IGG shows iBiz 4 upgrade, new iBank mobile for iPhone

IGG Software today announced iBiz 4, a full-version upgrade to its application for time-tracking, billing and project management as well as the upcoming release of iBank Mobile, a native iPhone application designed to complement iBank 3, its personal finance application. iBiz 4, due in the first quarter of this year, offers new animated graphs (powered by core animation) and a completely new iCal sync engine for projects, events, to-do lists, invoice due dates with alarms, and other timeline-driven aspects of project or billing management. Version 4 also features new Statements to generate an overview of all past billing activity -- users can select to generate invoices and payments from a specific date range, or select specific items to include in statements. iBiz 4 also adds new templates for statements, invoices and reports.

The developer says that iBiz 4 also brings a multitude of interface refinements to iBiz, including a new pop-up inspector to quickly edit project information; a modified main window for better access to and organization of to-dos, files or events; the ability to organize clients into groups, or to view client subtext with balances or past-due info; simplified UI for adding/deleting clients/projects; and many other changes.

Although no pricing details were announced, IGG did say it also upgraded its iBiz Server/Client, a networkable app designed for law offices, ad agencies, design firms or other enterprise with multiple users generating billable hours. (Upgrades from single-user are "seamless," the developer claims.)

Hoping to bolster its iBank 3 finance application, iBank Mobile will be a native iPhone app and will also ship in the first quarter of this year. The company says that iBank Mobile can be run as a stand-alone app, providing an alternative method of entering transactions (including transaction splits) or to track spending and account balances.

Existing iBank users can sync iBank data and new transactions from mobile devices using a MobileMe account for effortless, continual updating with a WebDAV server; or directly via Wi-Fi to a local machine running iBank.

The software features an account overview with current balances of tracked accounts as well as Quick Entry screen that allows users to enter and categorize transactions and features "intelligent autofill." It also offers multiple currency support and supports sync of data from multiple mobile devices (couples, partners, etc.) to the same iBank data file.

Rotating the screen of an iPhone or iPod Touch allows users to get a better picture of finances over time, IGG added.

"We're confident that this first version of iBank Mobile will satisfy most users wanting to track personal finances on their iPhone," notes IGG Chief Architect James Gillespie. "Certainly, some features on the phone will work differently than features on the Mac. But we weren't trying to port iBank to the phone — we just want to make a great iPhone app."

Pricing for the iBank mobile app were not disclosed as well.

Filed under: software, iPhone apps
Other story tags: finance, time-tracking