Approve or Dispute Shared Child Expenses

How the approval process works

When one parent adds a shared expense, it starts as pending. The other parent receives a notification and can review the details — the amount, the category, the child, the receipt, and any notes. They then either approve or dispute the expense.

Once approved, the expense locks. It counts toward the shared balance immediately. The approval is logged with a timestamp and the approving parent's name, creating a permanent record that both parents agreed the expense was legitimate.

Why two-parent approval matters

• Both parents confirm the expense is real and agreed-upon before it counts
• Receipts attached to each expense give the reviewer something to check
• The approval timestamp creates an audit trail for every shared cost
• Locked records cannot be silently changed — no more "I never agreed to that"

Auto-approval rules

Not every expense needs a manual review. If both parents agree, they can set up auto-approval rules that let small or routine expenses skip the review process. For example:

• Auto-approve any expense under a set dollar amount
• Auto-approve expenses in specific categories, like school supplies
• Set a number of days after which pending expenses auto-approve

Auto-approval rules are set as agreement rules that both parents accept. This keeps things efficient for small expenses while still requiring review for larger ones.

What happens if an expense is disputed

If the reviewing parent disagrees with an expense, they can dispute it and add a reason. The expense stays open and does not count toward the balance until it is resolved. Both parents can see the dispute reason and discuss it — either through comments on the expense or outside the app.

Once the dispute is resolved, the expense can be approved, edited, or deleted. Every step is logged. Learn more about handling expense disputes.

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