Some spending isn’t one receipt. A week away, a shared flat or a weekend with a hire car adds up to dozens of payments, made by different people, in different shops and sometimes in different currencies. A group in Chit keeps all of it in one place. Everyone adds what they paid, Chit keeps a running tally of who owes whom, and when it’s time, the group settles up together.
Add what you paid
Anyone in the group can add spending in two ways:
- a receipt, scanned and split line by line as usual;
- an expense: an amount, who paid and what it was for, such as car hire, £320, paid by you.
New spending is shared evenly by the whole group to start with. You can change it to some of the people, to shares, or to set amounts. Each record has a type, such as groceries, eating out, accommodation, transport, fuel, tickets, rent or bills, so the group can see where its money went.
Who owes whom, at a glance
The group always shows what each person has paid, what their share is, and the difference. Chit suggests the fewest payments that would square everyone up. When someone pays you back, you can record it straight away and their balance updates.
Spending in another currency is converted to the group’s currency at the rate saved with it, so the totals stay steady.
Settle up together
Anyone can propose settling up. Once every member with an account agrees, the period closes: its records are locked, the payments that settle it are kept, and the group starts the next period from zero. If anything changes while people are still agreeing, everyone is asked again, so all agree to the same tab. Anyone can decline, which cancels the proposal. Every past period stays in the group’s history.
Members with or without the app
A member can be just a name. Anyone in the group can add one and record what that person paid, so a friend without the app still counts. To bring someone in properly, invite them by username, or share a link or a code. When a friend you added by name joins later, they can say “I’m Sam” and take over everything recorded for Sam.
Someone who leaves becomes a name again. Their records and balance stay with the group, and others can still record payments for them.
A conversation for the group
Every group is also a chat. Receipts, expenses, payments and messages appear in one timeline, with photos too. Tap “Money only” to hide the conversation and see just the spending. You can bring Dot into the chat to answer questions about the group’s spending. Messages are kept on your devices, and you can block or report anyone you don’t want to hear from.
A report when you settle
When a period settles, Chit can put together a report of the trip or the month: each day’s spending, where the money went, who paid first and how it was settled. There’s one for the whole group and one for each person’s own part.
Related: see how everyone confirms their share, and share cards for friends without the app.