Manage shared expenses

This article covers what you do with shared expenses after one has been added. It explains how to view the list, read your balance, approve or decline, open an expense, make a correction, and settle up. To learn how to add or scan an expense in the first place, see Track an expense. You can do everything here on web, iOS, and Android.

View the expenses list and activity history

Open the Expenses page on web, or the Expenses tab on iOS and Android, to see your shared expenses. The page groups expenses into To Do, In Progress, and History so you can find what needs a response versus what is already settled. To Do shows expenses waiting on your review or your payment, In Progress shows submitted expenses and payments still moving, and History shows past records grouped by month. This list is a shared history, so both co-parents see the same expenses, the same statuses, and the same record of who submitted what.

Understand your shared balance and splits

The Expenses page shows a Current balance summary that tells you either "owes you" or "you owe," or "All recorded" when nothing is outstanding. Only an approved expense affects this balance, so an expense that is still waiting for review or was declined does not change what is owed. Each expense has a split, which is the percentage that decides your share and your co-parent's share of the total. The summary also shows Total approved to pay, which is the sum of approved shared expenses that still need a payment recorded.

Review, approve, or decline an expense

When your co-parent submits an expense, it appears in your To Do list with a Needs review status. Open the expense and choose Approve to accept it, which makes it count toward your shared balance, or Decline to reject it, which keeps it out of the balance. When you decline, you can add a reason, but a reason is always optional free text and there is never a required list to pick from. A declined expense is recorded as Declined and does not count toward the balance.

Open an expense detail

Tap or click any expense to open its detail view. The detail view shows the total, your share and your co-parent's share, the category, the child or children, the purchase date, and the receipt if one was attached. It also shows the current status and who submitted the expense, plus an activity trail of every action taken on it. Every action is written to a shared record both parents can see, so the history stays honest for both of you.

Correct a mistake

SharedAnchor keeps expense records append-only, which means a saved expense is never quietly edited or deleted. To fix a mistake, open the expense and choose Report a correction, then pick the field to change and enter the new value with an optional reason. The correction is saved as a new entry on top of the original, and the original amount stays visible, so nothing is erased. If the expense had already been approved, a correction sends it back for re-review so your co-parent can confirm the change.

Settle up and payment status

Because SharedAnchor never holds money, you settle up outside the app and then record that the payment happened. After paying by Venmo, cash, check, or another method, record it so the balance updates; see External payments for the full steps. A recorded payment does not confirm itself, so it stays unconfirmed until your co-parent confirms they received it, or it is marked disputed if they disagree. Recording the payment is what settles the expense; see Track an expense for how an expense moves from approved to paid.

Troubleshooting

If an expense you submitted still says Needs review, it is waiting for your co-parent to approve or decline it, and nothing more is needed from you until they act. If an expense is approved but still shows as owed, record the Venmo or other external payment you made so the balance can update. If you cannot find an older expense, open the History tab and pick the right year and month. If a correction you reported is not reflected in the balance, check that the expense was re-approved after the correction, since a correction sends an approved expense back for re-review.