Apple just approved version 1.4.6 of ParaPlan Mobile on the App Store.

This version is mostly bug fixes and performance improvements, but we’ve added some nice new touches as well.

Collecting signatures

The entire workflow around signature collection has been rebuilt. It is faster to get to the signature screen and signatures upload faster than ever. They also look much nicer.

Smarter comments

Client and trip comments now “bubble up” from the bottom of the screen when a driver arrives at a pick up location. The comments will automatically go away after 10 seconds, or if the driver manually dismisses them. This allows drivers to see critical information about a client without having to drill into the details.

Copays

Drivers can now record collected copays. They can specify the amount of collection and the type of collection (cash, voucher, ticket). Partial payments and overpayments are also allowed. However, in the interest of simplicity, the driver just has to click on the copay field and it will assume payment was collected in full with the default payment type (set in Admin on ParaPlan Desktop). If there was a partial payment or overpayment or a different payment type, the driver can touch again to edit the payment. The most common action is the default allowing the driver to quickly get back to work.

Clients that require copays to be collected have the amount displayed sideways next to their name on the manifest. When the driver sees this, they should click into Trip Details and click the copay amount. This will record it as collected and the amount will not be displayed on the front screen. If the driver clicks again on the copay amount it will open a screen where they can edit the details.

Odometers

We spent a lot of time perfecting our odometer collection algorithms. I mean, A LOT OF TIME. We think we are pretty close to perfect, but drivers should still check in on the settings screen to make sure our calculated odometer matches the vehicle odometer. Newer iPhones and iPad with the motion coprocessor will see dramatic improvements and the calculated odometer should be dead-on, day after day.

Improvements to iPad

Bouncing around between screens is no good and can leave a driver feeling out of control. On the iPad version, we put the settings in a popover controller on the front screen instead of having it in its own separate tab.

Speaking of the settings screen, the connection information is smarter and only runs on demand. It also displays the type of cellular connection.

We are building up our mobile FAQs on Freshdesk. Now drivers can can view the FAQs from inside the app. Just click into settings to see the new button. Drivers can also submit tickets directly from the app.