Shared Expenses
Reading Time: 5-6 minutes
Overview
Learn about Shared Expenses in Akili Apps for effective team collaboration on expense tracking and financial management.
What You'll Learn
- Setting up team collaboration
- Managing team member access
- Collaboration features and workflows
- Best practices for team use
Team Collaboration Overview
Akili Apps supports team collaboration through:
- Organization accounts
- Multiple team members
- Role-based permissions
- Shared expense tracking
- Approval workflows
- Centralized reporting
Available On: Plus and Professional plans
Getting Started
Creating an Organization
- Navigate to Settings > Organization
- Click Create Organization
- Enter organization details:
- Organization name
- Business type
- Tax identification
- Click Create
- You become the organization owner
Converting Personal to Organization
If you have a personal account:
- Go to Settings > Organization
- Click Upgrade to Organization
- Confirm conversion
- Your data transfers to organization
- You become the owner
Team Member Management
Inviting Team Members
Step 1: Send Invitation
- Go to Settings > Team Members
- Click Invite Member
- Enter email address
- Select role (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer)
- Add personal message (optional)
- Click Send Invitation
Step 2: Member Receives Email
- Invitation email sent
- Contains secure signup link
- Link valid for 7 days
Step 3: Member Accepts
- Clicks link in email
- Creates account or logs in
- Accepts invitation
- Gets access immediately
Managing Team Members
View Team List:
- See all team members
- View roles and permissions
- See last activity
- Invitation status
Edit Member:
- Change role
- Update permissions
- Resend invitation
- Remove from team
Removing Team Members
- Go to Team Members
- Click on member to remove
- Click Remove Member
- Confirm removal
- Member loses access immediately
- Their contributed data remains
Roles and Permissions
Owner
Full Access:
- All features and data
- Manage team members
- Change subscription
- Access billing
- Delete organization
Limits: Only one owner per organization
Admin
Nearly Full Access:
- View and manage all expenses
- Invite team members (not owners)
- Configure settings
- Generate reports
- Cannot delete organization
Best For: Finance managers, office managers
Member
Standard Access:
- Create and edit own expenses
- Upload own receipts
- View team expenses (if enabled)
- Submit for approval
- Cannot manage team
Best For: Employees, contractors
Viewer
Read-Only Access:
- View expenses and reports
- Export data
- Cannot create or edit
- Cannot invite members
Best For: Accountants, bookkeepers, consultants
Custom Roles (Professional Plan)
Create custom roles with specific permissions:
- Define exact capabilities
- Mix and match permissions
- Apply to multiple members
- Update role affects all assigned members
Collaboration Features
Shared Expense Tracking
All Team Members Can:
- View organization's expenses (based on permissions)
- See who created each expense
- Add notes and comments
- Attach receipts
- Categorize consistently
Visibility Settings:
- Public: All team members see
- Private: Only creator and admins see
- Department: Only department members see
Expense Approvals
Workflow Setup:
- Enable approvals in Settings > Workflows
- Set approval rules:
- Expenses over require approval
- Specific categories need approval
- All expenses require approval
- Assign approvers
Approval Process:
- Member creates expense
- Submits for approval
- Approver receives notification
- Reviews expense and receipt
- Approves or rejects with notes
- Member notified of decision
Team Reports
Consolidated Reporting:
- View expenses from all team members
- Filter by member, department, date
- See team spending patterns
- Export for accounting
- Share with management
Communication
Built-in Features:
- Comment on expenses
- @ mention team members
- Notification system
- Activity feed
Best Practices
Team Setup
- Define Roles Clearly: Match roles to responsibilities
- Start Small: Invite a few members, test workflow
- Document Policies: Create expense policy document
- Training: Train team on proper use
- Regular Reviews: Review team permissions quarterly
Expense Management
- Consistent Categories: Use same categories team-wide
- Clear Naming: Descriptive expense names
- Timely Entry: Enter expenses promptly
- Receipt Requirements: Always attach receipts
- Approval Timeliness: Approve/reject within 48 hours
Security
- Principle of Least Privilege: Give minimum necessary access
- Regular Audits: Review team access quarterly
- Offboarding: Remove access immediately when someone leaves
- Strong Passwords: Enforce password requirements
- Enable 2FA: Require two-factor authentication
Billing and Subscription
How Team Billing Works
- Per-Seat Pricing: Pay per active team member
- Owner Pays: Organization owner's payment method charged
- Automatic Adjustments: Adding/removing members adjusts bill
- Proration: Partial months prorated
Seat Management
Adding Seats:
- Invite new member
- Seat added automatically
- Charged at next billing cycle
Removing Seats:
- Remove team member
- Seat released
- Credit applied to next bill
Common Questions
Q: How many team members can I add?
Depends on plan. Plus: up to 5, Professional: up to 50, Enterprise: unlimited.
Q: Can team members see each other's expenses?
Depends on role and visibility settings. Configure in organization settings.
Q: What happens to expenses when a member leaves?
Their expenses remain in the organization. Can reassign ownership if needed.
Q: Can I have multiple organizations?
Yes, switch between organizations from account dropdown.
Q: Do team members need separate subscriptions?
No, they're included in organization subscription.
Q: Can I limit access by date range?
Not directly. Use role permissions to control what members can view/edit.
Q: How do I transfer ownership?
Contact support to transfer organization ownership.
Related Articles
Need Help?
Email: support@akiliapps.com
Documentation: help.akiliapps.com/teams
Akili Apps - Intelligent Expense Tracking for Canadian Businesses