Under "Advanced settings" in the expense form you'll find two options that most users rarely touch — but they deeply change how an expense behaves in the system:
- Auto-pay — for direct debits
- Custom reminder — to decide when (or whether) you get a notification
Auto-pay
Turn it on when the expense runs by itself on the due date: mortgage instalments, direct-debit utility bills, credit-card subscriptions, insurance premiums on auto-renewal.
What changes
An expense with auto-pay is born already with paid status and the
paid date set equal to the due date. On the calendar and in reports
you'll see it as "scheduled" (greyed out) until the actual due
date, because until the bank has moved the money, it isn't really
out yet. From the due date onwards the status flips to "paid"
automatically — no click required.
The practical win
An auto-pay expense requires zero action from you: you don't have to remember to mark it as paid. On the calendar it carries a ⚡ (lightning) icon, so at a glance you know it's one of the "runs by itself" rows.
When NOT to use it
- Bills you pay manually (bank transfer, online portal, cash): those stay as normal scheduled expenses that you mark as paid when you do.
- Variable-amount expenses you want to review before paying (e.g. credit-card balance): keep it as a normal expense and mark it when the statement arrives.
Custom reminder (notification)
By default, every scheduled expense sends a reminder email 3 days before the due date to the assigned people. But you can:
- Change the lead time — from 1 to 30 days before. A bill you always pay on time only needs 1 day; a yearly tax in late June is worth flagging 10 days out.
- Turn the notification off — for auto-pay expenses you don't need a reminder; or for recurring expenses you always handle on the same day of the month and don't need an alert for.
Where to find it
Always under "Advanced settings" in the expense form, in the Notification section. Two controls:
- Notification on/off (toggle) — if off, no email for this expense, ever. Not on the due date, not if it goes overdue.
- Lead days — slider or numeric input, from 1 to 30.
What happens when you disable it
The expense stays visible everywhere else in FamSpend (calendar, home, reports, budget-health dashboards). The only thing that changes is you don't get the email. It's useful when the expense is "notification noise" but substantive in totals (e.g. all the monthly Netflix instalments — I know they're going out, I don't need the alert).
Typical combinations
| Expense | Auto-pay | Notification | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage instalment | ON | OFF | Runs by itself, no alert needed |
| Variable-amount utility bill | ON | ON (1 day) | Direct debit but I want to know how much |
| Rent paid by manual transfer | OFF | ON (3 days) | I need to remember |
| Weekly groceries | OFF | OFF | I mark it when it happens |
These settings can be changed any time by opening the expense and going back into "Advanced settings".