Answers, grouped by topic
Short answers to the questions people ask most. If yours is not here, write to us.
Getting started
What is Homora?
Homora is a household budgeting app for people who live alone, as a couple or with housemates. You plan your month, record what you spend and see who owes whom. It records and calculates, and it never moves money.
Do I need a partner or housemates to use it?
No. You can start on your own, in a household of one, and invite people later. Your personal records stay private to you either way.
How do I invite someone?
Share your household’s invite code. The other person creates their account and accepts the invite to join. A partners household has room for two people and a shared-living household for up to four.
Is there a mobile app?
Homora works in your phone’s browser today. Android and iOS apps are coming.
What does it cost to start?
Nothing. Free includes sharing, approvals, month close, settlement and an emergency fund for you and your household. Premium adds more flexibility and depth.
Does Homora connect to my bank?
No. You enter your own costs, and Homora never logs in to your bank or asks for your banking credentials.
Households and privacy
Can my partner or housemates see my income?
Only if you choose a level that shares it. You can keep it Private, share a total, share the detail, or share only the agreed ratio, and you can change it whenever you like.
Can they see my personal bills and goals?
No. Personal records are private to you. A household sees shared costs, shared goals and the split you agreed.
What is the difference between partners and shared living?
A partners household is for two people. A shared-living household takes two to four housemates, starts everyone on Private income and an equal split, and settles with the fewest transfers.
Can I belong to more than one household?
No. Each person has one active household. If you live alone, that is a household of one.
What happens to my data when I leave a household?
You settle up first, then leave. You keep read-only access to the months you were part of, and your personal records stay yours.
Who can see the receipts and screenshots I attach?
On a personal record, only you. On a household record, every active member can see the files, including members on the Free plan.
Splits and agreements
How can we split a shared cost?
Equally, by income, by custom percentages, or as a fixed amount plus the remainder. Free keeps every split equal, and Premium unlocks the others.
Can my partner change the split without me?
No. A change needs the other person’s acceptance, and the previous agreement keeps applying until they accept. The new split then applies only from a future date.
What if we disagree about a proposal?
The other person can reject it or counter with different values. Every change keeps a record of who changed what, and when.
How is a cost split when it does not divide evenly?
Homora rounds so the shares always add up to the total. R100 split three ways is R33.34, R33.33 and R33.33.
Will an income-weighted split reveal my salary?
It can hint at it if your income is private, because the shares follow what people earn. Homora warns you before you propose or accept one.
Can I create my own categories?
Yes, on every plan. Personal categories are visible only to you, and any member can add a household category. Each rolls up into a built-in group for summaries.
What does “Unallocated · awaiting approval” mean?
A new shared item has no accepted agreement yet. It is not counted in anyone’s share until the agreement is accepted.
Month end and settling up
How does month end work?
You review estimates, unpaid bills and anything unresolved, and every member approves the close. Homora then keeps a reconciled snapshot of the month, and anything unpaid carries forward.
How does Homora work out who owes whom?
It compares each person’s agreed share of the bills with what they actually paid. With R33,000 of bills, Thandi’s share is R20,000 and she paid R25,000, while Sipho’s share is R13,000 and he paid R8,000, so Sipho pays Thandi R5,000.
Does Homora pay my partner for me?
No. It shows the amount, a reference to copy and the way they like to be paid, if they saved one. You pay from your own banking app, then choose Record payment.
What if my partner did not receive the payment?
They can mark it Not received yet. The payment stays recorded but flagged, and you are told. Either of you can confirm it later, or you can reverse it.
What is the monthly check-in?
A guided money date of about five minutes: last month at a glance, loose ends, closing the month, settling up, savings and next month. It is free, and every step can be skipped.
Can a closed month be changed?
Closed months are corrected with recorded adjustments rather than recalculated. Reopening a month needs every member’s approval.
Goals and funds
What is the emergency fund?
A savings box you top up and draw from. You get one for yourself and one for your household, free and never locked, and you can name it Emergency fund, Rainy day fund or your own words.
How is the emergency fund target set?
As a number of months of your committed costs, or as a fixed amount that you choose.
What is the difference between a goal and a savings box?
A goal saves towards a target and finishes when you reach it. A savings box is an ongoing reserve you can draw from, and it stays open when it reaches its target.
How many goals do I get on Free?
The emergency fund is free, plus one other goal or savings box per person, personal or household as you choose. Premium has unlimited goals and savings boxes.
What happens to shared savings if I leave?
You take what you put in. Your stake in each shared goal or box becomes a personal one with the same name, and the other members’ stakes stay in the household goal.
Does the money in a box sit in Homora?
No. A box records how much you have set aside, and you can note where you keep it, such as a savings account. Homora never holds or moves the money.
Plans and billing
What does Premium add?
Custom splits, unlimited goals and savings boxes, full history, month and year reports, attachments and your own reminder times.
Do we both need Premium?
No. Household Premium features work as soon as one of you has Premium, and the other can approve what is proposed. To propose or counter custom terms yourself, you need Premium too.
Can I pay for my partner’s or housemate’s Premium?
Yes. A Premium member can pay for another member’s Shared seat, and that person accepts first. The person paying sees nothing private of theirs.
Which currency am I charged in?
Prices are shown in rand so they are easy to compare, but payment is charged in US dollars through Polar, our payment provider. Your bank may add a foreign-transaction fee.
Can I try Premium before I pay?
There is no free period, but Free stays free for as long as you like. Premium features show a preview with your real numbers before you upgrade.
What happens if I cancel or a payment fails?
Your data is never deleted. Premium behaviour stops when the period you paid for ends, and you are told beforehand. If a payment fails, Premium carries on for 7 days first.
What happens to my price when my household changes?
It follows automatically. When someone joins you move to the Shared seat price, and when you live alone again you move back to Single. You are told, and the difference is prorated.
Your account
How do I sign in?
With your email and password, with Google, or with Sign in with Apple.
Will signing in a different way create a second account?
Homora never links accounts silently. If a new sign-in method uses an email address that already has an account, it asks you to sign in the way you did before so you can connect them.
How do I remove a sign-in method?
Open Sign-in methods in your settings. You can remove any method except your last one.
I cannot get into my account. What now?
Try resetting your password from the sign-in page. If you have lost access to every way you sign in, write to support and we will help.
How do I delete my account?
Email support and we will take care of it. Account deletion is handled by our support team for now.
Where is my data stored?
In Microsoft Azure’s South Africa North region, in a private database and private file storage.
Still stuck?
Write to support and tell us what you were trying to do. A screenshot helps.
support@homora.co.za
Give your household a brighter start
Create your account in a minute. Free stays free, and you can change everything later.