People & Balance Visibility

Households often share some spending while keeping other accounts private.

Nobleway separates People from Workspace members so you can tag who a purchase was for, and control which balances each login can see.

People vs. Workspace Members

A person is a profile for someone in the household finances.

• Children or relatives who will never log in can still have a profile (for example, Emma or Daniel).
• When you record a transaction, you can assign a person to show who made the purchase or who it was for.
• Accounts can be linked to one or more people to show who uses them.

A workspace member signs in to Nobleway.

• Members use their email address.
• A member is an Owner, Admin, or Member.
• Owner: one per household. Invites, settings, family keys, and transferring ownership. Cannot leave until ownership is transferred.
• Admin: same household management access as the owner (invites, settings, family keys).
• Member: view, add, and edit records.
• Every member is linked to their own person profile.

How Account Balances Are Revealed or Hidden

Partners often share a checking account but keep a personal card private. That is controlled by which people are linked to the account.

The balance visibility rule

• Visible: You see the current balance only if your linked person profile is associated with that account.
• Masked (-): If the account is not linked to you, the list still shows the account (so you can pick it on a shared transaction), but the amount is hidden.
• Net worth: Dashboard net worth includes only accounts whose balances you can see.

How to Reveal a Hidden Account Balance

If a balance shows -, or Dashboard net worth looks incomplete:

1. Open People (/app/people).
2. Find the person profile for the logged-in member.
3. Click Edit.
4. Under Associated accounts, check each account that person should see.
5. Click Save person.

Then return to Accounts (/app/accounts) or the Dashboard (/app). Visible balances and net worth update right away.

Private Aliases for Capture

On People, each member can set a personal alias for household participants.

• Why: In Natural-Language Capture you might type "paid 50 for mom's prescription" while someone else types "paid 50 for Sarah's medicine".
• Private to you: Aliases help map your everyday wording to the shared person name.
• Shared names: The official person name (for example, Sarah) is what appears on transactions, query results, and exports.

Best Practices for Household Setup

1. Start with the people who share the books: On People, make sure both partners have profiles.
2. Link joint accounts to both: Shared checking or a joint card should be associated with both people so both see the balance.
3. Link personal accounts to one: Personal cards or separate banks stay linked only to the owner.
4. Invite when ready: You can add person profiles on day one. When a partner needs a login, invite them from Settings → Household members (/app/settings/workspace). The invite link works like a key: anyone who opens it while signed in can join. Share it only with people you trust. Linking the login to the existing person profile keeps names consistent.

Members of a household share the ledger: transactions, query totals, and exports. Account balances and net worth stay hidden unless that person’s profile is linked to the account. Masked balances are not a private ledger.

Next Steps

• Set up accounts and starting amounts: Accounts & Opening Balances.
• Enter transactions in everyday speech: Natural-Language Capture.
• Ask questions about household spending: Asking Questions.