THE PROBLEM
Two people, three pockets
Almost every couple has three separate things: what one spends, what the other spends, and what they spend together. The problem is not a missing app: it is that most options make you choose between merging everything or merging nothing.
A joint bank account solves it halfway and takes paperwork; it also only sees what goes through that bank. An app that splits expenses puts you both in the business of tracking who owes what — useful among friends on a trip, heavy among people sharing a life. And a shared spreadsheet works until the first busy week.
What is usually needed is much simpler: one place to log what is common, visible to both of you, that does not force anyone to show the rest of their spending.
HOW TALLY SOLVES IT
One shared account, every other one private
In Tally you share accounts one at a time. You both see the “Home” account; “My things” stays yours, and the other person does not even know it exists.
Create the common account
One account for what is shared: home, groceries, bills, with its own balance. The free version allows three active standard accounts.
Share it and invitePRO
In Settings › Cloud and sharing you pick that account and send an invitation link through whatever channel you use. Its content is encrypted on your device before upload.
Decide the role
“Can edit” if you are both going to log; “View only” if one keeps the books and the other just wants to stay current. It can be changed later.
Each logs their part
The common account's movements sync between both phones, showing the alias of whoever logged them. Your other accounts are not uploaded.
REAL SITUATIONS
How it works in practice
Rent and groceries
A shared “Home” account holding rent, groceries, electricity, and internet. Rent can be saved as a recurring item so you do not log it every month.
One keeps the books
If one of you enjoys reconciling numbers and the other does not, the “View only” role solves half the problem: one logs, the other checks in whenever and sees exactly the same thing.
The trip you take togetherPRO
A trip deserves its own account, with its receipts, outside the monthly totals. That is an event account, and it can be shared too.
Each with their own
Your personal accounts, goals, and recurring items stay on your phone. Sharing one account gives access to nothing else.
NO JOINT ACCOUNT
None of this needs a bank
Tally does not connect to any bank, yours or the other person's. Movements get in because someone logs them, photographs a receipt, or imports a file they chose.
- No need to open a joint bank account or hand credentials to anyone.
- It does not matter who paid: it goes into the common account and it is already in both totals.
- If you pay shared expenses with one specific card, Tally PRO lets you import its statement (CSV, Excel, or Spanish Norma 43), review the rows, and confirm.
- Receipts stay on the phone that took the photo, even in a shared account.
TO BE CLEAR
What Tally does not do for couples
Tally keeps a common account, not accounting between the two of you. If what you need is to know who owes how much, this is not it.
- It does not calculate balances between people or settle debts: there is no “you owe me €42”.
- It does not automatically split an expense 50/50 or by percentages.
- It does not move money between accounts in different currencies or convert when saving: each amount stays in its account's currency.
- It does not share your whole app: only the accounts you choose, one by one.
- It does not work without Tally PRO on both phones: the person sharing and the person accepting both need it.
FREE AND PRO
What each of you needs
To try it separately
Each of you can use Tally free: three active standard accounts, the built-in categories, receipts with 1 AI analysis, one recurring item, and one goal. Shared accounts are not available.
To share
Sharing and accepting a shared account requires Tally PRO on both devices. It adds unlimited accounts, event accounts, custom categories, statement import, and unlimited AI analyses.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do we both need Tally PRO?
Yes. Both sharing an account and accepting an invitation require Tally PRO. Without PRO, the app does not discover or sync shared accounts. You can use Tally free separately, just not share.
Can they see my personal spending?
No. Only the account you choose is shared. Your other accounts, goals, recurring items, and settings stay on your device and are not uploaded.
Does Tally calculate who owes whom?
No. It is a common account with synced movements, not expense splitting. For balances and settlements between people, an app like Splitwise fits better.
Does it work if one of us has an iPhone and the other Android?
Yes. Tally is on the App Store and Google Play, and a shared account syncs across both platforms.
Are receipt photos visible?
No. Images stay on the phone that took them, even when the movement lives in a shared account. Only the encrypted metadata linking them is synchronized.
Can we stop sharing?
Yes. Whoever owns the account can change the other person's role, revoke their access, or stop sharing the account from Settings › Cloud and sharing › Shared.
What if we earn in different currencies?
Each account has its own currency, chosen when you create it, so each of you can keep yours in the currency you earn in. The common account has one, the same for both of you, and each person adds it to their total converted to their own main currency, on the phone, at daily exchange rates. Those totals are approximate and marked “≈”. What you cannot do is move money between accounts in different currencies.
Keep reading
Keep going
Sharing is a specific decision inside an app that is local by default. These pages explain the rest.
Start with Tally
Start with a common account
Download Tally, create the account for what is shared, and send the invitation. Each of you logs your part and you both see the same total.
The app is free · Sharing requires Tally PRO on both phones · No bank connection