Developer services
App Store Release Help
You built the app. I help you get it through the last mile — archiving, App Store Connect, and submission.
Who this is for
Individuals and teams small enough that nobody’s job title is “release manager.” The app works, but the release keeps slipping on things that have nothing to do with whether the app is good. The failure modes are remarkably consistent:
- Archive or build settings that don’t match what App Store Connect expects
- App Store Connect release state stuck between builds, versions, or agreements
- Metadata and screenshots that don’t meet requirements or don’t match the app
- Privacy declarations that disagree with the app’s actual behavior or the public policy page
- Missing or unreachable privacy policy and support URLs
- Subscriptions or in-app purchases created but never attached to the submission
- TestFlight builds that never made it to the right testers or used the right build
- Reviewer notes that leave the reviewer guessing (demo accounts, hardware, context)
- Release settings that ship the app at the wrong time, or to the wrong storefronts
What is included
Release Readiness Audit
The required foundation
- Evidence-backed review of your available build/archive/project and the current App Store Connect release state
- A mismatch and blocker report explaining what will stop or slow the submission, and why
- A prioritized fix plan, ordered by what actually blocks release
- Reviewer-note recommendations (demo accounts, context, hardware notes)
- Includes one re-check within 14 days
Founding pilot pricing: starts at $249 for one Apple-platform app and one release version
App Store Submission Support
Optional done-with-you add-on
- Hands-on help preparing metadata, screenshots layout requirements, and privacy answers
- IAP/subscription attachment, TestFlight and build selection, reviewer notes
- Assembling the App Store Connect submission package, after or alongside the audit
- Role-based App Store Connect collaboration when appropriate; never password sharing
- You retain account control; legal, tax, banking, and contractual attestations are completed by you personally
Quoted after the audit, based on release complexity
Pricing, payment & timing
- The founding pilot price starts at $249 and covers one Apple-platform app and one release version. It includes the evidence-backed audit, the blocker and fix report, reviewer-note recommendations, and one re-check of corrected materials for the same release scope, requested within 14 calendar days.
- App Store Submission Support is optional and priced separately. It is never bundled into the audit price.
- Typical delivery is 3–5 business days after scope, payment, and required materials are complete. Timing is confirmed in your written quote.
- Payment is due only after you accept the written scope and quote, and before work begins. There is no blind online checkout. You always know exactly what you are buying first.
- Any applicable taxes are itemized in the quote and payment request before you pay. When secure online payment is enabled, the payment request is sent only for an accepted scope; the payment processor handles card details and the receipt, and NovoBuild does not receive or store your full card number.
- Cancellation: if you cancel before work begins, you receive a full refund. After work begins, any refund is limited to unperformed work as described in the accepted quote; completed work and non-recoverable costs are not refundable.
- Extra apps, additional release versions, expedited work, material code fixes, redesign, screenshot production, localization, legal advice, and ongoing marketing are separate scopes, quoted separately when wanted and never silently included.
Final project-specific terms are in the accepted written quote and scope. See our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for how professional-services engagements and client materials are handled.
What we need from you
The first message is deliberately lightweight. We confirm scope before you pay or share private release materials.
In the initial request
- App name, Apple platform, release version, and build number
- Current App Store or TestFlight state and any public link
- Target release date and a short description of the blocker
- Whether in-app purchases or subscriptions are part of this release
- Public support and privacy-policy URLs
After scope is agreed
- We agree on the minimum materials needed: a public TestFlight link or ordinary tester invitation, relevant build/archive/project output, App Store Connect screenshots, metadata, and screenshot sets, only when they are in scope.
- If App Store Connect access is necessary, you grant a least-privilege, role-based invitation and can revoke it at any time. You make the final submission from your own account.
- We agree on a transfer method before files are sent. Never email Apple ID passwords, 2FA codes, signing certificates, private keys, payment-card details, banking information, or production-user credentials.
- Working copies are deleted and granted access is removed within 30 days after the engagement and included re-check close, unless we agree otherwise or records must be retained by law.
How it works
1. Request help
Email the app, platform, version/build, current App Store or TestFlight state, target date, and blocker. Include public support and privacy URLs and whether IAP or subscriptions are in this release. Do not attach builds or send sensitive access information.
2. Scope & access check
We confirm what we can review, what access (if any) is needed, and quote the audit. If role-based App Store Connect access is appropriate, it is least-privilege and removable by you at any time.
3. Audit & working session
We review the release materials and deliver a mismatch and blocker report with a prioritized fix plan. With Submission Support, we work through the fixes with you hands-on.
4. Handoff & re-check
You submit from your own account. Includes one re-check within 14 days.
Trust & boundaries
- I can’t promise Apple will approve it, or when. Nobody honest can. I remove the avoidable rejections before a reviewer sees it.
- No legal advice. We flag where you may want a lawyer; we are not one.
- No Apple ID password sharing, ever. Least-privilege, role-based access only when it is needed, and you can revoke it at any time.
- Purchasing this service never buys, improves, accelerates, or guarantees coverage in Small Apps Worth Knowing; see the editorial policy.
Frequently asked questions
What access do you need?
Often none for the audit. Public listings, your build/archive output, and screenshots of App Store Connect states go a long way. When direct access helps, it is role-based App Store Connect collaboration at the least privilege that works. We never ask for your Apple ID password, and you can revoke access at any time.
Can NovoBuild press Submit for me?
The submission is yours. We prepare the package with you and can walk through the final screens together, but you retain account control, and any legal, tax, banking, or contractual attestations are completed by you personally.
Do you guarantee Apple will approve my app?
No. Nobody honestly can. Apple makes the final decision on approval and review timing. What we do is remove the avoidable reasons for rejection before the reviewer ever sees them.
Do you handle in-app purchases and subscriptions?
Yes, within submission scope: verifying products are configured, priced, attached to the correct submission, and described consistently. Designing your pricing model or writing StoreKit code is separate scope.
Will you fix my code?
The audit identifies what needs to change, including build and configuration issues. Small configuration corrections can fall within a working session; material code fixes, redesign, screenshot production, and localization are separate, clearly quoted scopes. They are never silently included or billed.
Does buying this help my app get featured in Small Apps Worth Knowing?
No. Purchasing any NovoBuild service, including this one, never buys, improves, accelerates, or guarantees editorial consideration, selection, placement, or coverage. The editorial and commercial sides of NovoBuild are separate by policy.
Ready to get unstuck?
Email the app, platform, version/build, current App Store or TestFlight state, target date, blocker, IAP or subscription status, and public support and privacy URLs. Please don’t attach builds or include sensitive access, payment, or banking information in the first message.