Shared ledger

Keep one ledger together with someone who uses a different Google account.

A shared ledger lets two or more people with different Google accounts keep one ledger together, for example a couple, business partners, or a bookkeeper and a client. Everyone sees the same records, and everyone's changes reach everyone else.

Sharing builds on Sync across devices. Each phone shares its ledger file in Google Drive with the other people and reads theirs. There's no server in between.

Before you start

Each person needs:

• Accountant, the same version for everyone. If a phone has an older version, the app says so; update it.
• Sync across devices turned on with their own Google account.
• The Google Drive app installed and turned on. Other people's files open through it.
• A recognizable Device ID, such as Ana's phone (Settings › Device ID). The other person picks your file by this name.
• An internet connection and a camera. Setup uses QR codes, so keep both phones side by side.

Below, "the person sharing" already syncs the ledger, and "the person joining" joins it.

Set up sharing

Setup takes about two minutes. Nobody types an email address or a file name.

1. Person joining: show your invite code

Open Settings › Shared ledger (just below Sync across devices) and tap Join someone's ledger. Your phone shows an invite code. Keep this screen open.

2. Person sharing: add the person

1. Open Settings › Shared ledger and tap Add a person.
2. Scan the invite code on the other phone.
3. Confirm Share this ledger with ‹their email›? with Share.

Your phone now shows a ledger code. Keep it open.

3. Person joining: scan the ledger code and pick the file

1. Tap Scan ledger code and scan the code on the other phone.
2. A message tells you which file to choose, for example "Ana's phone (3f9a2c1b).db". Tap Choose file.
3. In the file picker, open Google Drive › Shared with me and choose that file. If it isn't there yet, wait half a minute and try again.
4. If your phone already has records, choose:
   • Use the shared copy: your records are replaced by the shared ledger. A copy of yours is saved first; you can bring it back with Undo last import until anything syncs.
   • Keep and combine: your records are added to the shared ledger, and the others will see them. Only offered when both ledgers use the same reporting currency.

You'll see "You joined ‹email›'s ledger."

4. Person sharing: connect back

Tap Done. Under People, the new person shows Not connected on this device. Tap their name, choose Connect on this device, and pick their file the same way: Google Drive › Shared with me.

That's it. Changes now flow both ways.

Your other phones

You only need to connect one of your phones to each person. Your other phones on the same Google account get their changes through it, shown as Connected through ‹phone›. You can still connect another phone directly with Connect on this device.

Adding more people

Repeat the setup for each new person. Anyone already in the ledger can add someone.

When changes arrive

Phones sync when you open the app, after you change something, and when you pull down on Transactions. A change usually reaches the other person within a minute or two of their syncs. If they haven't opened the app, their latest changes wait on their phone.

If two people change the same record before syncing, the most recent change wins. Different records never overwrite each other.

The People list

Settings › Shared ledger lists everyone, you first.

Tap a person for Connect on this device, Show ledger code or Remove from ledger.

Removing someone

Tap the person › Remove from ledger › confirm. Your phones stop sharing with them and stop reading their file, and so does everyone else once they sync.

• Records they already added stay in the ledger.
• They keep their own copy of everything up to that point. Removing someone stops future changes; it can't take back what they already have.
• They aren't notified.

Who can do what

Everyone in a shared ledger is equal. Anyone can add, edit and delete any record, and add or remove people. Only share with people you trust with your whole ledger.

Leaving

There's no "Leave" button yet. Ask someone in the ledger to remove you, or switch this phone to another Google account (tap Sync across devices › Change Google account).

Turning Sync across devices off only pauses syncing. You stay in the ledger, and the others can still read the last version your phone uploaded.

What is shared, and what isn't

Shared with everyone in the ledger:

• all records: transactions, accounts, categories, exchange rates, credit card settings and statements, loans, savings goals and the reporting currency
• the email addresses of the people in the ledger, and each phone's Device ID

Not shared:

• attachments (receipt photos and files). They stay on the phones of the person who added them.
• your app settings, such as dark mode, app lock, AI provider and API keys
• anything else in your Google Drive

Files are shared view-only and without an email notification.

Messages during setup