Shared Expenses

Overview#

The Shared Expenses feature helps you manage costs shared with other people. Whether you are splitting rent with a roommate, sharing a dinner bill, or tracking joint household expenses with a partner, shared expenses keep a running tally of who owes whom.

You can split expenses equally, by custom amounts, or by percentages. The app maintains running balances across all shared expenses between you and each contact, so settling up is straightforward.

Adding Contacts#

Before sharing expenses, add the people you share with:

1. Navigate to Shared Expenses
2. Click Add Contact
3. Choose how to add:
   • Nextcloud User -- Select from the dropdown of users on your Nextcloud instance. Their display name is shown automatically.
   • Manual -- Enter a name and email address for people not on your Nextcloud instance.
4. Click Save

Tip: Adding Nextcloud users is faster and links to their profile. Use manual contacts for people outside your Nextcloud instance (friends, family, service providers).

Recording a Shared Expense#

To record an expense shared with one or more contacts:

1. Navigate to Shared Expenses
2. Click Add Expense
3. Fill in the details:

4. Configure the split:
   • Equal -- Total divided evenly among all participants
   • Custom amounts -- Specify exactly how much each person owes
   • Percentages -- Assign each person a percentage of the total
5. Click Save

Note: The person who paid is included as a participant by default. Their share is subtracted from what others owe them.

Viewing Balances#

The main Shared Expenses view shows your current balance with each contact:

• Positive balance -- The contact owes you money
• Negative balance -- You owe the contact money
• Zero balance -- You are settled up

Click on a contact to see a detailed breakdown of all shared expenses between you, showing how the current balance was reached.

Tip: Balances are net amounts. If you owe someone for dinner but they owe you for groceries, the balance shows only the net difference.

Shared With Me#

If a contact is linked to a Nextcloud user on the same instance, expenses shared with you appear in the Shared with me section of the Shared Expenses view. This gives recipients visibility into what others have recorded against them — who paid, the total, your share, and whether it has been settled — without needing access to the other person's accounts.

Recording Settlements#

When someone pays what they owe (or you pay them), record a settlement:

1. Navigate to Shared Expenses
2. Select the contact you are settling with
3. Click Settle Up
4. Enter the payment amount and date
5. Click Save

The settlement reduces (or zeroes out) the balance between you and that contact. You can settle partially -- you do not have to pay the full balance at once.

Note: A settlement is not an expense. It does not split between participants. It simply records a payment from one person to another to reduce the outstanding balance.

Payment History#

View all settlements between you and a contact:

1. Navigate to Shared Expenses
2. Select a contact
3. View the Payment History section

The history shows every settlement recorded between you and that contact, with dates and amounts. This provides an audit trail of who paid whom and when.

Related Features#

• Transactions -- Shared expenses can be linked to transactions in your accounts
• Accounts -- Payments and settlements may correspond to transactions in your accounts

Settings#

There are no dedicated settings for shared expenses. Contacts and expenses are managed directly through the shared expenses interface.