Test a Chore App With Five Tasks: A Family Evaluation Template
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni6 min read
One way to find out if the free version of a chore app suits your family is to pick five different tasks. Then follow each one through a full round. A full round means the task is set up, your child does it and marks it done, and you approve it if approval is enabled for that task. For each task, write down two things: how much work it was for you, and how well your child understood the task. Keep those two notes apart. After a week or two, use your notes to assess whether to keep your setup, simplify it or expand it.
Five tasks isn't a random number. The free version of Kroni covers one child and five active tasks. So this test fits the limit exactly, and you can see how the app handles a busy week before you add anything more.
Why five different tasks tell you more than five similar ones
If all five tasks are daily and paid, you're really testing one thing five times. That says little about how the app handles the rest of family life. Pick tasks that differ on these points instead:
- Paid or unpaid. At least one task should earn virtual coins. At least one should be a normal responsibility with no reward. Unpaid tasks still count toward the five.
- Frequency. Include one daily task, one weekly task and one that happens only once.
- How clear the result is. An empty dishwasher is easy to check. "Clean your room" can mean many things.
- Who takes the initiative. Your child remembers some tasks without help. Others need a reminder from you.
Not sure what fits your child's age? Browse the list of what kids can do at home by age for ideas. You know your child best, so choose based on them, not only on their age.
Filled-in example: five deliberately different tasks
The family below is made up. Emil is 9, and the amounts are only examples of virtual coins, not recommended rates.
| # | Task | Type | Frequency | Example reward | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empty the dishwasher | Regular responsibility | Daily | None (0) | Whether an unpaid task gets taken as seriously |
| 2 | Vacuum the living room | Paid extra | Every Saturday | $2 (virtual) | Weekly rhythm, and whether you get to approvals in time |
| 3 | Water the plants | Regular responsibility | Monday and Thursday | None (0) | Tasks on set days |
| 4 | Clean out the inside of the car | Paid extra | One time | $4 (virtual) | A one-off task with a clear end result |
| 5 | Pack the gym bag the night before | Regular responsibility | Tuesday evening | None (0) | Whether your child remembers without a reminder |
The example has three unpaid tasks and two paid ones. That way you can see whether the app works for everyday responsibilities too, not just for earning coins. Necessities like clothes, food and school supplies are still the adults' job. Putting something in an app doesn't change that.
One full round per task: what to watch for
Follow the same round for each task:
- Setup. How long does it take you to add the task? Do you understand the payment and approval settings yourself?
- Your child finds the task. Can they find it without help, on their own device or a shared family device?
- Your child marks it done. Does that happen when the task is actually finished, or before?
- You approve when required. For tasks with approval enabled, do you notice that something is waiting for you? Does the approval sit there for days?
- The balance. Does the virtual balance match what you agreed?
Here's how that looks in Kroni. You add a task and choose whether it earns coins. Your child marks it done, and you approve it if you've set tasks to need approval. The virtual balance then updates, and your child can save toward one or more savings goals. The app doesn't move any real money. If coins are swapped for cash or a transfer, you do that yourself outside the app, the way you've agreed.
Observation worksheet (copy and fill in)
Write in your five tasks and fill in the rows as you go. The columns are blank on purpose. Write what actually happened, not what you hope will happen.
| Task | Effort for you (setup, reminders, approval) | Child's understanding (what, when, how well) | Recorded correctly? (marked, approved, balance) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||||
| 2. | ||||
| 3. | ||||
| 4. | ||||
| 5. |
Tips for filling it in:
- Under effort for you, be specific. For example: "three minutes to set up, forgot to approve until Sunday."
- Under child's understanding, note what your child said or did. For example: "asked what counts as finished."
- Under recorded correctly, check whether what the app shows matches what happened at home.
Keeping your effort and your child's understanding separate matters. A task can be easy for your child and hard work for you, or the other way around. If you merge them into one score, you won't know what to change.
Keep, simplify or expand?
Once all five tasks have gone through at least one round, go through the worksheet row by row.
Keep the task if your child understood it, the records matched and it didn't take more of your time than before.
Simplify the task if it was unclear. "Clean out the car" could become "collect trash and bottles from the car." If approvals often sat waiting, think about whether that task needs approval at all, or whether a regular Sunday review would work better. Closing a week doesn't approve tasks or pay anything by itself. Tasks that require approval still need an adult's review, and real money is paid outside the app.
Expand the setup only when the five tasks run without much fuss. Then think about what's actually missing: more tasks, more children or a different reward plan. If you want to think through how rewards should connect to effort, read what works in a reward system for kids.
Two things to keep in mind as you decide:
- This test covers one app in your own daily life. If you want to compare two apps, use the same five tasks over the same period for both. Otherwise the comparison won't be fair.
- Five tasks isn't enough for every family, and that's not the goal. The point is to check that the foundation holds before you add everything.
Get started this week
- Today: Pick five tasks using the example table, with at least one paid and one unpaid.
- Tomorrow: Add them and show your child where to find them. Agree on what "done" means for each one.
- Rest of the week: Fill in one row of the worksheet each time a task completes a full round.
- Sunday: Go through the worksheet with your child and decide what to keep, simplify or expand.
Frequently asked questions
- Do unpaid tasks count toward the five in the free version?
- Yes. The free version covers one child and five active tasks, and a task with no coins counts as one of the five. So choose on purpose which unpaid tasks to include in your test.
- How long should we test before deciding?
- Let each of the five tasks go through at least one full round before reviewing the setup. For a weekly task, that can mean a week or two. Base your decision on what's in the worksheet, not on a fixed date.
- Does the app pay out real money when my child earns coins?
- No. Kroni only shows a virtual balance and isn't connected to a bank. If coins are swapped for cash or a transfer, parents handle that themselves outside the app, as the family has agreed.
