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CoolMeow

A practical guide

How to check the entries behind a spending chart

The chart says Dining is USD 70. What made up that amount? In the example ledger, opening the category reveals dinner for USD 58 and coffee for USD 12. You can read the summary and inspect its source records in the same book.

By Spawn Lau, creator of CoolMeow ยท

On this page
  1. Start with the category and its total
  2. Open the two entries
  3. Shared and Paid answer different questions
  4. Use the same period and currency when comparing views
  5. Turn a surprising total into a useful question

Start with the category and its total

Open the ledger's Overview, then Charts. In the sample weekend book, six expenses total USD 412. The Category Mix breaks that spending into categories.

Select Dining. Its detail panel shows USD 70 and View 2 entries. A category total tells you where spending went, but the entry list tells you which purchases produced it.

CoolMeow Dining category detail displays USD 70 and a View 2 entries action.
Dining accounts for USD 70 in this sample book. The panel links to its two entries.

Open the two entries

Tap View 2 entries. The recording opens a Dining list with Coffee, US$12 and Dinner, US$58. The amounts add to 12 + 58 = USD 70.

The actual Dining entry list shows Coffee at US$12 and Dinner at US$58.
Coffee for USD 12 plus dinner for USD 58 makes the USD 70 dining total.

Open a record if its title or amount is unfamiliar. Read the category, date, currency and any note before changing it. A restaurant purchase placed under Travel can make the dining chart look low even when the book's overall total is correct.

If a record is wrong, correct that record and review the category again. Adding another expense to make the chart look right would also change the book total and member balances.

Shared and Paid answer different questions

The Member Distribution control offers Shared and Paid. In this two-person ledger, Alex paid USD 310 and Sam paid USD 102. They shared every purchase equally, so each person's allocated share is USD 206.

Member Distribution in Shared view shows Me and Sam with USD 206 each.
The recorded Shared view is USD 206 each. Alex appears as Me on this phone.
The paid figures come from the six-expense worked example; the image shows Shared.
QuestionView or calculationResult in this example
Who covered the bills?PaidAlex: 310; Sam: 102
What cost belongs to each person?SharedAlex: 206; Sam: 206
Who reimburses whom?Paid minus shareSam owes Alex 104

Swipe the table to see every column.

Changing from Shared to Paid changes the question the chart answers. It does not add a new expense. The trip split guide includes the bill-by-bill calculation and the USD 104 Settle screen.

Use the same period and currency when comparing views

A chart for this month should not be compared directly with a whole-trip total that includes last month. Look at the active date range and any category or member filter before treating two amounts as inconsistent.

For a book containing more than one currency, read its main-currency total and the original amount separately. A JPY 4,200 meal is not a CNY 4,200 meal. The currency example explains how a yen subtotal contributes to a yuan total.

The record author's name also does not tell you who paid. Someone can enter a bill for another member. Use the payer and participant details when investigating a balance.

Turn a surprising total into a useful question

If dining looks higher than expected, open its records and ask which purchases you want to change next month. Perhaps it was one dinner, perhaps several coffee stops. The chart alone cannot distinguish those cases.

If the category total looks right but a member's share does not, review the participant choices instead. A purchase for one person should not automatically be shared with everyone in the book.

Personal bookkeeping and category totals are available without a paid sharing setup. A shared book requires an active Basic owner, while invited members can join without their own Basic subscription.