Understanding Shared Notebooks
How Noryo calculates each person's balances and suggests a minimal repayment plan to settle a Notebook in a few transfers.
Notebooks are used to track shared expenses among several people: a trip with friends, shared housing, a joint project. Each person records what they paid and for whom, and Noryo handles the calculations. In the end, you know exactly who owes what to whom, with the fewest transfers possible. This page explains how balances are calculated and how to read the repayment plan.
Notebooks are included starting from the Premium plan. You can check the details from the Subscription screen in the app.
What a Notebook is for
A Notebook groups all expenses from the same shared context. For each expense, you indicate who paid and for which people it counts. Noryo adds it all up and determines, for each participant, whether they have advanced too much or still owe their share.
- Track the expenses of a trip, a flat share or an event
- Record who paid and for whom on each expense
- See the balance between participants in real time
- Settle the Notebook with a clear repayment plan, then close it
How balances are calculated
The principle is simple. For each participant, Noryo compares what they actually paid with what they should have paid (their share of the expenses that concern them). The difference gives their balance.
The calculation concepts
- What you paid
- The total of the expenses you settled yourself in the Notebook.
- Your share
- The total of your portions of the expenses that concern you.
- Your balance
- The difference between the two. A positive balance means you are owed money, a negative balance means you owe some.
| Participant | Paid | Their share | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camille | 120 | 60 | +60 (owed to them) |
| Alex | 0 | 60 | -60 (owes) |
The minimal repayment plan
When several people owe each other money, adding up all the small repayments would quickly become confusing. Noryo therefore calculates the minimal repayment plan: the smallest series of transfers that settles the entire Notebook. In practice, those who owe money repay directly those who are owed, in a minimum of operations.
Instead of everyone repaying everyone, the minimal plan groups the transfers. You follow a short list of transfers to make, and the Notebook is settled.
Closing and exporting a Notebook
Once the repayments are made, you can close the Notebook to mark it as completed. You can also export the summary to share or keep it.
- Check that all the transfers in the plan have been made
- Export the summary if you want to keep a record of it
- Close the Notebook to archive the project
Frequently asked questions
Are all expenses split equally?
You specify who each expense counts for. An expense can concern everyone or only some participants, which adjusts the shares accordingly.
Does Noryo make the repayments for me?
No. Noryo calculates and shows the plan, but the transfers are made on your side. Noryo stays read-only on your accounts.
Can I edit an expense afterwards?
Yes. As long as the Notebook is not closed, you can adjust the expenses, and the balances are recalculated automatically.
The step-by-step guide to creating your first Notebook.