Pay your share directly

A bill is settled in one of two ways. Usually one person pays and everyone pays them back. When people would rather pay for what they had themselves, for instance to claim it back from work, the bill can be set so that Everyone pays directly: each person pays their own share at the till and says so in the app, and nobody pays anyone back. TabApp moves no money either way.

On a bill paid directly, the person down as having paid covers what isn't paid directly. They start out covering the whole bill, and each time someone says they paid their own share, what they cover falls by that much, until it is just their own share.

How to settle a bill by paying directly

1. Set up the bill as usual, with its people and items. Whoever runs the bill makes the choice; everyone else sees which way was chosen.
2. On the Pay step, under How it's settled, choose Everyone pays directly. Each person's row then reads Pays directly, and the person who paid reads Covers what isn't paid directly.
3. Press Ready for payment. Each person can now see their share and pay it at the till.

A quick split offers the same choice on its form, under Paid by. Until anyone has paid, the choice can still be changed in Bill settings, under How it's settled. Once anyone has paid or said they paid directly it is locked, with "Locked once someone has paid."

How to pay your share directly

1. Open the bill and press Pay. The sheet is titled Pay your share directly, and lists what your share is made of, so you can show it at the till.
2. Pay that amount at the till.
3. Press I've paid directly. It counts at once: there is nothing for anyone to confirm, and the person covering the bill is told.

If you paid a different amount, press I paid a different amount and type what you paid. Paying less leaves the rest owed to the person covering the bill, as on any bill. Paying more, as when you paid for a friend too, means they owe you the difference. You cannot say you paid more than is still left to cover. A tip you left at the till is not part of the bill, so leave it out.

If you would rather pay the person covering the bill back, press Pay Maya back instead (with their name) for the usual Pay sheet and their payment methods.

Worked example: team lunch

Maya, Priya and Tom have lunch for 45.00. Maya's share is 20.25, Priya's 13.50 and Tom's 11.25. Maya is down as having paid, and she chooses Everyone pays directly before pressing Ready for payment.

At the till, Priya pays 13.50 on her card and presses I've paid directly. Maya now covers 31.50 instead of 45.00. Tom pays 11.25 and does the same, and Maya covers 20.25, her own share. Every balance is zero, so the bill is settled.

Had Tom paid only 10.00, Maya would cover the 1.25 he did not pay, and Tom would owe her 1.25, paid back the usual way.

Who can say what

• Anyone on the bill, a guest included, can say they paid their own share directly.
• Whoever runs the bill can say it for someone else, a guest without an account included: open the person's total on Splits and press They paid directly.
• The person, or whoever runs the bill, can take it back. Under Paid directly on Payments, or on the person's total, press Take back. It is taken back at once, with Undo. The person owes their share again, and is told when someone else took it back.

Payments lists who has Paid directly, and who is Still to pay directly, with Remind for anyone who has not. For a paper copy of one person's share, open their total and press Print my share.

If something stops you

• There is no choice of how it's settled. The bill is in a tab or a group, which settles everything together, so everyone pays back who paid.
• Several people are down as paying. One person covers what isn't paid directly. Change who paid to one person first.
• The choice is locked. Someone has already paid or said they paid directly. Taking every payment back unlocks it.
• There is still a small amount to pay after paying directly. The bill has an upgrade, and its cost is owed to whoever bought it, not paid at the till. The sheet says how much, and to whom.