Making the most of Notebooks
Best practices for tracking shared expenses, from a weekend's groceries to a year-long flat share.
A trip with friends, a flat share, a joint gift: as soon as several people pay for everyone, keeping track quickly gets confusing. Notebooks are made for exactly this. They record who paid and for whom, then automatically work out the balances and the simplest repayment plan. This article brings together the best practices to get the most out of them.
Notebooks are included in the Premium and Ultra plans. You can check your plan from the Subscription screen in the app.
What a notebook is for
A notebook brings together the expenses of a shared project. For each expense, you indicate who paid and who it counts for. Noryo then takes care of the calculation, so no one has to reach for a calculator at the end of the stay.
The vocabulary of Notebooks
- Who paid
- The person who settled the expense at the time.
- For whom
- The people the expense applies to, among whom the amount is split.
- Balance
- What each participant owes or is owed, once every expense has been accounted for.
- Repayment plan
- The minimal list of transfers to make so that everyone is settled up.
Getting a notebook off to a good start
- Give it a clear name (Weekend in Lyon, Lilas Street flat share, Lea's gift)
- Add the participants from the start so nothing is forgotten later
- Record each expense as you go rather than at the end, it is more reliable
- Always specify who paid and for whom
Record expenses at the time, during the stay or right after the purchase. Notebooks stay accurate as long as the entries follow reality.
Reading the balances and repaying
Once the expenses are entered, the notebook shows everyone's balance. Rather than piling up small criss-crossing transfers, Noryo offers a minimal repayment plan: the smallest number of transfers to settle the accounts. Everyone knows exactly how much to send and to whom.
Enter the expenses
Each expense is added with its payer and its beneficiaries.
Check the balances
The notebook continuously calculates what each person owes or is owed.
Follow the repayment plan
You apply the suggested list of transfers, kept as short as possible.
Close the notebook
Once everyone is settled up, the notebook is closed.
Closing and keeping a record
When everything is settled, you close the notebook. You can export the summary to keep a record of it, share it with the participants or simply archive the project once it is finished.
A notebook can be used between friends without a household. Within an Ultra household, Notebooks fit naturally into the shared life of the home.
Special cases
An expense does not concern everyone
Select only the beneficiaries involved in this expense. The calculation adjusts automatically.
Someone joins the project partway through
Add the participant: only the expenses where you include them as a beneficiary will concern them.
A repayment was made outside the app
Record it in the notebook so the balances reflect reality.
The complete guide, from creation to closing.