The people on a bill

Add people to a bill, share its link, and see where each person stands. The organiser can rename, merge or remove someone.

Everyone on a bill has a seat on it. A seat can be a name the organiser typed, a guest who joined through the bill's link with no account, or someone with an account. The People step lists every seat, where each one stands and what they have claimed, and the bill's link is shared from there.

  1. While the bill is being set up, press Add to this bill, the add button in the middle of the bar at the foot of the bill, and choose A person, or press Add people under the list on the People step.
  2. In Search or add a name, tick the people you have shared with before, or type a new name.
  3. Press Add to bill, then Done.
  4. To let people join, open the People step and press Share link.
  5. Show the QR code, press Copy, or press Share to send it from your phone.

A friend who has added you back is seated straight away, and is told you added them, by the notifications they keep on and in their Inbox, which opens the bill. Anyone else gets a free seat on the bill, which they take when they open the link and pick their name. A bill nobody else has been given is a Draft; pressing Share link the first time opens it to others.

On the share sheet, the organiser can also press Text someone and choose a person with a phone number or email. Someone with a number can be sent the message from your own phone with Send from your phone, which is free, or by TabApp with Text from TabApp, which offers the upgrade first where the bill needs one for texts; someone with only an email is sent it with Send. TabApp sends a person an invite once a day at most. Once the bill is Ready for payment, Copy summary copies a summary of the bill, with its link, to paste into a message.

Where each person stands

Each row gives the person's name, where their seat stands, and what they have claimed and paid, such as "3 items claimed, says they paid". The organiser sees every seat's state:

  • Owner: the organiser.
  • Joined: someone with an account.
  • Guest since a date: someone who joined by the link with no account.
  • Invited, not joined: a seat whose own link has been sent.
  • Named, not invited: a name with no link sent yet.

Everyone else sees Not joined yet for the last two. Whoever paid the bill is marked Paid the bill, or Paid part when several people paid. The Who paid row below the list leads to who paid.

What the organiser can do

Press a person's row to see what can be done with their seat:

  • Rename or change contact details: their name, and a phone number or email for sending their link.
  • Send their link: for a seat nobody holds yet. It hands the seat's own link to your phone's share sheet, or copies it.
  • Release seat: takes whoever joined off the seat, and their link stops working. The seat keeps its items, and you can send a new link.
  • Merge into...: folds two seats for the same person into one. Their claims, what they paid and their payments move across. A merge can be undone for 7 days.
  • Remove: takes the person off the bill at once, and their items become unclaimed. Undo is offered on the People step for 7 days.

Reset link, at the foot of the step, makes a new link for the bill. Old links stop working. People with an account stay on the bill; guests lose their seat, keep what they claimed, and rejoin with the new link.

Anyone else on the bill can press Leave this bill, at the foot of the People step; the row of that name in Bill settings leads there too. Their items go back to whoever shared them, or become unclaimed, and the organiser is told.

Worked example: the table at Luigi's

Maya started the bill at Luigi's Trattoria. She added Tom, a friend who had added her back, so he was seated straight away. She typed in Alex, who never opens the app, and shared the link in the group chat so Priya could join as a guest.

PersonWhat Maya's People step says
MayaOwner, 2 items claimed, Paid the bill
TomJoined, 3 items claimed
PriyaGuest since 14 Jun, 3 items claimed
AlexNamed, not invited, 3 items claimed

The Who paid row reads "Paid by Maya" with 77.66. Maya claimed for Alex herself, so Alex never needs to join. If Alex later wants his own view, Maya presses his row, adds his number under Rename or change contact details, and uses Send their link.

If something stops you

  • The bill is Ready for payment. The people on it are fixed. The organiser can reopen it to add or remove someone.
  • Remove is greyed out. Someone who is down as having paid, or who has a confirmed payment, cannot be removed. The reason is given with the button.
  • The organiser cannot leave. A bill's organiser stays on it. They can archive it to take it off their own lists, or delete it while it has no payments (see Delete a bill and bring it back).

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