Reports vs. Backups

Some people have written in about not being able to open the .mbdata backup file on their computer, so I thought to clarify the difference between Reports and Backups. This pertains to the iPhone version.

Backups
Under the Backup tab in MileBug, you can create a backup file of all your data. It stays on your phone until you email it to yourself or pull it off using iTunes File Sharing. There is a help guide to iTunes File Sharing at the bottom of the Backup tab. Just click "What is iTunes File Sharing?". The .mbdata file generated by the backup process is readable only by MileBug and is intended to be used to restore your data if you have problems with your iPhone or get a new iPhone.

Reports
Under the Reports tab, you can generate a human-readable report in either HTML or CSV (Excel or Numbers) format. You may choose the date range, the business(es), the vehicle(s), and the sort criteria. You can preview the report right in MileBug, too! Then hit Send, and the iPhone Email Composer will appear with your report as an attachment. After entering your email address, hit Send on the email composer and your report will arrive in your Inbox shortly.

Happy Taxes Everyone!

Save the trip to have GPS continue tracking

A few users have written in concerned about the GPS stopping in the middle of tracking a trip. Turns out they hadn't saved the trip before driving away. We're working on devising a more intuitive UI, but wanted to help users understand the intended way to use MileBug to get the most out of it.

When you add a trip and turn on GPS, you actually need to return to the Add Trip screen and save the trip for the GPS to continue tracking. The incomplete/ongoing trip will appear in red in the Trips List while the GPS continues to track in the background. When you arrive at your destination, simply tap the red trip and stop the GPS tracking. The end odometer reading will be filled in automatically with the totals added to your mileage log.

Remember: Save the newly added trip to have the GPS continue tracking.

Start the New Year right by tracking your trips!

Welcome to 2012! Even though it's potentially a few months before you start putting together your taxes for 2011, right now is the time to start your 2012 taxes the right way by tracking ALL your business miles, charity miles, and medical miles. And MileBug is here for you to do just that.

How does $1000 tax deduction sound?
The IRS left the very nice tax deduction rate for business miles at $0.555/mile. That's $5.55 for every 10 miles you drive your personal vehicle for business purposes. If you average 10 miles per trip, and 2 trips per week, that's over 1000 miles on the year for a very respectable tax deduction of over $550! If you drive more than a couple trips per week and they average more than 20-30 miles or more, then you're looking at well over a $1000 deduction. And who couldn't use that?

"Favorite Trips" make logging the short trips easy and thus profitable, too!
What about the little trips? The short trips to the supply store, or to the post office? Too much hassle? Not with MileBug. And the little trips add up, too. Set up a Favorite Trip for each of these common outings, and it's a quick few taps to log the trip. Two to three miles here, 3-4 miles there...and you have another hundred or more on your tax deduction.

MileBug on iOS (iPhone), Android, and very soon Windows Phone 7
Apple and Google have emerged as the giants in the mobile app world with iPhone apps and Android apps. MileBug is available for both. Microsoft is making great efforts to join the party with the new Windows Phone 7, and MileBug is almost there, too. It's been submitted...just awaits approval and release from the Microsoft powers that be. We're upgrading both iPhone and Android versions, too. So keep the feature requests coming!

Happy New Year everyone! Let's make it great!