Family Star — How-To Guide

Download & Open

1. Download Family Star from the App Store.
2. Open the app and wait for the splash screen to finish.
3. Choose your role — tap "Parent" or "Child" on the welcome screen.

Set Up as a Parent

1. Tap "Parent" on the role selection screen.
2. Tap "Sign in with Apple" and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
3. Create a family — enter your family name and choose a currency (AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, and more).
4. Tap "Create Family" — you're ready to go.

Set Up as a Child

Children don't need an Apple ID — they join by scanning a QR code.

1. Tap "Child" on the role selection screen.
2. Tap "Scan QR Code" to open the camera.
3. Point the camera at the invite QR code on a parent's device.
4. Enter your name and tap "Let's Go!"

Invite a Second Parent Premium

1. On the primary parent's device, go to Settings → Invite Family.
2. Scroll to "Invite Second Parent" and show the QR code.
3. The second parent signs in with their own Apple ID, then taps "Join Existing Family" and scans the code.

Your Dashboard

The Parent Dashboard has five tabs:

How to Create a Chore

1. Tap the "+" button in the top-right corner of the Board tab.
2. Choose an icon from the icon picker.
3. Enter a title (e.g., "Clean your room").
4. Add a description (optional) with extra instructions.
5. Set the schedule — One-time, Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, or Monthly.
6. Set the reward — choose Money (enter an amount) or Other (describe the reward).
7. Set a deadline (optional) — toggle "Has Deadline" and pick a date/time.
8. Set difficulty (optional) — None, Easy, Medium, Hard, or Very Hard.
9. Add a checklist Premium — tap "Add Step" to add up to 20 items children must complete.
10. Require photo proof Premium — toggle on to require a photo submission.
11. Choose targeting — "Everyone" or select specific family members.
12. Tap "Create Chore" to publish.

The chore is immediately available on the Board for children to claim.

How to Approve a Chore

1. Open the Approvals tab.
2. Find the chore in the "Submitted" section.
3. Review the submission — check the description, photo proof (if any), and details.
4. Tap "Approve" (green) to confirm and credit the child's bank.
5. Or tap "Reject" (red) and enter a reason — the chore returns to the child to fix.

How to Handle Child Suggestions

Children can suggest chores they'd like to do. These appear in the "Suggestions" section of the Approvals tab.

1. Review the suggested title, description, and proposed reward.
2. Tap the pencil icon to edit details before approving (adjust reward, add steps).
3. Tap "Approve" to publish it to the Board, or "Reject" to decline.

How to Record a Payment

When you pay your child in real life (cash, bank transfer, etc.):

1. Open the Bank tab.
2. Tap "Record money paid" (orange button) on the child's card.
3. Enter the amount paid.
4. Add a note (e.g., "Pocket money — cash").
5. Tap "Pay" to confirm.

The child's balance decreases by the payment amount.

How to Add Extra Earnings

For tasks completed outside the app:

1. Tap "Record money earned" (green button) on the child's bank card.
2. Enter the amount.
3. Add a note (e.g., "Helped grandma in the garden").
4. Tap "Add" to confirm.

The balance increases immediately and appears as "Manual Earning" in transaction history.

How to Manage Children

Add a child manually (no device needed):

1. Go to Settings → Invite Family → Add Child Manually.
2. Enter the child's name and tap "Add".

Remove a child:

1. Go to Settings → Manage Children.
2. Swipe left on the child's name and tap "Delete".

Merge accounts (manual + QR):

1. Go to Settings → Manage Children → Merge Accounts.
2. Select the manual account and the QR account.
3. Tap "Merge Accounts" — balances, transactions, and history combine.

How to Filter the Chore Board

Swipe the filter bar at the top of the Board tab to narrow your view:

• •Available — Ready for children to claim
• •Claimed — In progress by a child
• •Submitted — Waiting for your approval
• •Approved — Awaiting payment
• •Suggested — Child suggestions
• •All — Everything

Your Dashboard

The Child Dashboard has four tabs:

How to Claim a Chore

1. Open the Board tab and browse available chores.
2. Tap a chore card to see full details (description, reward, deadline, checklist).
3. Tap "Claim This Chore" (green button).
4. Confirm your claim in the popup.

The chore moves to your My Chores tab. No one else can claim it while you're working on it.

How to Complete a Chore

Without a checklist:

1. Find the chore in My Chores.
2. Tap "Mark Done" to submit.

With a checklist:

1. Open the chore from My Chores.
2. Tap each checklist item as you finish it.
3. Once all items are checked, tap "Mark Done".

With photo proof required:

1. Tap "Submit with Photo".
2. Take a photo or choose one from your library.
3. Add multiple photos if needed.
4. Submit when ready.

After submitting, your chore moves to "Waiting for approval." Your parent will approve or reject it.

How to Suggest a Chore

1. Tap the lightbulb icon in the top-right of the Board tab.
2. Fill in the title, description, reward type, and amount.
3. Pick an icon.
4. Tap "Submit" to send to your parent.

Your parent can approve, edit, or reject the suggestion.

How to Check Your Bank

Open the My Bank tab to see:

• •Available balance — total amount owed to you
• •Earnings summary — this week, this month, and this year
• •Recent transactions — last 5 with colour-coded icons
• •Pending approval — submitted chores not yet approved (shown in orange)
• •Owed rewards — non-money rewards still to be given

Tap "See all Transactions" for your complete history with filters for Earnings, Payments, and Rewards.

How to Customise Your Profile

1. Open the Profile tab.
2. Tap "Edit" in the top-right.
3. Choose a new profile icon and background colour.
4. Change your display name if you'd like.
5. Tap "Save".

You can also switch between Light, Dark, or System theme in the Appearance section.

Free Plan

• •Basic chore creation and management
• •One parent account
• •Child bank and payment tracking
• •QR code invites

Premium Adds

• •Unlimited children
• •Progress Analytics dashboard
• •Photo proof on chores
• •Checklists (up to 20 steps)
• •Second parent account
• •Smart reminders via notifications

How to Upgrade

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap "Upgrade to Premium".
3. Choose Monthly or Yearly.
4. Confirm via the App Store.

How to Restore Purchases

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap "Restore Purchases".

Sync Not Working

• •Check your internet connection
• •Verify iCloud Drive is enabled (Settings → your name → iCloud)
• •Ensure iCloud storage isn't full
• •Force-close and reopen the app
• •Wait 30 seconds for changes to propagate between devices

Sign-In Issues

• •Ensure you're running iOS 15 or later
• •Check your Apple ID is signed in on the device
• •Check Apple System Status for outages
• •Restart your device

QR Code Problems

• •Grant camera permissions (device Settings → Family Star → Camera)
• •Hold both devices steady with good lighting
• •Move closer so the QR code fills the frame
• •Ensure the parent's invite screen is still showing

Chores Not Appearing

• •Check the Board tab (not My Chores) for available chores
• •Ask your parent to verify chore targeting settings
• •Check if the chore has expired (passed its deadline)
• •Wait for sync to complete

Balance Seems Wrong

• •Tap "See all Transactions" to review the full history
• •Pending (submitted but unapproved) chores are NOT included in the main balance
• •Payments reduce the balance; earnings increase it