Expense Tool

Information

Do you and your partner want to log how much you're spending for your household and merge the expenses entered on your individual devices?
Are you on holidays with friends and want to know how much you are spending? If you are sharing your expenses, do you need a tool to document your balances and debts to one another?
Do you want to know how much you're spending for your hobby, on your business trip, or any other expenses?

Use Expense Tool, create an expense set and start entering your data. Your expenses can be listed, shown on a map, exported by email, printed and transferred to another device. If more than one person is part of an expense set, you get a summary showing the total of all individual expenses and the balance of the shared expenses.

Available for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Download on the App Store.

Features

Define Expense Sets with custom settings
Add expenses and optionally attach receipts, photos and locations
Fast data capture: Select with autocompletion what you've already entered
List your expenses: all, by month, by week or within a custom timeframe
Expense list sections: by person, by expense caption
Summary and Balance of shared expenses
Overview of all expense sets
Export your data as email, PDF, CSV
Printing
iCloud Synchronization across all your devices
Data Exchange between iPhone, iPad and Mac
Geocoding and map integration
Backup and Import
Passcode Lock (iOS only)
Available on iPhone, iPad and Mac
Languages: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is Expense Tool?

Expense Tool is a simple, yet powerful application to collect and organize your own and shared expenses. Available on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

What can I use it for?

You can use Expense Tool to collect information about your expenses.
Let's assume two situations:

You want to know how much you're spending for your hobby:
Create an Expense Set 'Hobby' and start entering all expenses for it. Then you see the total you spent (overall, by month, by week - or within a custom timeframe you choose). And of course you can see the location of your expeneses on a map, and you can export the list.

You're going on holidays with two friends:
Create an Expense Set 'Holidays' and start entering all expenses for it. Then you see the total each one of you spent and the overall total. And if you want to share your expenses, you don't need to calculate anything - Expense Tool will show everyone's share and calculate the balance. And of course you can see the location of your expenses on a map, or can export the list and summary.

What doesn't Expense Tool do?

Expense Tool is what it's name says. In short: You can manage expenses in lists (Expense Sets).

The App is not intended for purposes such as: Accounting, Budget, Income, etc.

Where is it available?

Expense Tool is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

What are the requirements?

iPhone or iPad running iOS 15 or newer, or a Mac running macOS 12 Monterey or newer.

Is Expense Tool available on Mac?

Yes. Expense Tool is available as a Mac app starting with version 3.1.

The Mac app is part of the same universal purchase as the iOS app. If you already have Expense Tool on your iPhone or iPad, you can install it on your Mac without paying again. Subscriptions and the Pro Lifetime purchase carry across iPhone, iPad and Mac via your Apple ID (and Family Sharing).

iCloud Synchronization is opt-in per expense set. Only expense sets for which you have enabled iCloud Sync appear on all your devices; everything else stays local to the device it was created on.

Expense Tool LE (Discontinued)

What happened to Expense Tool LE?

Expense Tool LE has been discontinued. Since Expense Tool is now free to download, a separate Lite version is no longer needed.

Download Expense Tool for free and migrate your data. See the Subscriptions & Pricing section for details about the available plans.

Why was Expense Tool LE discontinued?

With version 3.0, Expense Tool became free to download. The free tier offers the same functionality that Expense Tool LE provided and more, making a separate Lite version unnecessary.

How to migrate data from Expense Tool LE

If you still have data in Expense Tool LE, you can migrate it to Expense Tool:

Automatic migration: If both apps are installed, Expense Tool will automatically detect and import your LE data on first launch.

Manual migration via Backup/Import:

Expense Tool LE: Create a backup. You can access the backup file via the Files app.
Expense Tool: Copy the backup file to Expense Tool via the Files app, then import it within the app.

Please refer to the Backup / Import section for details on how backup and import work.

Expense Sets

What is an Expense Set?

An Expense Set defines a List, into which you can enter data later.
You can use it to group the expenses you're going to enter.

An example with multiple Expense Sets, or with different 'Topics', for which you're intending to keep an eye on their expenses:

Group: Holidays, Expense Sets: Holidays in A, Holidays in B, Holidays in C
Group: Private, Expense Sets: Household, Movies/Cinema, My Hobby

Die Groups are intended to organize your Lists (Expense Sets). You'll get a sub-total of all expense sets within a group in the overview.

Note: Think about how you're going to organize your lists (Expense Sets).
The App is designed to can enter expenses in multiple lists (Expense Sets). It's not intended for accounting purpose of all your expenses.
If you're using the data exchange feature: You can exchange data for a single or for multiple expense sets. Reason: You'd like to exchange 'Holidays in A' with your partner, but not the expense sets 'My Hobby' and 'Business Expenses'.

How to create an Expense Set?

Tap the + button in the lists of your Expense Sets.
Enter the Group of the new Expense Set (or choose one of the existing groups).
Enter the Name and optionally a Description.
Choose the Currency by selecting a country in the list.
Enter the name of the persons, who are spending expenses in this expense set.
If you add more then one person: You can optionally define a Factor. The factor defines the suggested amount for the balance of shared expenses.
When you're going to enter expenses later, and you need to record more information other than 'Name' and 'Notes' (e.g. 'Paid with'), you can enter the caption of this Additional Field.
Make your choice in the settings.
What do you want to attach to the expenses in this Set? Receipt, Photo and/or Location.
Finally save the new expense set by tapping the Done button.

Why can't I add an Expense Set?

One of the following is most likely the answer to your case:

The name of an Expense Set has to be unique.
You can't have two expense sets with the same name.
You haven't entered a person for this expense set yet.

How to edit an Expense Set?

Tap the Edit button in the lists of your Expense Sets.
Edit the properties and settings of the expense set.
To save the changes, tap the Done button.

How to delete an Expense Set?

In the list of your Expense Sets, tap the Edit button, then push the - button left to the Expense Set you want to delete. Confirm the deletion by taping on Delete.

Note:
This immediately deletes the Expense Set and all Expenses, including their attachments.
If you haven't created a backup (please refer to the corresponding section in the FAQ), there is no way to restore your data.

What are the persons in an expense set for?

It is required to enter at least one person. If the expense set will contain only private expenses, enter your own name.

If you enter two or more persons, you can choose who of these persons paid an expense. You can also enter for whom an expense has been paid for (for all persons, or only for a couple).

The Summary then calculates, how much each person has spent, the amount for each one's shared expenses - and most of all: who needs to pay whom how much in order to solve your balances and debts to one another?

What are the factors for the persons used for?

If two or more persons are in an expense set, you can define a factor for each person. This defines the Balance of shared expenses.

Example:

Factor Person A: 1x
Fakcor Person B: 2x

Your enter a new expense of CHF 60.-
According to the factors, the amount to pay is:

Person A: CHF 20.- (1x)
Person B: CHF 40.- (2x)

What happens if the settings are being changed?

Dis/Enabling Receipt, Photo or Location does not change Expenses already entered. No data is being deleted.

The settings only affect the ability of displaying the choosen attachments for existing and new Expenses.

Changing the currency does not change the amounts of the existing expenses. E.g. if you change from EUR to CHF, an existing expense for EUR 12 will be displayed as CHF 12.

Expenses

How to add an Expense?

Navigate to the appropriate Expense Set. Change the display to List.
Tap the + button in the Expenses listing.
The current date is already entered. Should you need to change it, tap this cell.
In an expense set for multiple persons: Choose the person, who paid for this expense.
Enter or choose the Caption / Name of the Expense.
Note:
It's recommended to enter a general Name, such as 'Dinner'. If you're adding expenses later, you can choose the Expense-Name's you've already entered. So the choice 'Dinner' will be a better choice to re-select than 'Dinner at Restaurant XY in City AB'. This will keep the autocompletion-list small.
Enter the Amount of the Expense.
Note:
If you're adding an Expense in a foreign currency, you can use the Foreign Currency Converter by tapping the currency-badge.
In an expense set for multiple persons, the 'amounts to pay' according to the factors (please refer to the Expense Set - settings) for each involved person are shown.
You can de/select the persons, for whose this expense has been paid.
Optionally you can fill in the Additional Field (refer to the Expense Set - Settings) and a note (e.g. the Name of a restaurant).
Optionally (and according to your Expense Set - Settings), attach Receipt and/or Picture.
If attaching the Location is enabled for the Expense Set (refer to the Expense Set - Settings), the current location will be set for the new Expense.
Note:
If you're adding an Expense and are not in the corresponding location, you can Edit or Delete the Location.
Tap the Done button to save the new expense.

How to edit an Expense?

Navigate to the Expense Set. Change the display to List.
Select the Expense and tap Edit on its detail view.
Tap the Done button to save the changes.

How to delete an expense?

Navigate to the expense and tap the Delete button in the toolbar. You can also delete an Expense in the List view by simply swiping through it and tapping Delete.

Note:
This immediately deletes the Expense, including its attachments.
If you haven't created a backup (please refer to the corresponding section in the FAQ), there is no way to restore your data.

What kind of expense types are available?

In an expense set for multiple persons, you can choose for whose person(s) an expense has been paid for.

There are three kinds of expenses types:

Private: Paid by 'Person A', only paid for 'Person A'.
This expense will not be part of the shared expenses, but it's part of the total of 'Person A'.
Borrowed: Paid by 'Person A', only paid for 'Person B'.
This expense will not be part of the shared expenses, but it's part of the total of 'Person A'. For the summary: 'Person B' has to pay back the full amount to 'Person A'.
Shared: Paid by 'Person A', paid for two or more persons.
This expense will be part of the shared expenses. The amounts-to-pay for each involved person are shown - according to the factors of the expense set - settings.

Note: You can edit and fix those individual 'to-be-paid' amounts by tapping on the amount-badge.

How to split an expense?

An expense entered in Expense Tool is always paid by exactly one person. Should multiple persons pay, you have to enter each of their expenses individually.

It is possible to define the 'amount to be paid' for the balance of shared expenses.

Example: 'Person A' pays dinner in a restaurant for 'Person A', 'Person B' and 'Person C' with a total amount of 80.-.
For the balance, you want to set that 'Person A' and 'Person C' should pay 20.- each, 'Person B's' share of this expense is 40.-.

Paid by 'Person A': 80.-
Paid for: choose Persons A, B, C
For each of the selected persons: Tap the amount-Badge in order to enter the individual amounts and therefore 'fix' these values.
'Person A': 20.-
'Person B': 20.-
'Person C': 40.-

Note: If the individual amounts for the balance are 'fixed', a Lock-Icon will appear next to the amount.
If you're going to change the factors of the Expense Set, these fixed amounts will remain untouched. Not 'fixed' amounts will always be splitted according to the Factors-Settings of the Expense Set.

How to enter a foreign currency amount?

To open the simple Currency-Calculator: Tap the Currency-Badge when you're entering the amount.

If you've already entered foreign currency amounts in other expenses, you can choose the currency and exchangerate by tapping the entry in the list below.

Choose the currency by entering the country.
If an Internet-Connection is available, the current Exchange Rate will be fetched and entered.
Otherwise, you'll need to enter the exchange rate manually.
Enter the Amount in the foreign currency.
The simple currency calculator will display the result: Amount * Exchange Rate.
In order to use the calculated amount: tap the cell with the result.

How to add/edit/delete Receipt or Photo?

Navigate to the Expense and tap Edit

To Delete the Receipt or Photo, tap the delete button on the left. Confirm with the Delete-button.

To Add a Receipt or Photo, tap on Add Receipt or Add Photo.

Note:
If your device has a camera, you can either take a picture or choose an existing one. If your device doesn't have a camera, you can only add existing photos from your library.

How to add/edit/delete the Location?

If you add an Expense, the current location is added. If you need to edit the location because you're not in the location where the Expense took place, or if you want to delete the location: Navigate to the Expense and tap Edit

To Delete the Location, tap the delete button on the left. Confirm with the Delete-button.

To Edit the Location, tap on the cell showing the Location. You have several ways to change the Location:

Enter the location name in the search field and tap search. If a location could be found, the pin is dropped. If multiple locations are found, you'll have to choose the correct one in a list.
Note: The location - search is done using Apple Maps. A correct search result can't be guaranteed.
Move the map if required. Tap the button with showing a Pin, in order to set the location-pin in the center of the currently displayed map.
Tap the button showing the symbol for the current location. The location pin will be dropped according to your current location.
Especially after searching for a location, you can fine-tune the exact position on the map. Tap the pin and keep holding it. Then you can drag the pin on the map to the exact location.

List Organisation

How can the List and Summary be organized?

Tap the Edit button (showing a calendar and pencil) on the bottom left in the List or Summary view.

Timeframe
In order to organize the list by date/time, the following options are at your choice:

List all: This will list all expenses.
List by month/week: This will list the expenses by month/week. You can navigate through the months/weeks using the arrows in the grey navigation bar at the top.
List timeframe: This will list all expenses in the from - until range you selected.

Sections
The expenses in the list are grouped into sections. You can select the sections:

Expense - Paid by: The list is grouped by the persons.
Expense - Name: The list is grouped by the caption of the expenses.
Date (Month, Week, Day): All expenses of the month/week/day are in their own section.

Summary

How to show the summary?

Navigate to the Expense Set. On the bottom, there is a segmented control. Tap on summary.

What is shown in the summary?

In an expense set for a single person, only the total is being shown.

An expense set for multiple persons will show a summary of all expenses.

Private: The total of all private expenses of each person.
Borrowed: The total of all borrowed amounts of the persons.
Paid by: All paid expenses (including private and borrowed amounts).
Shared Expenses: Only the expenses paid for two or more persons are included in the shared expenses.
Balance: The App calculates, who pas to pay whom how much. For that, both shared expenses and borrowed amounts are being taken into account.

iCloud Synchronization vs. Data Exchange

Which should I use?

Expense Tool offers two ways to keep your data on multiple devices:

iCloud Synchronization — Completely optional and opt-in per expense set. Once enabled, your expenses sync automatically and continuously across all your devices signed into the same iCloud account. Requires an iCloud account and internet connection. No data ever leaves your device unless you explicitly enable sync.

Data Exchange — Direct device-to-device transfer, no internet or iCloud account needed. Ideal for exchanging expense sets with travel companions, colleagues, or anyone you're splitting expenses with — even if they use a different iCloud account. Perfect for holidays, business trips, or any situation where you share expenses with others.

Which to choose? Use iCloud Synchronization to keep your own devices in sync automatically. Use Data Exchange to exchange data with other people's devices.

Data Exchange

Why Data Exchange and not Synchronisation?

Expense Tool is simple, yet powerful. And such is it's Data Exchange.
Data Exchange allows to compare all Expenses in an Expense Set from one Device with another Device. Not existing Expenses of the other Device will be transferred and added. Expenses that are modified on one Device will be changed on the other Device.

It is not a synchronisation, because no expenses are going to be deleted. Furthermore, not all Expense Sets are being transferred, only the ones whose expenses you really want to exchange.

Most important: Data is only sent from Device to Device - there are no external servers on the internet involved, where your data needs to be stored.

When is Data Exchange a useful feature?

Two Examples:

Two people live together. Both create an Expense Set 'Household'. To merge their data, both call the Data Exchange Action in their Expense Set. After choosing the Device of the other person, their data will be exchanged. So they have the expenses of the other person on the own device.

Expenses, which are entered on the iPhone while not being at home can be transferred to the iPad at home. This of course works as well if there is more than one person (or more than one iPhone) and one iPad used by several people.

What are the requirements?

In order to use the Data Exchange Feature, it obviously requires two devices (iPhone, iPad or Mac). Expense Tool (preferrably in the same version) needs to be installed on both devices involved.

Transfer using Bluetooth: Both devices have to support Bluetooth.

Transfer using Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi needs to be enabled on both devices. And the two devices have to be connected to the same network.

Finally, in the Settings of Expense Tool, both devices need to be configured to use the same data transfer method (Wi-Fi / Bluetooth).

What are the settings used for?

Expense Tool 3.0 (and later)
There are no transfer-method settings any more. Data Exchange requires both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be enabled on both devices — both are used together to discover nearby devices and establish the connection. The two devices should be close to each other and, ideally, on the same local Wi-Fi network.

Expense Tool 2.3 (legacy)
Choose this option if both devices are running iOS 7 (or later). Availability of Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi gets determined automatically. In order to use Bluetooth, Bluetooth has to be turned on on both devices. In order to use Wi-Fi, both devices need to be in the same Network.

Expense Tool 2.0 (legacy)
Choose this option if one (or both) devices are running iOS 6 (or previous).

On legacy versions, both devices need to be configured to use the same data transfer method Online (Wi-Fi) and/or Nearby (Bluetooth). These choice names are defined by Apple in the dialog which lets you choose the data transfer method. If both options are enabled, you always have to choose between the two later.

Please note the requirements described in the previous question.

How is data being related on multiple devices?

If you've already entered data on both devices, please check the following issue, before you're using Data Exchange:

Name of the Expense Set
In order to transfer the expenses into the correct Expense Set, the following prerequisite has to be met: The name of the Expense Set needs to be exactly the same on both devices.
Name of the persons
In order to assign the expenses to the correct persons, the following prerequisite has to be met: The name of the persons needs to be exactly the same on both devices.

Example: On one device you've entered expenses for 'Hans Meier'. On the other device, the expenses are for a person named 'Hans'.
Result: After Data Exchange there are two persons in the expense set: 'Hans' and 'Hans Meier'.

How does the Data Exchange work?

Using Data Exchange, you can exchange one or multiple expense sets with another device.

In order to relate the data correctly on both devices, please read the previous question and answer!

The Data Exchange between devices works like this:

Tap the button Data Exchange (bottom right) in the list of your expense sets.
All your expense sets will be shown again. Select the expense sets, which you'd like to transfer to the other device.
Note: If you just want to receive data from the other device, simply don't select any expense set to send.
Tap the button Continue (Arrow-right, on the top right).
The data which is going to be send is being processed - this could take a while.
On Expense Tool 3.0 and later, no transfer method is selected manually — Multipeer Connectivity picks Wi-Fi or Bluetooth automatically. On legacy versions (2.3 / 2.0), if you had both Online (Wi-Fi) and Nearby (Bluetooth) enabled, you would choose the appropriate Transmission method here.
The list will be populated with the devices found. On one device: choose the other device. The other device then needs to accept the connection.
Note: Searching for other devices and connecting to another device can take 30-40 seconds each. Please be patient...
Only one device can establish a connection to another. If you try to do this on both devices at the same time, it won't work.
Once the connection is established successfully, the two devices are going to exchange their data of their current Expense Sets.
Note: This Exchange can take quite a while depending on the chosen data transfer method and the amount of data (Number of expenses, Receipts, Photos).
If Expenses need to be added or changed on one device, a List will be shown. Should you not want to accept a new or modified expense, you can ignore it by tapping the --button and confirming with Delete.
Note: If an expense set does not yet exist on the other device, it will get created.
In order to save the changes according to the List displayed, tap the button Save.
Note: If a lot of data is going to be saved (Number of Expenses, Receipts, Photos), this could take a while.
Finally, the list of your expense sets will show again. New and modified expenses of the other device are now included, assuming you haven't cancelled but saved.

Why doesn't the second device show up?

You need to select Data Exchange on both devices.
Make sure that both device are using the same transmission method (WiFi / Bluetooth) verwenden.

iCloud Synchronization

What is iCloud Synchronization?

iCloud Synchronization keeps your expense data in sync across all your devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) that are signed into the same iCloud account.

iCloud Synchronization is completely optional. It is an opt-in feature that you enable individually for each expense set. No data ever leaves your device unless you explicitly choose to enable sync. Your data stays private by default.

When enabled, your expenses, persons, images, and expense set settings are synced automatically via Apple's CloudKit infrastructure. Your data is stored in your personal iCloud container and is not accessible to anyone else.

How to enable or disable iCloud Synchronization?

Open an expense set and tap Edit. You'll find the iCloud Synchronization toggle in the iCloud section. Turn it on to start syncing this expense set across your devices.

To disable sync, turn the toggle off. Your local data is preserved — only the iCloud copy is removed.

iCloud Synchronization requires an iCloud account. If you're not signed in, the toggle will be grayed out with instructions to sign in.

What data syncs and what doesn't?

Syncs: Expenses, persons, attached receipts and photos, expense set settings (name, currency, additional fields).

Device-local (does not sync): Group assignment and sort order of expense sets. This is by design — each device can organize its expense sets independently.

What is "Sync Now" in Settings?

Your data syncs automatically in the background — when the app launches, returns to the foreground, or when you make changes.

The Sync Now button in Settings performs a complete re-sync of all expense sets. This is useful if something seems out of sync. Under normal circumstances, you should not need to use it.

How does conflict resolution work?

If the same expense is edited on two devices before they sync, the most recent edit wins. This applies to all fields, including attached images.

For person lists, a union merge is used — persons added on different devices are combined.

What happens if I disable sync for an expense set?

Your local data is always preserved. Disabling sync removes the iCloud copy. On other devices, the expense set becomes a local copy as well.

If you re-enable sync later, a fresh sync is created and all data is uploaded again.

Can I rename a synced expense set?

Yes. The new name syncs to all your devices automatically.

Person names cannot be renamed in synced expense sets to prevent data inconsistencies across devices. If a person is used in a synced expense set, the name field is locked.

How much iCloud storage does it use?

Storage usage depends on the number of expenses and attached images. Images are compressed (JPEG) to reduce storage requirements.

You can check your iCloud storage usage on iOS/iPadOS under Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Manage Storage, and on Mac under System Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Manage.

Subscriptions & Pricing

Is Expense Tool free?

Expense Tool is free to download since version 3.0. The app offers optional subscription plans for users who need additional features such as unlimited expense sets and expenses, the Overview of all expense sets, Data Exchange, and bulk export of receipts, photos, and CSV files.

All your existing data remains fully accessible. You can continue to view and edit all your expenses without a subscription.

What are the subscription plans?

Expense Tool offers three tiers:

Free — Up to 5 expense sets with up to 20 expenses each. Export via email and printing included.
Plus — Unlimited expense sets and expenses. Overview of all expense sets. Available as Quarterly or Yearly subscription.
Pro — All features, including Data Exchange, CSV export, and receipt/photo attachments in exports. Available as Quarterly or Yearly subscription, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase.

Current pricing is shown in the app under Settings > Subscription.

Is there a one-time purchase option?

Yes. Pro Lifetime is a one-time purchase that gives you permanent access to all Pro features. No recurring charges, no expiration. Check the app for current pricing.

I already paid for the app — what happens now?

Thank you for your support! As an existing user, you enjoy full Pro features until May 1, 2027 at no extra cost. After that, you can continue using the app for free or choose a plan to keep all Pro features.

How do I restore my purchase?

Go to Settings > Subscription and tap Restore Purchases. This works for subscriptions and Pro Lifetime.

How do I cancel my subscription?

On iPhone or iPad: go to Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. On Mac: open the App Store, click your account at the bottom left, then choose Account Settings > Manage (next to Subscriptions). Your subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period.

If you have Pro Lifetime, no cancellation is needed — it's a permanent purchase.

I bought Pro Lifetime but still have a subscription

On iPhone or iPad: go to Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. On Mac: open the App Store and manage subscriptions from your account. Cancel your Expense Tool subscription there. Your Pro Lifetime purchase is permanent and does not require an active subscription. You won't lose any features.

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Your data is never locked. All existing expense sets and expenses remain viewable and editable. Limits only apply to creating new expense sets or expenses beyond the free tier.

What is Family Sharing?

All subscriptions and the Pro Lifetime purchase support Apple's Family Sharing. This allows you to share your subscription or purchase with your family members.

Data Management

How to export or print the data?

Navigate to the Expense Set and choose the list or summary view, or show an individual expense. Tap the actions button at the bottom right.
Select Send as Email or Print.

Note:
The data is sent unencrypted by Email, so be careful with sensitive or personal data.

Exporting a lot of data

Let's assume: you have entered 250 expenses in an expense set in the last four months. A receipt and photo is attached to each one. As you can imagine, this will easily result in raw data of > 50 MB. And if this raw data is being converted and worked up in order to be printed or sent as email, it may become even more - and the operation will certainly use a lot of memory.

If you try to print or send as email this whole list containing a lot of data at once, your device is likely running out of memory. Remember, it's a mobile device - and not a computer with several GB of memory...

Hint:
Try to limit the data. It's recommended to only print or send as email the monthly list instead of the list of all expenses.

What format is used for export?

The export will send a HTML or plain text Email. You can configure this in the settings. Navigate to the list of Expense Sets, and tap the Settings button to change your preferred format.

You can optionally attach the photos/receipts to the list of expenses, as well as a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. Again: configure this in the settings.
If you just send a single expense, photo/receipt is always attached.

The CSV file is encoded as UTF8, the values separated by semicolon. If your software doesn't display the data properly, make sure you use these settings to open or import the CSV file.

How to open the CSV file?

General
The CSV file is encoded as UTF8, the values separated by semicolon. If your software doesn't display the data properly, make sure you use these settings to open or import the CSV file.

OpenOffice
Right-Click on the CSV file and open it with OpenOffice. An Assistant is shown. Set the Encoding to UTF8 and the Delimiter to Semicolon. If the expenses show correct in the Preview, confirm with OK.

Excel
Launch Excel and open a new, empty Spreadsheet. Open the Convert Text Assistant in the Menu Data -> From Text. Set the source-type of the CSV file to Delimited (e.g. Comma or Semicolon), and the Source 65001: UTF8. In the next step, set the Delimiter to Semicolon. Finish the steps of the Assistant. Now the data of your CSV file is available in your spreadsheet.

Can I restore data?

If you're deleting an expense set or an expense, or if you loose your data some other way, there is no undo functionality.

It is recommended to create backups periodically (please refer to the corresponding FAQ section). Backup your backups additionally, and also backup your entire device — via iCloud Backup, or using Finder on Mac / the Apple Devices app on Windows when connected to a computer.

If you have a backup copy and it's available to you, you can import the whole content of your backup (please refer to the corresponding FAQ section).

Backup / Import

How can I create a Backup?

Navigate to Settings (Gear-Icon in the list of your expense sets).
Choose: Database: Backups.
Tap the button Backup now

Backup to device: The backups you create are stored in the documents-folder of Expense Tool - but they are still only on your device. Should your device be defective or get stolen, you don't have any possibility to retrieve those backups.
It is strongly recommended to transfer the backups to your computer and archive them in some other place!

Backup to iCloud: If you've enabled iCloud Drive, you can copy your backup to your computer via iCloud Drive.

Backup to Storage Provider: The created backup is handed over to the application of the Storage Provider (e.g. DropBox, OneDrive, Synology).

Where are my backups?

Backups on device
The Backups you created are stored in the documents-folder of Expense Tool. See the next question for how to copy them to your computer (via Finder, the Apple Devices app, or the Files app).

If you don't archive your backups yourself, you can only restore all data of all your apps (e.g. when you get a new device) via iCloud Backup.

It is therefore strongly recommended to copy your backups to your computer and archive them!

Backup to iCloud: If you've enabled iCloud Drive, you can see your backup on iCloud Drive.

Backup to Storage Provider: The created backup is handed over to the application of the Storage Provider (e.g. DropBox, OneDrive, Synology). Use their tools to access the files.

How do I copy and archive the local backups to my computer?

The Backups you created locally on your device are stored in the documents-folder of Expense Tool. There are several ways to transfer those files to your computer and archive them:

From iPhone or iPad — via the Files app

Open the Files app.
Navigate to On My iPhone / On My iPad > Expense Tool.
Long-press a backup file and choose Share or Move to send it to iCloud Drive, a Storage Provider, or AirDrop it to your Mac.

From iPhone or iPad — via a connected computer

On Mac (macOS 10.15 Catalina or later): connect your device, open Finder, select your device in the sidebar, and switch to the Files tab. On Windows: use the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older systems) and open the Files / File Sharing section.
Choose Expense Tool in the app list.
You'll see the created backups on the right.
Using Drag&Drop you can copy the files to your Desktop (or some other folder).

On Mac (Expense Tool for Mac)
The app's documents folder is located inside your user Library container. The easiest way is to export the backup from the app to any location via the macOS Save Panel when you create the backup — you can choose any folder on your Mac directly.

How do I copy a backup from the computer to the app?

Backups in iCloud: You can choose the Backups available on iCloud (Drive).

Backups from a Storage Provider: The Storage Provider displays the choice of available documents. Choose the backup you're looking for from them.

Backups on iPhone or iPad — via the Files app
Copy the backup to a location visible to the Files app (iCloud Drive, a Storage Provider, a shared folder). You can then import it from within Expense Tool (Settings > Database: Backups).

Backups on iPhone or iPad — via a connected computer

On Mac (macOS 10.15 Catalina or later): connect your device, open Finder, select your device in the sidebar, and switch to the Files tab. On Windows: use the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older systems) and open the Files / File Sharing section.
Choose Expense Tool in the app list.
Using Drag&Drop you can copy a backup stored on your computer back into the app's documents folder (on the right).

On Mac (Expense Tool for Mac)
Open Expense Tool, go to Settings > Database: Backups > Import and pick the backup file directly via the macOS Open Panel.

How do I import a backup?

Navigate to Settings (Gear-Icon in the list of your expense sets).
Choose: Database: Backups.
You'll see a list of backups available on your device.
Hint: If you have a backup in some other place (e.g. your computer) and would like to copy it to your iOS device, please read the question above.
Choose the backup you'd like to import.
Note: The whole content of the backup is going to be imported. Already existing data will not be deleted.

Why are the backup files locked when accessing them from a computer?

The backups you create are protected by an iOS feature called Data Protection. You can only access the files if your device is turned on and unlocked.

If you've enabled the Pin Code Protection of your iOS Device, you'll have to enter that iOS code, so that your device is in a state ready to use. Only then you are granted access to the files stored on it.

Passcode Lock (iOS only)

How secure is the passcode lock?

If a passcode lock is set, data entered in the app can only be displayed after entering the passcode. Thus this protects against unwanted looks at your data, once your device is in some other person's hands.

The passcode lock is designed in a way which allows you to unlock yourself! Therefore, the protection won't last very long - with a bit of time and a computer, the protection can be removed.

In order to protect your data (not only in Expense Tool) more secure, it is recommended to activate the passcode lock of the iOS device! This will additionally secure access of all data and files stored on your iOS device.

How to dis/enable the passcode lock?

Navigate to the Settings (Gear-Icon in the List of Expense Sets).
Choose: Passcode Lock.
Now you can set/change a passcode or deactive the passcode lock.

I forgot the passcode - what to do?

The passcode lock is designed in a way which allows you to unlock yourself!

Once you've entered a wrong passcode for 6 times, you'll get an Alert with a link to these FAQ.
From now on it is possible for you to reset the passcode.

Follow these steps to reset the passcode:

The passcode needs to be entered wrongly at least 6 times.
Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer. On Mac (macOS 10.15 Catalina or later) open Finder and select your device in the sidebar. On Windows use the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older systems).
Switch to the Files tab (in iTunes: the Apps tab, then scroll to File Sharing).
Choose Expense Tool in the list.
You'll see the list of documents (on the right). There is a document with filename lock.txt.
Drag-and-Drop the text-document lock.txt to your desktop (or some other folder).
Follow the instructions in the text-document.

Hint: Copy the text to your device. You can do that by sending it via E-Mail or using the Notes app.