Mess Manager Guide
Open Tool →Mess Manager is a complete shared-living expense management tool. Create a mess for your household, hostel, or shared group, track meals and expenses, and generate fair monthly cost-splitting reports so everyone pays their share.
✦ Key Features
- ✓ Create and manage multiple messes (shared groups) with custom names and descriptions
- ✓ Invite members via email with role-based access: Admin, Manager, Member, and Viewer
- ✓ Track daily meals per member with configurable meal slots (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.)
- ✓ Log shared expenses with categories, descriptions, and optional receipt uploads
- ✓ Generate monthly summary reports with per-meal rate and per-head cost calculations
- ✓ Close months to lock data and prevent accidental edits
- ✓ Full audit log tracking all changes for transparency
📋 How to Use
Click Create Mess from the dashboard. Give your mess a name and optional description. Enable meal tracking if your group shares meals.
Go to Settings and invite members by email. Each invitation generates a unique link. Assign roles: Admin (full control), Manager (manage meals/expenses), Member (log their own data), or Viewer (read-only).
If meal tracking is enabled, set up your meal slots (e.g., Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner). These appear as columns in the daily meal tracker.
In the Meals tab, mark each member's meal attendance daily. You can set fractional quantities (e.g., 0.5 for a half meal).
In the Expenses tab, add shared expenses with amount, category, date, and who paid. Attach receipt photos for record-keeping.
Go to Reports and close the month. The system calculates total expenses, total meals, per-meal rate, and each member's fair share based on their meal count.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
💡 Tips
- • Close each month promptly to lock the data and prevent accidental changes to finalized records
- • Use expense categories consistently so your monthly reports are meaningful and comparable
- • Encourage all members to log their own meals daily for the most accurate cost splitting
- • Upload receipt photos when logging expenses for transparent record-keeping
- • Use the Viewer role for members who want to see reports but shouldn't edit data