01
Bills That Never End
Some shared spending has no finish line. Flatmates split rent, electricity, Wi-Fi, the cook, groceries and the occasional broken geyser, month after month. Friends who meet every week split dinners, movies and cabs. Unlike a trip, there’s no last day on which everyone settles up.
That’s why these costs need a running tab rather than a one-off calculation.
02
Use a Group, Not a Plan
SplitMitra has two shared spaces. A plan has dates and closes out with one settlement, which suits a trip or an event. A group has no end date: you keep adding expenses and settle whenever the balance gets big enough to bother you.
For flatmates and regular friend circles, create a group and invite everyone once. Save the people you split with in your Mitra Circle and you can add them to future plans in a tap. For a one-off outing, like a birthday dinner, a plan works well; see dinners, outings and friend groups.
03
Split Each Bill the Right Way
Shared bills are rarely all equal. Choose the split per expense:
- Rent is often split by exact amounts when rooms differ in size.
- Utilities and Wi-Fi usually split equally between everyone living there.
- Groceries split equally, or only between the people who eat together.
- A friend’s share of an outing includes only the people who were there.
You can split equally, by exact amounts or by percentage, and leave anyone out of an expense they didn’t share.
04
Make Logging a Habit
A running tab only works if expenses go in when they happen. Whoever pays adds it straight away; photograph a receipt and the amount, date and merchant fill in. Everyone sees the same balance as soon as it’s added, which ends the “I think I paid last time” conversations.
Your own spending can sit next to the shared stuff in a private personal log that only you see, so one app shows your full month.
05
Settle When It Suits You
There’s no fixed settle-up day for a group. Many flats settle once a month after rent; friend circles settle whenever someone’s balance gets large.
When you do, balances are netted to the fewest transfers. Payers open their UPI app with the amount filled in, or scan the receiver’s UPI QR; the receiver confirms, and the debt clears. Money never moves through SplitMitra. The UPI settle-up guide covers each step.
06
When Someone Moves Out
When a flatmate leaves, settle their balance before they go, so the group’s tab starts clean for whoever moves in.
For shared costs that don’t fit anywhere else, such as a car shared by friends or a group project, see any shared expense, your way.