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Settle Debts (Settlement)

When debts have accumulated between you and a friend, you can settle them with just a few taps. SplitHappens automatically calculates the optimal amount.

How Settlement Works

  1. Open the Friends tab and tap the friend you want to settle with
  2. On the detail page you'll see the current balance and all open positions
  3. Tap the appropriate button:
    • Pay Now (red) — When you owe the friend money
    • Payment Received (green) — When the friend has already transferred money to you
  4. A sheet opens with the available payment methods
  5. Choose a method and confirm the payment
  6. All open positions are marked as settled

Friend Detail Page Settlement View

Smart Net Offset

SplitHappens automatically offsets all open bills between you and your friend against each other. This saves transactions and is fairer.

Example:

Bill You Owe Sarah Sarah Owes You
Restaurant 30.00 EUR —
Cinema Tickets — 10.00 EUR
Net Result You pay 20.00 EUR

Instead of making two separate transfers, you only pay the difference once. The system considers all open bills between you — not just the latest one.

Payment Methods

When settling, choose how you want to pay:

Method Description
PayPal Your friend's PayPal link is opened (if provided)
Banking App IBAN and account holder are shown — you transfer yourself
Cash For settling in person
Mark as Paid When you've already paid through other means

Important

SplitHappens does not process actual payments. The app tracks who owes whom and marks payments as completed once you confirm the settlement. The actual transfer is done by you, e.g., via banking app.

Request Payment

If a friend owes you money and hasn't paid yet, you can remind them:

  1. Open the friend's detail page
  2. Tap "Request Payment"
  3. Your friend receives a notification with the open amount

Undo Settlement

How To

You can undo a settlement per position. Swipe a settled position to the left — then choose between "Mark as Unpaid" (position stays assigned) or "Release" (position is fully released). The bill status adjusts automatically.

No Partial Amounts

With friend settlement, the entire calculated net amount is always settled at once. It's not possible to settle only individual positions. For more flexible partial payments, use Event Settlement, which supports manual transactions with any amount.

Multi-Currency

If you have bills in different currencies, SplitHappens automatically converts:

  • Amounts are converted to each user's default currency
  • Exchange rates come from the Fawazahmed Currency API and are cached for 24 hours
  • Net offset is calculated after conversion — everyone sees amounts in their own currency

Example

You have bills in EUR and CHF. Your default currency is EUR. SplitHappens automatically converts the CHF amounts and shows you the net balance in EUR.

After Settlement

Once you've confirmed the settlement:

  • All affected positions are marked as settled (permanently locked)
  • Affected bills are marked as completed
  • The balance between you is reset to 0.00 EUR
  • Settled bills remain visible in the history
  • Your friend receives a notification about the settlement