Get started using Apple Business Essentials
It’s easy to quickly get started using Apple Business Essentials. You must use a supported browser and have successfully enrolled your organization to use Apple Business Essentials. See Supported browsers.
Before you begin, keep in mind that every user you add to Apple Business Essentials will have a Managed Apple Account. This is what they’ll use to sign in on their devices. The Managed Apple Account format is determined by the domain name you used when you signed up for Apple Business Essentials (you can change this format at any time). Although you can change the Managed Apple Account for users at any time, any change requires users to sign out and sign back in on their devices. See Use Managed Apple Accounts.
Get your devices managed
Apple Business Essentials requires devices to be managed in order to view critical device information, assign apps and settings, and send commands to the device. There are several ways to get them managed, depending on the device type and plan. See Enrollment methods.
Add users
With Apple Business Essentials, you can assign plans to users, so they can sign in with Managed Apple Account and all of their devices will be managed. Users can be added one at a time or in bulk by connecting to an identity provider (IdP). See Add users and Assign roles.
For users that are manually added in Apple Business Essentials, you’ll need to create and share their Managed Apple Account and temporary password (which they’ll change to a permanent password when they sign in the first time). See Create a new sign-in.
Create a second Administrator
To avoid being locked out of Apple Business Essentials, you should add the Administrator role to at least one user. See Add a new user with the role of Administrator.
Create user groups
User groups are a convenient way to assign multiple users at a time to Apple Business Essentials plans or Collections. There are two types, Smart User Groups and User Groups. See Add user groups.
Select a plan
You can choose from eight different plans and you can mix and match plans. Based on your organization’s needs, you can make changes at any time. Employee plans can be assigned to Smart User Groups, manually created User Groups, and individual users. Device plans are assigned to individual devices that won’t have a dedicated user, like kiosks or conference rooms. See Manage plans.
Buy apps
After you enter your payment method, you can buy apps from the App Store so they can be assigned to devices, user groups, or users. See Intro to buying apps.
Set default device management
For “zero touch” setup of devices you purchase for your organization, use Automated Device Enrollment. You can do so by linking Apple Business Essentials to purchases from Apple, a participating Apple Authorized Reseller, or an authorized cellular carrier. See Assign, reassign, or unassign devices.
Add devices
There are two ways to add devices to Apple Business Essentials:
Automatically: By linking Apple Business Essentials to Apple, a participating Apple Authorized Reseller, or an authorized cellular carrier. See Manage device suppliers.
Manually: By adding devices using Apple Configurator. See Add devices from Apple Configurator.
After devices appear in Apple Business Essentials, they must be assigned to an MDM server. If you’ve already set a default MDM server for every device type, you won’t need to manually assign a device to an MDM server.
Configure Settings
Apple Business Essentials lets you manage settings for devices. Examples of settings are Wi-Fi, VPN, and iCloud. After a setting is changed from its default, it’s known as a configured setting. See Intro to Settings.
Apply Collections
Collections are a group of apps and settings that can be assigned to Smart User Groups, manually created User Groups, users, or directly to devices. See Apply Collections.
Create a sign-in for every user
You can now create a sign-in for every user’s Managed Apple Account, distribute them using a mail message or other means, and have users sign in on their device with a temporary password (which they’ll change to a permanent password immediately). See Create a new sign-in.