In the fall of 2015, a startup team committed to making mileage logging easier joined Microsoft to expand their ability to empower the self-directed worker. Today, the team that created MileIQ now announces an iOS app to simplify expense management. Spend, a Microsoft Garage project, is now available for download in the US App Store.
The Microsoft Garage has released dozens of projects in the four years following the October 2014 launch of its Garage project program. Several projects have gone on to become features of flagship Microsoft products or new, branded products in their own right. Both self-organized, grassroots teams and arms of Microsoft product groups have leveraged the program to collect user feedback, add new features, and refine their approach.
Spend joins a host of Garage projects that have narrowed in on a specific target customer to understand their needs and build scenarios that tackle acute problems. Sports Performance Platform worked with the Seattle Seahawks, Benfica, Cricket Australia, and Real Madrid among other major sports teams and organizations. Video Indexer—the once-titled Video Breakdown and Garage project alum—synthesized multiple Microsoft Cognitive Services into an improved experience and is now offered as a standalone Azure Media Service. Microsoft Kaizala began its journey focusing on mobile collaboration scenarios, getting its big break working with the Indian state government to organize a massive holiday event attended by over 20 million people.
Hassle-Free, On-the-go Expense Management
Spend is mobile-first and built with the user in mind, making it simple to track expenses for reimbursements or taxes
- Quickly manage all your purchases for your expense reports with automatically tracked expenses from a connected credit card, debit card or bank account
- See purchases in a feed and easily classify expenses as business or personal with a single swipe
- Edit purchases or bulk classify expenses through the web dashboard
- Create accurate reports with only a few clicks for the week, month, or another customer period
- Fully customize reports which are available in either spreadsheet or PDF, commonly-used formats compatible with leading accounting and expense management software
- Snap pictures of receipts and attached to purchase with additional features for easy cash purchase management
- Track confidently: Spend uses 256-bit encryption, bank-level security, with Microsoft certifications
The team has long focused on creating solutions that simplify work and empower self-directed workers, and built its first product MileIQ to enhance the mileage logging experience. When you’re on the road a lot, it can be time-consuming and chaotic to organize mileage and gas information for reimbursements or tax deductions. Now, the team is also turning its attention to another pain point for this audience: expense management.
“Keeping, sorting, and tracking paper receipts is annoying and inefficient. Spend uses intelligent features to bring receipt and expense tracking to the modern era,” says Heman Chawda, Product Manager for Spend. Built for mobile and designed around those always on the go, Spend takes a fresh approach to expense management. “It’s a great opportunity for us to be able to explore this space,” shared Nat Robinson, General Manager of MileIQ. “We are a growing team at Microsoft working on a number of experiences that empower small and medium businesses. The Microsoft Garage gives us the chance to offer a simplified expense management experience and really hone the value we provide. This is an important area of investment for us—we’re really excited to take this first step.”
You can read the full details about Spend on the MileIQ Blog or download it for iOS in the US App Store.
