Switching Chore Apps: A Checklist to Keep Your Family's Agreements
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni7 min read
Before you switch chore apps, write down four things: which chores are active and when they happen, which rewards your kids have been promised, how much you still owe them, and which chores are waiting for approval. Badges, streaks and old history belong to the old app. The agreements belong to your family. Enter the agreements by hand in the new app, test the setup for a week, and pick one fixed date when the old app stops counting.
The rest of this article walks through how to do it. You'll find a filled-in example and a blank checklist you can print.
What's an agreement, and what's just the app?
After using an app for a while, a lot piles up inside it. Not all of it needs to move with you. Sort it into two piles.
Agreements to keep:
- Active chores: what needs doing, by whom and how often
- Set days and times, such as "trash on Tuesday and Friday"
- Whether each chore is paid or unpaid, and how much it pays
- Rewards you've promised, and what it takes to earn them
- Money you owe your kids but haven't paid yet
- Chores marked done that no adult has checked yet
- Savings goals your kids are working toward
Things that belong to the old app:
- Badges, trophies and streaks
- Stats and charts
- Long history of what was done months ago
Kids can be upset when a streak disappears. Say it clearly ahead of time: "The badges won't come with us, but everything you've earned and everything we've promised you will." That second part is what matters for trust.
Step 1: Make an overview before you change anything
Don't delete, pause or edit anything in the old app until the overview is done. Set aside half an hour one evening. Include your kids if they're old enough to have opinions about what was agreed. They often remember promises better than the adults do.
Here's a filled-in example from a made-up family. The amounts are only examples, not recommended rates.
Example: The Berg family (fictional), Ida, 11, and Jonas, 8
| Type | What | Who | When | Payment (example) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chore | Empty the dishwasher | Ida | Mon, Wed, Fri | $1 each time | Active |
| Chore | Feed the cat | Jonas | Every morning | Unpaid | Active |
| Chore | Take out the trash | Ida | Tuesday | $0.50 | Active |
| Pending | Tidy bedroom | Jonas | Marked done Saturday | $1.50 | Not approved |
| Owed | Last week's allowance | Ida | $4 | Not paid | |
| Savings goal | New bike wheel | Jonas | Goal $20 | $12 saved | |
| Promise | Movie trip with a parent | Ida | After 8 weeks of dishwasher duty | 5 of 8 weeks |
The overview shows three things that easily get lost in a switch: Jonas's bedroom waiting for approval, the $4 owed to Ida, and the movie trip that's more than halfway earned. None of them shows up as a "chore" in a normal list, but all of them are promises.
If you're not sure the chores still fit your kids' ages, this is a good moment to check them against what kids can do at home by age. Look at each child on their own, and try to change only one thing at a time.
Step 2: Enter the agreements by hand
Expect to re-enter everything manually. Don't assume anything can move automatically between two apps unless the new app says it can. If you only have a handful of active chores, it's less work than it sounds.
Here's how one agreement could look in Kroni: a parent creates the chore "Empty the dishwasher" for Ida, marks it as paid and sets it at, for example, $1 in virtual coins each time. Ida marks it done, and you choose whether an adult has to approve it before the amount lands in her balance. The movie trip can go in as a reward you've agreed on, and Jonas's bike wheel as a savings goal. You still pay real money outside the app, in cash or by bank transfer or a mobile payment app, just like before. The app only keeps track.
A few things to watch while you enter them:
- Use the same chore names as before. Your kids will recognize them, and it's easier to compare.
- Add promises with their progress. Note alongside the promise that Ida already has five of eight weeks, so she doesn't start from zero.
- Don't change rates at the same time. A new app and a new reward model at once gets confusing fast. If you want to adjust the system, read about how to set up a reward system for kids and treat it as a separate step later.
Working out the starting balance for each child in the new app is its own task. For now, it's enough to have written down what's owed.
Step 3: Choose a rule for when you switch
An easy mistake is double counting: a chore gets logged in both apps, or in neither. Fix it with one clear rule that everyone in the family knows.
Example switch rule: "Anything marked done before 8 p.m. Sunday gets approved or declined and settled in the old app. From Monday morning, we only log in the new one."
Before Sunday evening:
- Approve or decline everything waiting in the old app.
- Pay or write down what you owe.
- Take a photo of the overview or copy it out, so you have it even if the old app goes away.
Step 4: Test for a week before closing anything
Leave the old account untouched for the first week, but don't use it. That way you have something to look back at if there's a disagreement about what was agreed.
Check these after the test week:
- Did chores show up on the right days?
- Could your kids mark them done, for example on a shared family device?
- Did the right adult get notified to approve?
- Do the balance and savings goals match what you wrote down?
- Are all the promises from the overview entered?
When everything matches, you can close the old account. Also check who owns it. If the account or subscription is in the name of an adult who isn't part of the switch, that person needs to help close it.
Chore app switch checklist (copy and print)
Fill in the name of the adult responsible for each step, and add the date when it's done.
| Step | Responsible adult | Done (date) |
|---|---|---|
| Write down all active chores, who does them and which days | ||
| Note whether each chore is paid or unpaid, and the amount | ||
| Write down all promised rewards, with progress | ||
| Write down savings goals and how far along each child is | ||
| Note money you owe but haven't paid | ||
| Approve or decline everything pending in the old app | ||
| Tell your kids what's coming along and what isn't | ||
| Set a switch rule with a date and time | ||
| Enter chores, rewards and savings goals in the new app | ||
| Test for one week without using the old app | ||
| Compare the new app with your overview | ||
| Find out who owns the old account and subscription | ||
| Close the old account |
Keep the finished list together with your overview from Step 1. That way your agreements live in one place, whichever app you end up using.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we move everything automatically from the old app to the new one?
- Assume you'll need to enter the agreements by hand. Write active chores, set days, promises and money you owe in an overview and add them again. Badges and old history usually stay behind in the old app.
- What do we do with chores waiting for approval when we switch?
- Approve or decline them in the old app before the switch date, and pay or write down what you owe. With a fixed switch rule, like 8 p.m. Sunday, everyone knows which app counts for which chore.
- Should we change rates and chores at the same time as switching apps?
- Keeping the agreements the same during the switch is often easier. Your kids can see that nothing they've earned or been promised disappears. If you want to change rates or chores, do it as a separate step once the new app is part of your routine.
