BriteMac - Brite Applications for your iPhone

I know it has been a while since I updated the blog so I thought I would share with everyone the current progress on the beta.

The beta testers and I are hard at work bringing you the next release of the software. I am still a few weeks out for the release but things are progressing nicely. Again this is a free update so anyone who purchases JetSet now will get the the 1.2 update when it is released. Have a look at what has happened since 1.1 and let me know what you think! I have attached a screen shot of the new main menu of JetSet. A couple of things to note--gone is the gray screens of the past and notice the new totals! Oh did you see it is showing British pounds and dates in the European format? 

Beta 5 Main Screen

- In Beta 4 I introduced the "None" payment type. Some of the more astute pointed out that someone out there would abuse the "None" type and use it for nefarious purposes. You can no longer edit the "None" Payment type.

- Bug: There was a bug where the edit screen would not properly show the selected payment type should go back and review an assigned payment type. This is now fixed.

- Now you can exit out of the payment types screen without making a change. Previously you would receive an error message if you edited a payment type and didn't change the name.

- The produced expense report now shows YES/ NO for each expense that is billable.

- The produced expense report now shows YES / NO for each expense that is reimbursable

- The produced expense report now shows "Total Expenses" instead of "Total Reimbursement" text. I will add the other totals to the report in Beta 6.

- Found a few places where I could improve performance.

- Program main menu now shows "Reports" at the top of the screen.

- Program main menu now shows totals for Billable, Non-Reimbursable and Reimbursable expenses.

- A new "Edit" button is now at the top of the main menu as well as the "Details" screen giving people easier access to the "Delete" feature. I have had enough of writing email to people explaining that yes in fact you can delete an expense and an expense report. :)

- If you delete all expense reports the welcome instructions now display.

- No longer gives the "No Root Object" error message on startup after installation.

- New artwork is in place for all screens.

- Fixed a bug where reimbursement and billable settings would not update.

- Made changes that now support the 2.2 firmware--it is now required.

- The About screen moved to the Settings screen.

- Dates are now localized! The program now will respect the layout of the dates for your native country.

- The currency now defaults to your local country currency (note this is NOT the international currency support that is promised) but it is a step in that direction.

Here is what is left to do:

- Add filters so there are multiple reports--the standard one, one limited to billable and one limited to reimbursable.

- Add totals for non-reimbursable expenses and billable expenses to the main report

- Implement the mileage improvements

- Mileage work - need to add default cents per mile preferences setting

- Need to add odometer start/end

- Need to keep track of last odometer reading (allow user to set this in preferences)

- Implement the general preferences controls

- Show the billable / non-reimbursable totals in the detail screen

Beta 4 Notes

- Fixed a bug where the default payment types was sometimes being displayed and/or changes to the payment types are not being updated. A beta tester caught that one!

- May have fixed a potential crash bug; though it is not clear if it is a problem. I was caching the expense detail view when I shouldn't.

- Added a "None" Payment type

- Changed the default to "None" for the payment type for mileage.

- I had requests to move the billable / reimbursable flags to the main expense screen and I spent some time on that--but came back to the screen would be too crowded; in particular in the mileage screen.

- Moved the Reimburse / Billable messages to the top of the screen to make room for the mileage changes

- Added non-functional mileage settings screen

- Modified the layout to the non-functional general settings screen

What doesn't work / not done in this release:

- Still have not fixed the "No Root Object" on the first time use of the program.

- Still have not added the support for the Billable / Reimburse information to be shown in the actual expense report.

- Graphics still missing in the hotel / airline / rental car displays

Beta 3 Notes

I had not originally planned on doing beta 3 so quickly but the last build had problems where users were telling me that they were seeing "black" and "light blue"as backgrounds behind the lists. This I didn't see on my iPhone when I tested the release. So I have done a clean build and have attached it.

There are some small changes from Beta 2.

They are:

1. The new graphics that I was able to see and you did not perhaps was too slow when drawing the hotel, airline and rental database. So I am trying using a solid color which is very fast but I am not sure it is as nice. I'd love your feedback.

2. When scrolling through the list it would draw over the Done button at the top.

For those new to the beta program here is the release notes for Beta 2. Please read them. Your continued participation (i.e. getting new builds depends heavily on what input you provide even if it just to say you don't have anything to report or add I want to hear from you. :)

Here is the details along with installation notes

Beta 2 Notes

Here is what is new in this release:

- New graphics subsystem is now in place. I think the application looks a lot nicer. The main menu now uses it, as does the detail expense list as does the hotel, airline and rental listings. In fact those listing screens have been revised quite a bit. I hope it is to your liking.

- I have now added reimbursable / non-reimbursable / billable and non-billable to the payment method screen. The expense detail screen has been redesigned to show you the status of these settings (sadly there just wasn't room to put these switches here)

- I have updated the database to save, edit and load these settings

- I have put in a safety mechanism so that hopefully Jetset always saves data. I still think this bug is an Apple one--but what I have put in should really work better anyway.

- Built in an error reporting mechanism if the application can not save for some reason. This will help me if the problem occurs where you can't save data for some reason.

- Now will allow you to go back into the payment method screen and see what was selected and change the status of billable and reimbursable

- A fix was made so that the start date of an expense report properly draws in the main menu

Known issues:

- On first time startup an error message will appear that says "No Root Object Found". I'll fix this in beta 3.

What is left to do:

- Reporting has not been added for the new reimburse and billable expenses. I plan on modifying the main report to include this information per line. I also plan on letting you create an expense report just for billable and reimbursable expenses.

- Mileage work - need to add default cents per mile preferences setting

- Need to add odometer start/end

- Need to keep track of last odometer reading (allow user to set this in preferences)

What am I looking for on this release:

- What you like / don't like about the UI changes

- Can you find any bugs related to the new functionality?

- Any other comments

Note:

- In order to stay in the beta program YOU must send me feedback on each beta or I will assume that you have not enough time to spend on this. Sorry it is a lot of work to set up beta builds and I really need your feedback. You were selected because you expressed an interest in the continued growth in the software.

Thanks everyone for your feedback on Beta 1. You'll see that I _DID_ listen.

-mark=

Mark Manes, Lead Developer

BriteMac LLC