Apple Developers Inc

How to Choose an SKU in App Store Connect

How to Choose an SKU in App Store Connect

Written by

naveen

in

Quick answer: An App Store Connect SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is an internal, unique identifier for your app that is never visible to end users. The standard best practice is to match your app’s Bundle Identifier (for example, com.company.appname) or use an internal accounting reference code. It cannot be edited after you create the app record.

Why this happens

When registering a new app in App Store Connect, Apple requires a field named SKU alongside the app name, primary language, and bundle ID. Many developers pause at this screen because the prompt provides minimal guidance on formatting, leading to uncertainty over whether customers will see the value or if changing it later is possible.

SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit. Apple borrowed this retail term for internal tracking and financial accounting. When Apple processes payments, generates monthly sales reports, or tallies tax reporting data, your SKU appears in the resulting transaction spreadsheets and reporting API responses to help your finance team reconcile revenue.

The most important constraint is immutability. Once you enter an SKU and click Create in App Store Connect, Apple locks the field permanently. Even if you rename the app or change its bundle ID before launch, the original SKU remains bound to that application record for the lifetime of your developer account.

How to fix it

1. Mirror your Bundle Identifier (Recommended)

For most independent developers, startups, and product teams, the cleanest approach is to use the app’s reverse-domain bundle identifier as your SKU:

com.example.taskmanager

Because bundle identifiers must already be globally unique across Apple’s ecosystem, using the bundle ID guarantees that your SKU will never collide with another app in your developer account. It also makes matching App Store Connect records with your Xcode project configurations seamless.

To use this pattern:

  1. Open Xcode and select your app target under Signing & Capabilities.
  2. Copy the exact Bundle Identifier string.
  3. Navigate to App Store Connect > Apps and click the + button to add a New App.
  4. Paste the copied bundle identifier directly into the SKU field.

2. Use an internal accounting or inventory code

If your organization manages dozens of enterprise apps or tracks cross-platform products across iOS, Android, and web, your billing department may already assign internal tracking numbers. In this scenario, align the SKU with your company’s existing inventory catalog:

PROD-IOS-2026-042

This pattern shines when analyzing Apple’s downloadable financial reports:

  1. Download your monthly financial report from the Payments and Financial Reports section of App Store Connect.
  2. Open the tab-delimited .txt file in spreadsheet software or import it into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
  3. Look for the SKU column. Your internal code will map directly to sales quantities and proceeds, eliminating the need to cross-reference arbitrary Apple ID numbers.

3. Follow Apple’s character and formatting rules

While Apple gives broad leeway for the SKU string, it enforces specific formatting limits during app creation. An invalid string causes the form submission to fail with an inline validation error.

Adhere to these rules when crafting your string:

  • Length: Keep the string under 100 characters.
  • Allowed characters: Use alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9), periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
  • Prohibited characters: Do not include spaces, currency symbols, slashes, or non-ASCII characters.
  • Account uniqueness: The SKU must be unique across all apps registered in your specific developer team. Two apps in the same team cannot share an SKU, even across different platforms like iOS and macOS, unless they share a universal purchase record.

Examples of valid, well-structured SKUs:

com.company.fitnessapp
FITNESS_IOS_V1
app-reader-pro
10049283

How to prevent it

  • Decide on your team’s SKU naming convention before opening the New App dialog in App Store Connect.
  • Standardize on your app’s bundle identifier if your company does not maintain a dedicated inventory ledger.
  • Never put version numbers like v1.0 or temporary dates into the SKU, as you will release updates under that same record for years.
  • Ensure your string contains only alphanumeric characters, dots, hyphens, or underscores without spaces.
  • Double-check the spelling before clicking Create, because Apple does not allow edits to the SKU once submitted.

FAQ

Can users see my SKU on the App Store?

No. The SKU is strictly an internal administrative field visible only to members of your App Store Connect team and inside downloaded sales reports. End users browsing the App Store will never see it.

Can I edit or change the SKU after creating the app?

No. Apple locks the SKU permanently upon creating the app record. If you enter a typo or need a different SKU before releasing the app, your only option is to delete the app record entirely and recreate it with the corrected identifier.

Does deleting or removing an app allow me to reuse its SKU?

No. If an app has ever been uploaded or approved, Apple often reserves the SKU across your team account. If you must abandon an app record and reuse its intended identifier, append an incremental suffix such as -v2 to avoid duplicate SKU conflicts.

Sources & credits

Parts of this guide are adapted from content licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this article is shared under the same license.

More posts