Microsoft Secretly Testing Expense Management iOS App

Microsoft is reportedly looking to take its expense management and reporting services mobile, and has already tested out an application for iOS with certain users through a secret program. Codenamed “Phoenix,” the alleged mobile application is said to be part of Microsoft’s Garage incubation program, though reports note it is unclear whether Phoenix has graduated from the incubation phase yet.

There is a Facebook page for Phoenix, which revealed that the app was launched in beta phase earlier this month as Microsoft contacted both business and consumer customers to test the service. The page adds that the app was built from the realization that “expense reports suck,” and that there has been insufficient innovation in the space since the corporate p-card emerged on the scene.

ZDNet, which obtained a copy of one of the emails sent to these customers invited to try Phoenix, said that the users must be based in the U.S., use the iPhone as their primary mobile device, work at a company that already uses the Concur expense management tool, and travel at least three domestic trips every month.

Microsoft also said that contact with these business professionals shaped how the app was developed. “We took all of our learnings and created the vision of Phoenix: a mobile app that uses all the smarts we can gather to automatically fill out your expenses for you,” a Facebook post said. “Then, by giving you a notification of your credit card spend in real time, we let you glance at the expense, approve it, and be done forever.”

Separate reports surrounding Phoenix say that the application automatically integrates with Microsoft Outlook calendars and has a built-in mechanism to automatically identify travel expenses and accurately categorize them. There are conflicting reports, however, as to whether Phoenix will integrate with any current expand management solution used within companies, or if it must work with Concur.

The company warned that Phoenix is still in its earliest phase, but beta testers will hopefully push the app to a full-scale launch, though reports also noted that it is unclear whether the service will eventually become commercialized and available for competing smartphone operating services as well.

Expense management services have been pumping innovation efforts into digitizing their tools for smartphones in recent months. Experts agree that it seems to only make sense: if business travelers are always on the go, their expense management tools should be, too.