Tips for using Cozi to Manage Bills and Recurring Expenses

​Managing bills and recurring expenses can be a daunting task for anyone. But keeping track of due dates and amounts owed has a big payoff-peace of mind that you'll have fewer missed payments and late fees. We’ve heard from families who use Cozi to stay on top of bills and recurring expenses, and here are tips for managing them in your own Cozi account.

Add “Bills” as a family member to track and remember important due dates 

If you can spare a slot for a family member (Cozi gives you up to 12 family members!) consider setting up Bills with its own color code to help you track bills. For example, you may need to pay rent or childcare on the first of every month, or you may need to remember to pay an outstanding balance, such as on a credit card. When you create an event, such as “Pay Rent,” you can assign the event to Bills for the first of the month. Then, the next time the first of the month rolls around, your Cozi Home Screen will show you at a glance that rent is due. 

Get reminders when an event for “Bills” is due

To get an email or device notification when your bill is due, follow these steps:

• For email notifications: When you add Bills as a family member, add your own email address and make sure "by email" is checked under "Receive reminders about calendar events." When the first of the month rolls around, you'll get an email reminder for the "Pay Rent" event.
• For device notifications: Add yourself as an attendee when you create events for Bills. Make sure that you are set up to receive device notifications by checking “on device” under “Receive reminders about calendar events” in your own Family Member settings.

Do even more with “Bills”

There are a few other ways that setting up Bills as a family member can be helpful—you might even discover more! 

• Accumulate a record of payments or services as you go: If you make a one-time payment, such as to replace the tires on your car, add the repair as an event to Cozi with your Bills family member as an attendee. That way, you'll always have a handy history of services and payments,
• Use Event Notes for important details: Add any transaction or confirmation numbers in the Notes section of the event in case you need to reference that at a future date.
• Create an event for incoming income: Set up events such as paydays and invite Bills as a family member to these, too. You'll have a record of incoming funds so you can see a view of money coming in as well as going out.
• Use Calendar Filters for a simple view of just the Bills. From Calendar view, use the Filter to narrow down to Bills to see all the bills paid (recurring or one-time) alongside paydays, if you choose to set those up as well.

Set up recurring payments as events in your Calendar 

If you have a consistent, recurring date for payments, Cozi can help. For example, if you pay the gardener on the first Monday of every month, you can set up the event to occur by using "Repeats." You can find Repeats on the New event screen below the Starts and Ends date and time.  

When setting up your event to pay the gardener, set up the first date the payment is due for both the Start and End date. Then go on to provide your recurrence details through the Repeats functionality.  

There you have it! We hope these tips are a helpful addition to the organization that Cozi already brings to your busy schedule.