01
Set tonight’s house
A typical week, plus tap-to-override. Paid chores credit that house’s parent — and only that parent.
Family setup guide
Night one through the rest of the week.
Create a family, add a kid, write both codes, and run tonight’s list. Then money, two houses, and the kitchen — matching how the product actually works.
All guides · Print this page or keep the PDF on the fridge.
Contents
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The deal
Three beats. Then the evening is quieter.
02
Basics first
Unpaid jobs are the gate. When they’re done, paid chores light up and the kid can earn. No shortcuts.
03
Pay what’s fair
Payouts unlock after $50 kept. You pay your own line. Changing who is primary later does not rewrite the past.
Basics never pay. They’re the gate. Paid jobs light up after. You only pay your house.
Step 1 · About ten minutes
Create a family
On itschoretime.com/register. You must be 18 or older and a parent or guardian (or have authority from one).
- Your name — what kids and a co-parent see.
- Email — we send a confirm link so password resets and notices can reach you. You can still add a kid tonight before you click it. The link lasts two days.
- Password — at least 10 characters.
- Family name — for example, The Riveras.
- This house’s name — for example, Mom’s house. If you leave it blank, we use your first name plus “’s house”.
- Timezone — detected from this device. One household clock for tonight, quiet hours, and evening mail. Change it later in Settings if you need to.
Creating a family means you agree to the Terms and Privacy pages. Early access: no credit card, no charge today.
If that email already has a parent account, sign in instead. We rate-limit new families from one network.
Night one · Step 1 of 2
Add a kid
Empty families land on this screen. Pick a name, a color, and their own 4–6 digit code. Starter chores are assigned at every house.
- The code is digits only. Not 0000, 1234, or a repeating/sequential run. Unique to this kid.
- Younger list (the default): four basics and three paid jobs — easier to finish tonight.
- Full starter: the whole catalog. Turn jobs off later on Chores if you don’t use them.
You can skip for tonight and add them from Kids later. Skipping still lets you into parent Home.
Full starter adds more unpaid jobs (hamper, backpack, devices, night brush) and more paid jobs (dishwasher, vacuum, walk the dog, and the rest of the catalog). Amounts are in real dollars. You can change prices later.
Night one · Step 2 of 2
Write both codes down
Kids type the family code plus their own code. No email. The kid code is shown this once — copy it or print the card.
- Family code looks like 7K2M-9QPD (eight characters, easy to read aloud).
- Print an unlock card for the fridge. Huge type. Codes you just set print in full; older codes are write-in blanks.
- Add another kid from this same screen. Each kid needs their own code.
- Invite a co-parent if the week splits. Joining creates house 2. The invite lasts seven days.
- Open kid unlock with the family code already filled. Then go to parent Home.
If you already left this screen, set a new kid code on their page under Kids. We store codes hashed, not as plain digits.
Step 2 of 2
Night one
Write these down
Family code
7K2M-9QPD
Sam’s code
4821
Shown this once. We do not email it.
For kids
Two codes. Big buttons. A list they can finish.
On itschoretime.com/kid/unlock. Family code, then their code. No email, no app store, no tiny type.
- Parent and kid sessions can both stay signed in on the same phone.
- First visit, a three-step tour: basics on the left, paid on the right, money shows who owes them.
- Add Today to the home screen so they don’t hunt for the site tomorrow. iPhone: Share → Add to Home Screen. Android: browser menu → Add to Home screen.
- If you have more than one kid, they can switch. One kid hides that control.
- A Listen button reads a chore aloud.
Tonight’s list
Required basics unlock paid. Yesterday stays yesterday.
On each kid’s page you pick which unpaid jobs are required to unlock paid. Extra assigned basics stay on Plan — still there, not the gate. Drag the order. Excuse basics for one day if you need to.
- If you don’t pick a required set, every assigned basic is required.
- Past days on the chore log keep the list from that day. Later edits do not rewrite Tuesday.
- A deleted chore still shows as a ghost if they already checked it off.
- Add a one-night job from the log when something extra comes up.
- Complete, undo, or excuse from the parent side — including a past-day log.
For parents
Tonight’s house. What you owe. Kid cards you can act on.
Parent Home is calm on purpose. You see who is where, what you currently owe, and whether basics are done — without turning the month into a scoreboard.
- Kid cards: basics N/M, dollars today, Praise, and Pay when a payout is unlocked.
- Open “ask to get paid” requests sit at the top.
- Tap a day on the week strip to override tonight’s house (once you have two houses).
- Bottom nav: Home, Chores, Money, Fairness (two parents), More.
- More holds Kids, Schedule, Goal jars, Settings, fridge print, unlock card, kitchen kiosk, and a JSON export.
Money
Save, spend, donate — a picture of the same pile.
There aren’t extra wallets to keep in sync. The open balance is the truth. Save / spend / donate is how it looks (default 50 / 40 / 10). Goal jars fill from that same unpaid pile, and drop when you pay out.
- Payouts stay locked until the kid has kept $50 earned (you can change the amount in Settings). Then you pay what you still owe.
- You mark how you paid: cash, Venmo, Zelle, or other. The app does not move bank money.
- Kids tap Ask to get paid on their money page. It lands on parent Home as a Pay chip.
- If a paid chore gets unchecked, the money comes off the tab.
- Each parent only owes what was earned at their house. Paying yours does not change the other parent’s line.
Two-house families
Two homes. One list. Money that doesn’t get tangled.
Invite from the codes screen or Settings. A family has at most two parents. The invite lasts seven days. Joining creates house 2, or takes primary on a house that’s waiting.
Each parent only owes what was earned at their house.
- Typical week plus date overrides, or an optional two-week custody rotation on Schedule.
- Handoff notes the kids actually see. A packing list for switch day.
- Fairness stays a calm monthly snapshot — not a contest about who did more. The Fairness tab shows once there are two parents.
- Changing who is primary later does not rewrite chores already credited.
Kitchen and the rest of the week
A tablet on the counter. A print on the fridge.
Tonight can happen in the kitchen, not only on a parent’s phone.
Kitchen tablet
Kiosk
Open /kiosk on a shared tablet. Big name buttons. The screen can stay awake. After a list is done it returns to “Who’s up?”
Fridge
Print the week
A one-page checklist with boxes. Pencil works. Daily jobs as checkboxes, weekly jobs listed once.
Unlock card
Huge type
Family code always. Kid codes you just set print in full. Older codes are blanks to write in.
Goal jars
Reached, then keep
Jars fill from the unpaid pile. Full jars move to Goals reached. Keep one after a payout so it doesn’t vanish.
Sibling race
Your own list
Optional, once you have two kids. Each kid races their own basics. Finish and it says you did it. Nobody wears a loser crown.
Chores
Catalog
Turn jobs on or off, change amounts, assign per kid, add a custom chore. Kind (basic or paid) stays put — basics never pay.
Settings
Three pauses, optional two-factor, a way out.
Kid mode
Pause kid mode
Kids see a paused screen. The kitchen kiosk is locked. Completions wait until you uncheck it.
Clock
Quiet hours
Park kid screens in a window, even overnight. Completions still settle after midnight. Kiosk is not locked by quiet hours.
Family
Pause this family
Soft disable. Data stays. Re-enable in Settings. Separate from the two kid-screen pauses.
Sign-in
Authenticator
Optional, for that parent login only. After the password, a 6-digit app code. Kid unlock stays family code plus PIN. Write the recovery codes down.
Records
Export JSON
A full family download from More or Settings, for your records.
Leave
Delete the family
Type the family name. Removes parents, kids, chores, money, and sign-ins. A co-parent loses access too. Export first if you want a copy.
Hide a kid if they should leave kid mode and Home but you still need the ledger for two-house books. Hard delete is a separate typed-name action on their page.
First week
A checklist you can actually finish.
- Confirm the parent email Use the link we sent, or resend from the banner. You can still run tonight without it; resets and notices need it.
- Write both codes — or print the unlock card Family code plus each kid’s code. We do not email those.
- Unlock once on their device Add Today to the home screen so tomorrow is one tap.
- Finish tonight’s basics Paid jobs should light up. If the list is too long, switch that kid to the younger required set on their page.
- Turn off chores you don’t use On Chores. Keep the gate small enough to finish.
- Invite a co-parent if the week splits Then set the typical week on Schedule. Tap a day on Home when plans change.
- Print the week for the fridge Optional. Pencil still works on a night the tablet is elsewhere.
- Optional: quiet hours, authenticator, goal jars, sibling race None of these are required for night one.
If you get stuck
Email us. Don’t send the codes.
Questions, a stuck household, a privacy or COPPA request, or a copy or deletion when you cannot sign in: hello@itschoretime.com.
- Put “Privacy,” “COPPA,” or “Delete” in the subject when that is what you need.
- If a kid code leaks, set a new one on their page. Do not email the old one unless we ask.
- Forgot parent password: /forgot — that needs the confirmed email.
- Lost authenticator: use a recovery code, or email us from the parent address.
The deal, once more
Basics never pay. They’re the gate.
Paid jobs light up after.
You only pay your house.
Then they earn.
Tonight
Make this the first night it actually happens.
Create a family in a minute. Add a kid. Give them their code. Basics first — then they earn.