Record who paid for an expense
Set the "Paid by" field on an expense so the cost feeds your balances, then read the "Who paid what" summary and clear the no-payer nudge.
Settle up can only work out who owes whom if it knows who actually paid for each thing. The Paid by field on an expense records that — and it's the single input that turns a cost into a balance.
Who can do what: anyone on the trip can see who paid for what. Setting or changing the payer on an expense needs edit access to that plan — organizers always have it, and the trip owner can grant it to other crew. organizer
Setting who paid
Open the expense (a budget plan) and find the PAID BY row. Unset, it reads Set who paid with a hint like "Tap to record — e.g. you".
- 1Open the expense's detail or edit sheet on the Budget tab.
- 2Tap the PAID BY row (Set who paid).
- 3In the Who paid? picker (💳), choose any trip participant.
- 4The row now shows that person's avatar, name, and the amount — the cost is now feeding your balances.
The hint points at you as a likely payer, but nothing is selected until you tap a person — so pick anyone on the trip, whoever actually fronted the cost.
A small disclaimer under the row makes the scope clear: "Records who paid — Limbo doesn't move money." You're keeping a record, not running a transfer.
Note
One payer per expense, for now. Picking a new payer replaces the existing one rather than adding a second. (Splitting a single bill across two payers is a future addition.) The picker also needs a positive amount to attach the payment to — if the expense has no cost yet, set its cost first.
The "Who paid what" summary
Inside the Settle up sheet, the WHO PAID WHAT section lists every confirmed expense that has a payer on record:
- The expense name, Paid by Alex, and the amount in green.
- Only confirmed plans with a real cost and a recorded payment show here — so the list is exactly the money that's actually counted toward balances.
The no-payer nudge
If some confirmed expenses still have no payer set, Settle up shows an italic nudge, like:
2 expenses have no payer yet — set who paid on each item.
That's your cue: those costs aren't in the balances yet. Open each one and set its Paid by row to fold it into the ledger. The nudge counts only confirmed expenses that have a cost but no recorded payer — so once you've covered them all, it disappears.
Tip
Setting who paid works offline. It rides the normal plan-update path, so the change applies instantly and syncs when you're back online — even mid-flight. Just note that creating a brand-new expense offline isn't supported yet; you can set who paid on expenses that already exist. See Working offline.
Permissions
- See who paid what and the no-payer nudge: every crew member. member
- Set or change the payer on an expense: anyone who can edit that plan. organizer
Related articles
Settle up: who owes whom
See your position at a glance, read the minimal "who owes whom" list, and settle a payback right from the row — balances stay honest because they're derived, never stored.
Record a settlement
Mark a payback as settled — amount, an optional method and note — see it land in settlement history, and undo it if you got it wrong. Limbo keeps the record; it never moves the money.
Track costs
Put a cost on any plan, add standalone budget items in any currency, and watch the trip total build itself.
Split costs
Turn on cost splitting in the crew sheet, choose equal or custom percentages, and override the split per item.
Divvy up the work
Pitch In is your trip's shared to-do list — add the big jobs, watch the "X of N claimed" progress fill in, and see every task move from up-for-grabs to done.