Trip planner & expense splitter — frequently asked questions
Can I plan a trip and set a budget, not just split expenses?
Yes — the trip tab is a three-step planner: Plan, Spend and Report. In Plan you add the trip details (destination and dates), everyone on the trip, an overall budget with optional per-category limits, and a day-by-day itinerary where each activity can carry a planned cost. In Spend you log expenses against that budget and watch a live progress bar turn amber, then red, as you near or cross a limit. In Report you get the settle-up, a budget-vs-actual breakdown and a shareable PDF. Everything is saved on your device.
How does the budget tracking work?
Set an overall trip budget and, optionally, a cap for any category (food, stay, travel and so on). As you log expenses, the Spend step shows how much you've spent versus the budget overall and per category, what's left or how much you're over, and a rough per-day figure based on your trip dates. Over-budget categories are flagged so you can rein them in before the trip ends.
How do I split expenses after a trip where everyone paid for different things?
Use the trip tab's Spend step. Add everyone on the trip, then log each spend as it happens — pick a category (food, stay, travel, drinks and more), type the amount, choose who paid and who shares it. The calculator keeps a running total and a category-wise breakdown, works out each person's fair share, and shows who owes whom in the fewest possible payments, so the whole group settles with the least number of transfers.
Can a single expense be split among only some people?
Yes. Each expense has its own 'split between' control, so a cab that only three of you took, or a bar tab a couple of people skipped, is shared only among the people who were in on it. Everyone else is unaffected, and the maths still reconciles to the exact paisa.
Can the group use a common bank / shared pot?
Yes. Open 'Common bank', enter what each person put in up front, then mark shared expenses as paid by the Bank instead of by a person. At the end the bank is reconciled automatically — whatever is left over is refunded back to the contributors as part of the settlement (and a shortfall is topped up), so the books always balance.
Is my trip saved if I close the tab?
Yes. The members, expenses and bank are saved locally in your browser on this device, so your trip is still there when you come back. Nothing is uploaded — it never leaves your device. Use 'New trip' to clear it and start fresh.
How is 'who owes whom' worked out?
Everyone's fair share is the total spend divided across the group (equally, or by shares if some people should cover more). Your balance is what you paid minus your fair share — positive means you're owed money, negative means you owe. The calculator then nets these off and hands the largest debtor to the largest creditor until everyone is square, which keeps the number of payments to a minimum (at most one fewer than the number of people).
Can someone cover a bigger share, or join as a guest who owes nothing?
Yes. Switch to 'By shares' to give a couple 2 shares or someone who joined for half the trip ½ — costs are divided by shares, not heads. Tap the gift icon to mark a guest who shouldn't share the cost at all; they still get back anything they chipped in.
Is the tip and tax mandatory?
No. Tip, GST/tax, service charge and discount are all optional and only appear in 'Split one bill' mode — most trip settle-ups don't need them. Add a tip with a single tap (5–20% chips), and the tax and service-charge fields stay tucked away until you open them.
How does the single-bill mode handle GST and service charge?
It follows the Indian restaurant convention — the service charge is applied to the bill, GST is charged on the bill plus service charge, and any tip is added on top (on the pre-tax amount by default, or the post-tax total if you prefer). You can split evenly, by shares, or by exactly what each person ordered.
Will the amounts always add up exactly?
Yes. Both modes reconcile to the last paisa using the largest-remainder method, so individual shares and settlement transfers always sum to the exact total — you'll never be a rupee short or over. In single-bill mode you can also round each share up to a tidy ₹1/₹5/₹10; any small surplus is shown clearly.