People & Settlements
The People section tracks everyone you split expenses with and what you owe each other. Balances update automatically as you add shared expenses and record settlements.
Contacts
Two types of contacts:
- Retrospend users: Real accounts on the platform. They receive notifications and can verify or dispute shared expenses.
- Shadow contacts: People without an account. You track debts on their behalf. If they sign up later, their balance and history carry over automatically.
Balances
Balances are tracked per person across all currencies. The summary shows a net balance in your home currency, with a breakdown by currency underneath. Balances include all shared expenses and settlements, whether from a project or a standalone split.
Verification Queue
When someone shares an expense with you, it appears in your verification queue. You can accept, reject, or bulk-accept pending shares. Unresponded shares auto-accept after 7 days.
Settling Up
The settlement flow: pick a person, enter the amount and currency, choose a payment method, add an optional note, confirm. The settlement is recorded and the balance updates immediately.
Payment Method Matching
When settling up, Retrospend shows payment methods that both you and the other person have in common. If supported, it generates a deep link to the payment app (Venmo, PayPal, etc.) with the amount pre-filled.
Person Detail
Each person has a detail page showing:
- Transaction timeline: all shared expenses and settlements in chronological order.
- Balance breakdown by currency.
- Links to related projects.
Shadow contacts carry over