Apple Volume Purchase Program

Originally published in July, 2017, this article has been updated in February, 2026.

Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager come with an ‘Apps & Books’ store. This used to be called the ‘Volume Purchase Program’, or VPP, and Apple still calls it that when you buy credits to use in the Apps & Books store, which are called ‘VPP Credit’.

The Apps & Books store will also give you any volume discounts that are available for apps and books. Usually, publishers offer discounts of up to 50% in education if you buy 20 or more copies.

When we talk about Apple School Manager, the Apps & Books store is a great way for schools to find, buy and share apps (and books) in large quantities. It’s also a solution that generates questions, especially from teachers and administrators who are trying to get started and make the most of their Apple equipment investments.

If your organisation doesn’t already have an account, getting started with Apple School Manager isn’t too tricky. However, we’ve noticed a few common issues that can make it hard for users to get up and running, place orders and really make the most of the programme. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you get started!

Getting yourself started

To begin the process of setting up an Apple School Manager account and gaining access to the Apps & Books store, open a web browser of your choice and go to the following link https://school.apple.com

You’ll notice that in the small print towards the footer of the page, for those who have not enrolled before, the ‘Not Enrolled? Enrol your institution now’ option which will start you off.

Registering your institution

The screen that follows requires you to enter some details about the institution, so fill all of these out as requested in the fields supplied. The second section asks for contact details, and most users naturally will be entering their own information in this section.

Please note that all email addresses used must be part of the school domain and not supplied by a generic email provider. For example use j.smith@grovebankparkschool.ac.uk as opposed to jim.smith@googlymail.com. This becomes important further down the line when you verify your domain for use with Managed Apple Accounts.

You’ll need to provide contact details of a verification contact in school who has the authority to approve your application and accept terms and conditions. Most often this should be a member of the senior leadership team like the Head, the School Business Manager, the School Bursar etc, but please let them know you've added their details before submitting the form so they're aware that Apple will be in touch.

Once you complete all of these details and then submit the form, Apple will then contact both persons that are listed within the application so await an email which you will then need to respond to. In some rare situations, Apple may request further information in order to proceed with the application.

As with any such applications, please keep a check on any spam and junk folders depending on how your mail server works as many users report not having any replies or contact, then find some weeks later that the Apple email they were waiting for was sitting unattended in a spam folder….

Once your enrollment is complete, and all is approved, the original application is sent a final confirmation asking them to setup their primary administrator account in Apple School Manager. This will be your schools' first Managed Apple Account.

Top-tip. Use a generic email address for this initial Managed Apple Account. Something like office@grovebankparkschool.ac.uk which will persist beyond changes of staff in school.

Once logged in, you can create four other 'Administrator' Managed Apple Accounts.

Buying apps and content

This is the fun bit!

You’ll no doubt have identified a ‘must-have’ app that you wish to roll-out to a number of devices, possibly even the whole school. If you are buying the app in volumes of 20+, then any available discounts will be applied automatically, which by itself is a great benefit to signing up.

If you have a member of staff responsible for buying apps and books, you can create them a Managed Apple Account to access Appel School Manager with the role of 'Content Manager' who can purchase from the Apps & Books store without having the overall admin rights.

Once they've calculated the cost of the proposed app purchase – don't worry about needing a payment card, you can buy VPP credit to spend in the Apps & Books store. Whether it's £5, £50, £500, just send us your order rounded up to the nearest £1, along with the Managed Apple Account details of the Content Manager or Administrator responsible for making the purchase. KRCS will then arrange for a redemption code to be emailed through for the appropriate amount.

Hopefully, you’ve found our guide helps you get started with Apple School Manager and the Apps & Books store. If you have any queries, please speak to our education team using the contact details below.