Skip to main content

Representing multiple individual client expenses within one household

How to record separate expenses for individuals living at the same address by creating a separate Trail household for each person, with a naming convention to tell them apart.

Written by Jacob Watters

Use this article to record separate expenses for individuals who live at the same address, by giving each person their own household in Trail.
​

When should I split expenses into separate households?

Trail manages expenses by household. For most applications, grouping everyone under one household to show the total combined expenses is exactly right.

Sometimes, though, combining everyone's expenses doesn't fit the lending situation. For example, if several flatmates rent the same house, each person's expenses are their own, and you'll want to keep them separate. You do this by creating a separate household in Trail for each individual, all at the same address.
​

How do I set up a separate household for each person?

1. Load all participants onto the profile first. Having everyone on the profile before you start saves time in the steps below.

A Trail profile with all participants loaded before creating separate households.

2. Go to Position, open Households, and click Add Household.

The Add Household button on Trail's Position, Households page.

3. Fill in the household details and select Participant 1 as the sole member of this household, then click Done. In the household name, include the participant's name alongside the address (for example "123 Test House - Sarah"): every household in this setup shares one address, so the name is how you'll tell them apart later. The screenshots in this article name every household "123 Test House" without the participant; adding the name saves you time.

Household details in Trail with a single participant selected as the only member.

4. Click Add Household again.

Adding a second household from Trail's Households page.

5. Enter the same household address, name this household for the second participant, and allocate only the second participant to it. Then click Done.

A second household in Trail using the same address with only the second participant allocated.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until every participant has their own household.

Trail's Households page showing a separate single-person household for each participant at the same address.

7. Go to Position and open Expenses. You'll see a separate household for each individual, and you can now fill in each person's expense details separately.

Trail's Expenses page showing a separate household section for each individual, ready for separate expense entries.

If the Expenses page doesn't show a separate household for each person, go back to Position, open Households, and check that each participant is allocated to only their own household. If it still doesn't look right, email support@gettrail.com.
​

Questions about separating expenses in Trail?

Get in touch at support@gettrail.com, or use the chat button in the bottom right of the screen.

Did this answer your question?