Apple Business Manager & School Manager

Apple Business Manager (ABM) and Apple School Manager (ASM) are free web portals from Apple. They aren't an MDM and they don't install anything on their own — but in a fleet rollout they do two jobs that make everything else possible. This guide explains where they fit and, most importantly, how to add Billboard Screen to Volume Purchasing so your MDM can install it.

What these portals do

In an Apple TV rollout, ABM and ASM handle two things:

1. Buy and assign apps in volume — this is Volume Purchasing (formerly VPP), and it's how apps become available to your MDM. It works for free apps like Billboard Screen too; the licences simply cost nothing.
2. Automatically enrol devices — with Automated Device Enrolment, Apple TVs you buy through approved channels enrol into your MDM out of the box and can be supervised, with no manual setup on the device.

You still need an MDM — Jamf, Mosyle, Intune, Meraki, SimpleMDM, Kandji, or Apple Business Essentials — to actually install Billboard and push its configuration. ABM and ASM feed licences and devices into that MDM; the MDM does the installing.

Tip: if you don't already run an MDM, Apple Business Essentials is Apple's own lightweight MDM built into Apple Business Manager. It can install Billboard and push the dataURL config using the same Managed App Configuration approach as any other MDM.

Add Billboard to Volume Purchasing

This is the step that makes Billboard Screen appear in your MDM as installable content. You only need to do it once per organisation.

1. Sign in to Apple Business Manager (business.apple.com) or Apple School Manager (school.apple.com) as a Content Manager or administrator.
2. Go to Apps and search for Billboard Screen.
3. Choose the location or organisation and the number of licences you want. Billboard Screen is free, so the licences cost nothing — pick a generous number to cover your fleet.
4. Buy and assign the licences.

The licences sync to your MDM automatically, usually within a few minutes. In your MDM, Billboard Screen now appears as available Volume Purchasing content that you can scope and assign to your Apple TVs.

Tip: the app's bundle identifier is app.BillboardScreen. It's handy when searching for the app or scoping it in your MDM.

Then install and configure it in your MDM

Adding Billboard to Volume Purchasing makes it available — your MDM still does the actual install and pushes the dataURL Managed App Configuration that points each screen at the right gallery. Follow the guide for your MDM:

• Jamf Pro
• Jamf School
• Microsoft Intune
• Mosyle
• Cisco Meraki
• SimpleMDM
• Kandji
• Apple Configurator 2

Every one of them reads the same key: dataURL, set to your gallery's manifest URL. The look and content of each screen live in your Billboard dashboard, not in the MDM.

Supervision and Single App Mode

The second job of these portals — Automated Device Enrolment — is worth understanding if you plan to lock screens down. Supervision (through Automated Device Enrolment, or via Apple Configurator 2) is what unlocks Single App Mode, which pins the Apple TV to Billboard so it can't be exited or navigated away from. If you buy Apple TVs through an approved reseller and add them to ABM or ASM, they can enrol and be supervised automatically. See Single App Mode for the lockdown itself.

Troubleshooting

• Billboard doesn't appear in my MDM. Confirm you assigned the licences to the same location or organisation your MDM is linked to, then wait a few minutes for the sync — or trigger a Volume Purchasing sync manually in your MDM.
• I can't find the app in the portal. Search for the exact name Billboard Screen, and make sure you're signed in with a role that can buy content (Content Manager or administrator).
• No licences left to assign. Buy more — they're free. Adjust the licence count in the Apps section of the portal.

Still stuck? Email us at support@getbillboard.app.