Expenses
Parents | Website
Expenses on OurFamilyWizard creates one central, secure location for managing shared parenting expense documentation, reimbursement requests, and payments.
When both parents are working off of one shared expenses list, everyone stays on the same page about co-parenting costs. Expenses gives parents equal access to create entries, initiate payments, view totals, generate reports, and more.
Expenses FAQs
Understand the basics of how OurFamilyWizard Expenses works with these frequently asked questions.
Will my co-parent be able to see the expenses I entered?
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Your co-parent will be able to view any expenses that you have entered and have not marked as private. If you check the "Private" box when creating a new expense, it will only be viewable to you.
What happens after I create a new expense reimbursement request?
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Your co-parent will be able to view your request and approve or refuse it. Approved expenses will add to your 'Is Owed' total and will be eligible have payments initiated to satisfy them. Refused expenses will not be included in this total.
I received a notification that my co-parent created a new expense. How do I find it?
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- Sign into your OurFamilyWizard account and navigate to Expenses. In the Expense Log, your expenses will default to be sorted by created date. Any new expenses created by your co-parent that are waiting for your response will have the status of "Open", and you will have the option to approve or refuse that expense.
What's the difference between the payment methods "Check/Other" and "OFWpay"?
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- There are two ways of documenting payments and reimbursements made between co-parents. You can note when payments are made and received through means outside of OurFamilyWizard or you can use an OFWpay™ account to make documented electronic payments on OurFamilyWizard.
Check/Other: Select this payment method if you are making your payment by any means outside of OurFamilyWizard: cash, check, money order, etc. Once you submit a 'Check/Other' payment, your co-parent can confirm when they've received it. Once it has been confirmed, the status of the applicable expense will be updated to "Paid."
OFWpay: OFWpay is the online transaction system integrated with your OurFamilyWizard account. Using OFWpay, you and your co-parent can send and receive secure electronic payments that the site will thoroughly document for you.
- There are two ways of documenting payments and reimbursements made between co-parents. You can note when payments are made and received through means outside of OurFamilyWizard or you can use an OFWpay™ account to make documented electronic payments on OurFamilyWizard.
Expenses
Document your shared expenses in the Expense Log to maintain an accurate log of child-related spending. Both parents can add expenses anytime as either reimbursement requests or expenses they need to pay.
Use these tutorials to get a handle on the basics of Expenses entries:
Categories
Expense categories will break down the total amount of an expense based on how much each parent is responsible for paying based on the type of cost.
Expenses includes four default categories that are optional for you to use. You can also create custom categories that will break down expenses based on your specific ratios of responsibility for specific costs.
> Get a detailed walkthrough of managing expense categories.
Payments and Reimbursements
Record your incoming and outgoing payments for shared parenting expenses. You can use OFWpay™ to facilitate secure money transfers for payments, or you can document payments made through means outside of OurFamilyWizard.
Marking an Expense as Reimbursed
If you have received full reimbursement for an expense through means other than OFWpay™, you can mark it as such without waiting for your co-parent to document the payment.
> Learn how to mark an expense as reimbursed through the OurFamilyWizard website
Payments
When documenting payments through OurFamilyWizard, you have two options. You can either create an OFWpay™ account to make payments directly through OurFamilyWizard. Or you can enter payments made via other means, such as sending a check to your co-parent, and your co-parent can then confirm receipt of funds once they have received them.
> Learn how to create an OFWpay™ account for clear and documented payments