Chapter 17
Groups & Shared Expenses
Family groups, household groups, split types, and settlement tracking.
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Chapter 17: Groups & Shared Expenses
Tax year notice: This guide uses 2025/26 tax year figures (6 April 2025 -- 5 April 2026). Check gov.uk for the latest rates.
Why groups exist
Money gets complicated the moment it involves more than one person.
You move into a flat with friends. Someone pays the electricity bill, someone else covers the broadband, a third person buys the cleaning supplies. Within two months, nobody can remember who's paid what and someone feels hard done by. Sound familiar?
Or you share a car, a van, a subscription, a holiday fund. The amounts don't split neatly. One person uses the van more than the other. The electricity bill changes every month. You need a system that tracks what's actually happening -- not what everyone vaguely remembers.
That's what groups are for. A group is a shared space where two or more people track joint spending, split costs fairly, and settle up without awkward conversations.
Family groups
A family group gives everyone in the household a shared view of spending without merging finances.
Each member keeps their own personal account. The group shows a combined picture: total household spending by category, who paid for what, and how the costs are distributed. Think of it as a window into shared costs -- not a joint bank account.
This works well for partners who want to budget together but keep separate finances, or for parents who want to give older children visibility of household costs.
Key point: A family group never exposes personal transactions. If you buy a birthday present or pay for something private, it stays private. Only transactions you tag to the group appear in the shared view.
Household groups
Household groups are built for flatmates, housemates, and anyone sharing a living space with people who aren't family.
The core problem a household group solves: one person pays for something, and the cost needs dividing up. Instead of chasing people on WhatsApp, the group tracks every shared expense and calculates running balances automatically.
Add an expense, choose the split, and the group updates who owes what. At the end of the week or month, everyone can see exactly where they stand.
How splits work
Not every expense divides equally. Groups support three split types:
Equal split: The total is divided evenly between all members. Three flatmates, 90 electricity bill, 30 each. Simple.
Percentage split: Each person pays a set percentage. Useful when one person earns significantly more, or uses something more than others. A 60/40 split on a shared van means the person who uses it more pays a larger share.
Custom amount: Each person pays a specific amount. Useful for one-off situations where the split doesn't follow a pattern. One flatmate's room is larger, so they pay 500 of the 1,200 rent while the other two pay 350 each.
You choose the split type when you add the expense. Different expenses in the same group can use different split types.
Recurring rules
Some expenses happen every month -- rent, broadband, council tax. Setting these up every time is tedious.
A recurring rule lets you define the expense once: amount (fixed or variable), split type, and frequency. Each month, the group automatically creates the expense and updates everyone's balance. For variable amounts (like utility bills), you update the actual figure when the bill arrives.
Set it once, forget about it, and the maths takes care of itself.
Who owes what: settlements
The "who owes what" view shows the running balance for every group member. If Sam has paid 400 in shared expenses this month and the fair share was 300, Sam is owed 100 by the group.
Settlements simplify the repayments. Instead of everyone paying everyone else, the system calculates the minimum number of transfers needed. If Alice owes Bob 20 and Bob owes Charlie 15, only two payments are needed rather than a messy chain.
When someone makes a payment, they mark it as settled. The balance resets and the cycle continues.
Privacy: your money stays yours
Groups only see what you choose to share. Your personal income, savings, other spending -- none of it is visible to group members. The only transactions that appear in a group are ones explicitly tagged to that group.
You can be in multiple groups (a household group with flatmates and a family group with your partner) and each group only sees its own expenses. There's no cross-contamination.
Real Scenario: Sam's flat share
Sam moves into a flat share with two mates, Jordan and Alex. Rent is 1,200/month. Utilities vary. Broadband is 35/month.
They set up a Household group in Blankitt. Here's the first month:
| Expense | Paid by | Split type | Sam owes | Jordan owes | Alex owes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent (1,200) | Sam | Equal | -- | 400 | 400 |
| Electricity (84) | Jordan | Equal | 28 | -- | 28 |
| Broadband (35) | Alex | Equal | 11.67 | 11.67 | -- |
| Cleaning supplies (18) | Sam | Equal | -- | 6 | 6 |
End of month balances:
- Jordan owes Sam: 400 + 6 - 28 - 11.67 = 366.33
- Alex owes Sam: 400 + 6 - 28 - 11.67 = 366.33
- Jordan owes Alex: 11.67 - 6 = 5.67 (but this is simplified in the settlement)
The settlement view calculates the minimum payments: Jordan pays Sam 366.33 and Alex pays Sam 360.66. Two payments instead of six. Sam sets rent and broadband as recurring rules. Next month, they only need to update the electricity figure.
Real Scenario: Steve's shared van
Steve and his business partner Marcus share a work van. Steve uses it four days a week, Marcus two. They agree on a 60/40 split (Steve pays more because he uses it more).
They create a group with a percentage split:
| Expense | Amount | Steve (60%) | Marcus (40%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel (month) | 320 | 192 | 128 |
| Insurance (annual, monthly equivalent) | 110 | 66 | 44 |
| Servicing (quarterly, monthly equivalent) | 75 | 45 | 30 |
| Monthly total | 505 | 303 | 202 |
Marcus usually pays for fuel at the pump. Steve pays the insurance and servicing. At month end, the group shows Marcus owes Steve 71 (Steve's paid 185 but owes 303 -- net: Marcus needs to cover the difference after his fuel payments are credited). One payment, no arguments, no spreadsheet.
Checklist: Setting up a group
- Decide on the group type (family or household)
- Invite all members by email or phone number
- List all shared expenses (rent, utilities, subscriptions, insurance)
- Choose the split type for each expense (equal, percentage, or custom)
- Set up recurring rules for monthly expenses
- Agree a settlement frequency (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly)
- Check the "who owes what" view before each settlement
Jargon Buster
| Term | Plain English |
|---|---|
| Group | A shared space where two or more people track joint expenses and split costs |
| Split | How an expense is divided between group members -- equally, by percentage, or by custom amount |
| Settlement | The process of paying what you owe to balance the group. The system calculates the minimum number of payments needed |
| Recurring rule | An expense that repeats on a schedule (weekly, monthly). Set it once and the group creates it automatically each period |