Share an account with a partner

A shared account in Money Manager is a single ledger that more than one person can add to and see. It sits in the Shared section of your Accounts, next to your personal accounts, and only the shared account is shared. Your partner cannot see your personal accounts, budgets or transactions, and you cannot see theirs.

Shared accounts are free, on web, iPhone and Android, for everyone involved. This guide sets one up for two people, but the same steps work for roommates or a trip group.

Create a shared account

Open Accounts and choose Add Account. Set the type to Shared. Give it a name you will both recognise, such as "Household" or "Groceries and rent", pick an icon, and enter an opening balance if the account represents real money you have pooled. For most couples tracking who paid for what, the opening balance is zero.

Save. The account appears under Shared with you as its only member.

Invite your partner

Open the account and choose Invite or My QR. You get two ways to invite:

• Link. Copy it and send it in any messaging app. Anyone with the link can request to join, so send it directly rather than posting it.
• QR code. Show it on your screen. Your partner scans it from the Join Account option in their own app.

Both lead to the same invitation.

Accept the invitation

On your partner's device, the link or scan opens an invitation screen showing who invited them and the account name. They tap Accept. The shared account appears in their Shared section, with the history from the moment they joined.

If they decline, or you invited the wrong person, you can remove a member from the account's Members tab at any time.

Add a shared expense

Adding to a shared account is the same as adding anywhere else, with one extra step.

1. Tap the plus button and choose Expense.
2. Enter the amount, category and date.
3. Pick the shared account as the account.
4. Choose how to split it:
   • Split between selected members. By default the amount is divided equally between everyone you tick. Adjust the shares if one person should carry more.
   • Personal keeps the expense in the shared ledger for visibility but assigns it to you alone, with nothing owed by anyone else.
5. Save.

Both of you see the expense immediately after sync, with who paid and how it was split.

Receipts work too: scan a receipt with the shared account selected and the whole thing lands in the ledger, itemised.

Check who owes what

Open the shared account and switch to the Distribution tab. A chart shows each member's share of the spending for the period, with the totals beneath it. Below that is the balance between members: who has paid more than their share and by how much.

Use the period selector to look at this week, this month, last month or a custom range. Most couples settle monthly, so last month is the useful view on the first of the month.

Settle up

When one of you pays the other to square the balance, record it so the ledger stays accurate. From the Distribution tab, choose Settle up, confirm the amount and who paid whom, and save. The balance between members returns to zero and the history keeps the record.

If you prefer, you can record the settlement as a transfer between personal accounts and leave the shared account as a pure record of who spent what. Either way works; pick one and stick with it.

Tips that keep it tidy

• Agree on what goes in. Rent, groceries, utilities and shared meals are the usual list. Personal shopping stays in personal accounts.
• Use the note field. "Costco run" is more useful than "Shopping" when you are looking at a month later.
• Export when you need to. The shared account exports as CSV, Excel or PDF like any other account, which is handy at year end or when a roommate moves out.
• Leave cleanly. A member can leave from the Members tab. The history stays with the account for the people who remain.

More on how shared accounts work, and the questions people ask, on the shared accounts feature page.