After losing a $500,000 development grant, a local entrepreneur has launched another app instead.
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There are 31 million mobile devices in Australia, and 59 per cent of us have a smartphone.
This is the problem that local startup entrepreneur Robbie Adams set his mind to.
His solution is an Android app called Mobilyser, which was launched this week.
The last time Business News spoke with Mr Adams he had been frustrated by the cancellation of the Commercialisation Australia program, through which he was hoping to be granted $500,000 as part of his $2 million (Fusion) project (‘Budget slashes start-up support’, May 21 2014).
In fact, Mr Adams had not one but three projects on the go at the time, and having been disappointed with funding for his Fusion project, he decided to switch funds that were to be used to match the Commercialisation Australia grant to another, ‘easier’ project, the Mobilyser app.
“Naturally enough, Mobilyser has taken far longer and required more funds than I predicted to come to fruition,” Mr Adams told Business News. “But this is not unusual and in many ways has been a blessing.”
A double blessing, as it turns out.
Firstly, the recent acquisition by accounting software giant SAP of Concur for $8.3 billion puts Mobilyser into a sweet spot in terms of market exposure and demand.
Secondly, the Australian Taxation Office recently announced a crackdown on expenses-related claims, something that the app helps deal with.
“We all know the tedium of pouring over phone bills for expenses claims. Even when we have all the information in front of us it’s not easy to calculate all the genuine work calls,” Mr Adams said.
“Even harder is making an accurate assessment of work-related data usage. Whether users lodge regular expenses claims to their employers or an annual claim on their tax return, Mobilyser can generate detailed logs and reliable totals at the touch of a button.”
The app is available for Android devices (which has a 64 per cent share of the global mobile market) and will soon be ready for multiple platforms, including iPhones. It has been developed to comply with ATO regulations in Australia, but can be used in other jurisdictions as well.
Mr Adams claims this to be the world’s first mobile and data expenses tracking application. The app allows users to easily tag contacts and dialled numbers as work related or personal. It then calculates the claimable total on calls, data and SMS in one report.
In June this year, the ATO released a statement specifically listing “work-related claims on telephone usage” in its top three areas for scrutiny. With Australians making $19.5 billion in such claims last year, the ATO issued a stern warning to Australians seeking deductions without sufficient supporting documentation.
Meanwhile, Mr Adams has another project on the go, in the marina and moorings management industry, as well as a passion to help bring funding to entrepreneurs in rural areas.
Mobilyser is available for free on Google Play Store and www.mobilyser.net.
• Charlie Gunningham is an internet entrepreneur and is the chief operating officer of Business News.
