Play Console** In Play Console, under Users and permissions, invite the service account's email address with permission to release your app.

1. **Add it in Scarlet** On the Google Play key card, choose Add key, choose the JSON file, and check the App package name, like com.yourstudio.app. It's usually filled in for you, because we create the app in Play Console; leave it as it is, and only type it if it's empty and we've told you the name. Then choose Check and save key.

When a key is saved, its card says Connected. You can use Check again at any time to confirm the store still accepts it, or Replace key and Remove key to change it.

[Screenshot: The App Store key showing Connected with its key ID, fingerprint and last checked time, and Replace key, Check again and Remove key; the Google Play key still Not connected yet, and Finish setup now active.]

## How we keep your keys safe

We check each key with Apple or Google before we keep it, then store it in a locked vault. The admin never shows a key again; it shows only details like the key ID, its fingerprint and when it was last checked.

Only the studio's owner can add store keys, and only with two-step sign-in turned on, because the keys can publish your app. Managers can read this step and tick the checklist; in place of the key cards they see a note asking the owner to add the keys.

> Good to know: If you remove a key in Scarlet, we stop using it at once. Also delete it in App Store Connect or Google Cloud, so it stops working there too. Your app stays in the store as it is.

## After your keys are in

We create your app's identifiers, build your branded app, test it on a phone and upload it, then submit it once the listing and screenshots are approved. You can follow each step in Your app. See [Follow your app through review](https://docs.meetscarlet.com/track-your-release/).