BusimyHow to split the costs of a barbecue, a birthday or an event
To split the costs of a barbecue or an event, everyone records what they bought, each thing is split equally among those who took part in it, and at the end you work out how much each person has to put in or get back. That way you settle with one transfer per person who owes, instead of paying each other bits and pieces.
The usual problem
- One bought the meat, another the charcoal and drinks, another dessert, and someone put in nothing.
- Some don’t eat meat or don’t drink, and shouldn’t pay for that.
- Everyone posts their receipt in the group chat and someone ends up doing the maths by hand.
- It ends up paid in pieces: you owe me, I owe her… and nobody knows what’s left.
How to do it right
- Record each purchase with who paid it.
- If someone doesn’t take part in a purchase (doesn’t drink, skipped dessert), leave them out of it.
- Add up what each one put in and what their share was: the difference is their balance.
- Those who owe pay those who are owed. There’s no need for everyone to pay everyone.
An example with numbers
Six friends. John bought the meat ($180), Sophie the drinks ($72) and Leo the charcoal and bread ($36). Total: $288, $48 each. But two don’t drink: the drinks are split among four ($18 each). Redoing the maths, those who drink owe $54 and those who don’t, $36. John gets $126 back, Sophie $18 and Leo, who doesn’t drink, is square; the other three pay John and Sophie what they owe.
How Busimy does it
In Busimy you create an event (a barbecue, a birthday, a get-together) and add people with a link, even if they aren’t in your household. Everyone records what they paid and Busimy splits it equally; an expense can leave someone out. The event shows who owes whom with the fewest transfers possible.
In your finances only your share counts as spending: what you put in beyond it and got back counts as neither spending nor income. And if you had already logged the purchase, you add it to the event as it is, without entering it again.
Frequently asked questions
- Do the others need Busimy?
- To record what they paid, yes: they join the event with a link and a free account. Otherwise you can record what each one paid yourself.
- Can someone be left out of an expense?
- Yes: each expense is split equally among those who took part, and you can leave out whoever didn’t.
- What if someone fronted money for everyone?
- Record it as an expense that person paid: at the end they get back what they put in beyond their share.
- Does it work for a trip?
- Yes, a trip is an event too; there’s a guide just for trips with costs in another currency.