BillMinder 3: MR Forums Exclusive Teaser

[SFC Archer]

Update

After testing for a week and having bills come due, I will report that the app is working as created and all notifications are coming through using all notification sounds and alerts.

I have found that I really do miss and need some of the functions that the old version offered. In the old app, you could select one of three options on the main screen which showed you "All" bills for the month, "Paid" bills for the month, and "Unpaid" bills for the month. This functionality is not available in the new app and with the transfer over, I am finding that some of my bills are missing or are restructuring themselves and I have no "Report" to show what I have paid to see if something is missing.

Since there is so much room under reports, I would recommend that an additional "Report" be added to show what has been paid for the month or last 30 days or something to show me a paid report. I no longer have a way to validate and double check.

I have also discovered some bugs when changing bill amounts to "Unknown Amount" it has caused the creation of past due bills for that account which had to be deleted and it has also caused lock up of the screen. The screen will freeze when to many changes are made and require closure of the app and reopen to reset. I also paid a past due test account and after I paid it, it remained on the screen as a late payment and would not disappear after payment. Again, had to close app, open and it was gone.

Overall, I like the functionality of the new version except for the missing monthly paid report. A few bugs still exist but this will be common with any new app. I know that they will be fixed. I have removed the old app but am very cautious since I can not review what I have paid or how much.

Will update again after the billing period is over, next month.

 

[return7]

In the old app, you could select one of three options on the main screen which showed you "All" bills for the month, "Paid" bills for the month, and "Unpaid" bills for the month.

This is available at the top of the calendar screen. We changed the wording of "Unpaid" to "Due." Basically the calendar tab is similar to the first tab from the old app.

Version 1.0.2 with some fixes and enhancements was submitted for review a couple of days ago. Added the following in 1.0.2:

- Ability to manually add bills on non-repeating accounts. We still think it's easier to just let the app do it for you and only change the amount but some folks really prefer doing it manually, so we added it. You must already have created the non-repeating account for this to work.

- Added an autopay flag to bills marked autopay on the Upcoming tab

- Added an autopay or paid flag to bills that are autopay or paid on the calendar lists (ledgers)

- Fixed the syncing of notification settings between devices

- Fixed some syncing slowness issues that might have happened intermittently

- Fixed other minor bugs

We're working on 1.0.3 and then we hope to start working on something else related to BillMinder 3. I can't comment on that much more but I can say we spent a lot of time working on the sync server and logic for a good reason. Also, stay tuned for another interesting announcement sometime soon. You can join the mailing list here, if you like, and we'll let you know. If you prefer twitter: here and here.

 

[SFC Archer]

This is available at the top of the calendar screen. We changed the wording of "Unpaid" to "Due." Basically the calendar tab is similar to the first tab from the old app.

Version 1.0.2 with some fixes and enhancements was submitted for review a couple of days ago. Added the following in 1.0.2:

- Ability to manually add bills on non-repeating accounts. We still think it's easier to just let the app do it for you and only change the amount but some folks really prefer doing it manually, so we added it. You must already have created the non-repeating account for this to work.

- Added an autopay flag to bills marked autopay on the Upcoming tab

- Added an autopay or paid flag to bills that are autopay or paid on the calendar lists (ledgers)

- Fixed the syncing of notification settings between devices

- Fixed some syncing slowness issues that might have happened intermittently

- Fixed other minor bugs

We're working on 1.0.3 and then we hope to start working on something else related to BillMinder 3. I can't comment on that much more but I can say we spent a lot of time working on the sync server and logic for a good reason. Also, stay tuned for another interesting announcement sometime soon. You can join the mailing list here, if you like, and we'll let you know. If you prefer twitter: here and here.

Boy do I feel stupid...Thanks for telling me where the buttons are! I do not use the calendar view so never even thought to look there. Could these buttons be considered "Reports" and placed in that section? Just a thought.

Another bug to check into is that I have just looked at all of bills due on the 1-1-11 created double payment records of bills that I had marked as auto pay. My "Payment History" section shows two payments made on that date and it totals it up x2 in the Paid section of the bill. Do not know if this is a New Year fluke or if it will keep happening on the first of every month.

No other issues noted. Will hold off on my iTunes review for one more week of testing. Keep up the awesome work guys!

 

[return7]

Another bug to check into is that I have just looked at all of bills due on the 1-1-11 created double payment records of bills that I had marked as auto pay. My "Payment History" section shows two payments made on that date and it totals it up x2 in the Paid section of the bill.

Thanks! I was able to duplicate this one. We'll get it fixed in 1.0.3.

Edit: And not sure how the All/Paid/Due control would work on reports. Perhaps per report as an option but it would look a little different so it could be sync'd between devices. The reports are pretty simple right now but still quite powerful. We'll see about making them more interesting later.

 

[SFC Archer]

Thanks! I was able to duplicate this one. We'll get it fixed in 1.0.3.

Edit: And not sure how the All/Paid/Due control would work on reports. Perhaps per report as an option but it would look a little different so it could be sync'd between devices. The reports are pretty simple right now but still quite powerful. We'll see about making them more interesting later.

Glad you were able to duplicate and it is fixable.

I am getting used to where the all/paid/due and can see where the problem would be by moving it to reports. They can stay where they are but could it be changed to open in the last viewed/used mode? It is annoying to have to change from calendar to list mode, then select one of the three...if it would just stay in the last viewed mode, that would be perfect...The calendar does nothing for me so I use the list views and would love the option to leave them in that view.

Still looking for more bugs

 

[Fisher624]

Hey return 7. Love the app, starting to get used to it. I, like someone above, missed the calendar view from BM2, but I am starting to see the usefulness of the new UI.

Anyway, my question is about balances. Is there anyway to add a total balance to the credit accounts, and then have your amount paid be deducted from it each month so that those balances can then be tracked using BM3? Without having to log into the company's site.

 

[return7]

Hey return 7. Love the app, starting to get used to it. I, like someone above, missed the calendar view from BM2, but I am starting to see the usefulness of the new UI.

Anyway, my question is about balances. Is there anyway to add a total balance to the credit accounts, and then have your amount paid be deducted from it each month so that those balances can then be tracked using BM3? Without having to log into the company's site.

Thanks for being a customer.

The way to do that in BM3 (that you couldn't really do in BM2) would be to add a single, non-repeating, bill with that balance and add a payment to that bill when you need to. Depending on the date you enter for the bill, it would show up on the Upcoming view and eventually be shown under past due but you could just ignore that. The caveat to this is BillMinder 3 does not estimate interest since it's not meant to be a balance tracking app in that capacity. We hoped to create another app that did just that but we haven't had the time.

By the way, a calendar like that in BM2 is still there on the Calendar tab. You can tap the button in the top left to switch to the list mode, if you prefer. Things are just moved around a little. Version 1.0.3 will remember the All/Paid/Due setting and Calendar vs. List setting on this screen.

They can stay where they are but could it be changed to open in the last viewed/used mode?

This is done and will be in 1.0.3


Edit: v1.0.3 is out. We're working on another update with internationalization for a few languages, as well as some other stuff.

 

[Thrilledge]

Are there codes for the new version? I purchased the old one with the Push notifications and it completed disappeared from my phone and Itunes when I went to IOS4

 

[return7]

Are there codes for the new version? I purchased the old one with the Push notifications and it completed disappeared from my phone and Itunes when I went to IOS4

I don't understand your question regarding codes. Version 3 is an all new app. The old version is still available for download so you can download it without being charged a second time, if you like.

We've made some major improvements to version 3 since launch and are working on some cool stuff.