Just the Bill

We created this service as a side project with @providentmike in some free cycles we had in our software development company (staging.thirdi.com).<p>We went from back-of-napkin to Beta in about a month, and are wondering if we have already hit a minimum viable product. We can accept expenses from Blackberries only, but we are working hard on an email submission process which opens up the iPhone/every other smartphone.<p>Other than that, what would it take to make this something that could satisfy your businesses expensing needs?

My BlackBerry Storm 9530 v4.7.0.148 is giving me the error "Uncaught exception: java.lang.NullPointerException" when I try to send in a receipt with the app. Also, when I try to submit from the "Add more details" screen, my BB menu is activated and no submission occurs.<p>EDIT: I do really like the app overall though. You've definitely got me on the hook with your design and copy.

One other note- I know you are going for MVP, but don't completely through branding out the window.<p>Where's the logo? Even if you don't have one, let's at least get the name somewhere above the fold. And it's a good name.

I would consider defining the BlackBerry requirement immediately. Yes, I see the image, but why wouldn't I think you're just using that as a default phone image? You're risking high frustration if they don't catch the supported platforms note.<p>As far MVP, if it works and you can start exploring product/market fit with rapid iterations (add more lean buzzwords here)...then of course!

Just a thought - if you provide an interface just after "scanning" the bill where you can easily tap line items to get a total it would make splitting a bill much easier.<p>You might also provide a way of tapping the number of people who shared the meal to split the bill (quick and painless divide) or an easy way to calculate a tip.<p>Finally, being able to tag line items then and there could be useful - say you purchase some stuff from the supermarket and a couple of those items are business while the rest are personal.<p>Looks like a beautifully simple first step. Well done.

Nice homepage. Some screenshots would be very helpful in evaluating the product.<p>Not sure if you've considered different business models, but mint.com's strategy of offering cost saving alternatives could work well here. Something like "you've spent 500 on office supplies this month.. did you know you could save $300/year with an OfficeMax mastercard? [affiliate link here]"

You ought to add working SSL (certificate is invalid and when I choose to add an account, it doesn't switch to SSL).

I saw a presentation by Expensify once: <a href="https://www.expensify.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.expensify.com/</a><p>It looked like a very full-featured system that does what "Just the Bill" seems to do and more. It was integrated with various credit card company backends.

This is probably one of the few things I would actually purchase, because it seems like it would make my life much easier.<p>However, you do need integration. If, for example, you could integrate with mint, you'll be gold.

I use XpenseTracker, an iphone app simply because it allows me to shoot a picture of the receipt and build an expense report as I travel. You can compare and tell me.

The site is really clean and well designed. How do you guys differ from <a href="http://www.shoeboxed.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.shoeboxed.com</a>?

For something like this, you might want a "Privacy" link. I also tend to put much more stock in sites with an "About" page -- not sure if that's universal. The black bar along the top is a fine place for these links, and I don't think adding them would detract from the site's usability.

Looks pretty MVP-ish to me, especially given the comments here so far. Hope you'll share some data on what you've learned and some stories of what you experienced. Was it scary to put up the MVP? In retrospect, are there features you could have cut and still learned the same amount?

Have you seen <a href="http://xpenser.com/" rel="nofollow">http://xpenser.com/</a> ? Lets you record expenses from email, SMS, Twitter, IM, iPhone, browser search box, voice (call and say it), etc.<p>They also have a full set of APIs. Maybe you could build on top of their system.

Sigh, I had this idea about a month ago and did about a day's worth of hacking on it. At least, a similar idea. I wanted to generate a report at the end of a month to check my credit card statement against. I'm too lazy to do it by hand, but with a decent app, I'd do it.

Ooooh. I may just finally get around to buying a nice phone. I'm horrible with receipts, and this looks perfect for my needs. JoelMcCracken commented that it would be awesome if you could integrate with mint, but even if you don't, this still is awesome.

I'm curious as to what OCR library you are using? I've had issues getting 100% reads in the past on related projects, and I've love to hear how you deal with image de-skewing and OCR.

Seems like you've hit on a great idea here.

Looks great, I just can't figure out how to actually add any data.

super idea. needs more direction right after you register, remember nobody wants to think about things - thats exactly what you are tapping here.

how does the technology work?