Getting started
Your first split
A single shared expense — dinner for four — is the smallest useful thing PaySlice does. Here's the whole flow, start to finish.
Every balance in PaySlice comes from expenses. There are no manual “IOUs” to keep in sync — you record what was spent, say who was in on it, and the app works out who owes whom.
Add the expense
- 1
Tap the + button
From Home, hit the orange Add action. This opens the new expense screen. - 2
Enter what it was
Type a description (“Sushi Bar dinner”) and the total amount ($84.00). PaySlice quietly auto-detects a category from the description. - 3
Pick who paid
By default that’s you, but tap Paid by to choose anyone in the split. - 4
Choose the people
Add the friends who shared it. With four people on an $84 bill, PaySlice proposes $21.00 each. - 5
Confirm
Tap Confirm split. The expense is saved and everyone’s balance updates in real time.
🔑What just happened to the balances
You paid $84 but only owed $21, so PaySlice records that the other three each owe you $21 — a net of +$63 to you. Each participant sees the mirror of that on their side, instantly.
How the split is stored
Each person on the expense gets a share (their portion) and a paidAmount (how much they’ve paid back so far). Your balance with someone is simply the sum of share − paidAmount across every expense you share. Nothing is denormalized, so the number is always the single source of truth.
💡You can change your mind
Split evenly now, switch to exact amounts or item-wise later — editing an expense re-derives the balances cleanly. See Groups & many expenses next.