Shared Bills and Household Payments
Design a bill workspace that tracks household costs, splits responsibility, and makes upcoming payments clear to roommates.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Shared households receive bills on different schedules and through different accounts. Spreadsheets show totals but do not make ownership, partial payment, or changing occupancy easy to understand.
User context
Caleb shares an apartment with three people. He pays the electricity bill, another roommate manages internet, and one person is moving out halfway through the billing period.
Product problem
The product must distinguish the amount owed to a provider from amounts owed between people, then handle adjustments without rewriting past records.
Objective
Design bill capture, split review, reminder, and settlement states for a shared household.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Bill entry or import
- Transparent split calculation
- Household balance and settlement
Screens and states
- Upcoming bills dashboard
- Bill and split detail
- Payment request
- Household activity
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Caleb imports the electricity bill
- 02
He checks the billing dates and adjusts one roommate's share
- 03
Everyone receives a clear request
- 04
Payments update each person's balance without changing the provider status
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Show provider due dates separately from roommate deadlines
- Explain how each share was calculated
- Support partial and offline payments
- Keep edits and reminders visible to the household
Constraints
- Not every provider supports direct payment
- Roommates may use different currencies or payment methods
- Financial details should be shared only as needed
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
October household bills
- Electricity, $146.80, due 18 October
- Internet, $72.00, paid to provider
- Water, $43.20, two roommates settled
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four responsive screens
- A clear calculation breakdown for one adjusted split
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.