How HomeBase works

Start here

1. 1. Your household starts as a blank slate — nothing is pre-filled.
2. 2. Add a handful of real items in one module (inventory is the easiest start).
3. 3. Turn on reminders so HomeBase nudges you instead of the other way round.
4. 4. Everything saves automatically to your account and syncs to any device you sign in on.

HomeBase is fully usable for free — Premium removes the power-report cap, adds backups and supports the app.

1. 1Free accounts can log up to 2 monthly power reports on the Energy page; Premium removes the limit so you can track years of utility history.
2. 2Premium adds one-tap household export — download a full JSON backup of inventory, chores, pets, vehicles, dates and more from the Premium page.
3. 3While Premium is active you get a gold badge on your account, plus optional expiry reminder emails and auto-renew so access never lapses.
4. 4Choose monthly ($2.99) or yearly ($25) on the Premium page — cancel any time and keep the days you already paid for.

HomeBase keeps the ledger: you pay kids however you like (cash, bank transfer, gift card) and mark it paid here so earnings and money handed over stay in sync.

1. 1Go to Family → People, earnings & payouts. Each person shows three figures: earned (from completed chores), paid (what you've handed over) and owed (the difference).
2. 2Tap “Mark $X paid” to clear the full outstanding balance in one go — the date of the payout is saved and shown as “last paid”.
3. 3Paying only part of it? Type an amount in the small box and tap “Pay part”. The rest stays in the owed column.
4. 4Made a mistake or starting a new allowance period? Tap “Reset payouts” to set paid back to $0.

One shared household for everyone you live with, plus a list of the people chores get assigned to.

1. 1Create your family and give it a name — you become the owner.
2. 2Copy the invite code or invite link and send it to a parent or older kid. When they sign up they land in the same household and see the same chores, inventory and reminders.
3. 3Add each person (including kids who don't have a login) and mark them Adult or Kid.
4. 4Every chore can carry a money amount — set it when adding a task or edit the $ field in the chore list. Each completion adds that amount to the person's earnings.
5. 5See total allowance earned per person on the Family page and under the Fair chore balance graph.
6. 6When you hand over the money, mark it paid on the Family page so earned, paid and owed stay accurate.

A running list of everything you keep stocked — pantry, fridge, cleaning and household supplies.

1. 1Tap “Add item” and fill in name, category, quantity, minimum threshold, location and (optionally) an expiration date.
2. 2Use the + / − buttons as you use things up. When quantity drops to or below the threshold, the item is flagged Low stock.
3. 3Hit “Add to shopping list” on any flagged item — it lands on the shopping list at the bottom of the page.
4. 4Tick items off the shopping list once you've bought them.

Recurring home maintenance and household chores with priorities, assignments and a fairness graph.

1. 1Add a task with a priority (Low / Medium / High), a frequency — Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Seasonally — a due date, an assignee, a point value and a money amount for allowance.
2. 2Add household members first if you want assignments; each member gets their own colour on the balance graph.
3. 3Tap “Mark complete” when a task is done. HomeBase logs the completion and automatically sets the next due date based on the frequency.
4. 4Check the Fair chore balance graph to see points earned per person and rebalance who does what.

A digital binder for every appliance and device in your home.

1. 1Add an appliance with brand/model, serial number, purchase date, warranty expiration, a manual link and any notes.
2. 2Warranty status is calculated for you: Active, Expiring soon (within 60 days) or Expired.
3. 3Tap the manual link to open the PDF or support page when something breaks.

Watering schedules for indoor plants plus a log for outdoor lawn treatments.

1. 1Add a plant with species, light needs and a watering interval in days.
2. 2Tap “Water” after watering — the next watering date recalculates from today.
3. 3Log lawn work (fertilization, overseeding, soil treatment, mowing) with a date, notes and an optional next-due date.

Monthly utility logging, draft audits and conservation goals with trend charts.

1. 1Add a monthly entry with electricity (kWh), water and total cost.
2. 2Watch the trend lines to spot spikes month over month.
3. 3Record room draft audits with a severity rating so you know where to insulate.
4. 4Create goals (e.g. “cut water 10%”) and update progress as you go.

Feeding schedules, vet visits and medication notes for every pet in the household.

1. 1Add each pet with its kind, breed and how many times a day it eats.
2. 2Tap “Mark fed” after feeding — the badge flips to “Fed today” so nobody double-feeds.
3. 3Set the next vet visit date and HomeBase reminds you the week before.
4. 4Keep medication notes (flea treatments, joint chews) on the pet's card.

Oil changes, registration and insurance expiry for every vehicle, with reminders before anything lapses.

1. 1Add a vehicle with its name and plate.
2. 2Fill in the three due dates — oil change, registration, insurance — right on the card.
3. 3Badges turn red within two weeks of a due date and push reminders fire ahead of time.

Birthdays, anniversaries and renewals that remind you before they sneak up.

1. 1Add a date with a title and day.
2. 2Switch on “Repeats every year” for birthdays and anniversaries — one-time for renewals and deadlines.
3. 3Yearly dates roll forward automatically and reminders fire the week before.

One place for WiFi passwords, alarm codes, emergency contacts and insurance details.

1. 1Add an entry with a label (like “WiFi password”), the value, and a category.
2. 2Tap the copy button to grab a value without retyping it.
3. 3Text the whole hub to a babysitter or house-sitter with the Share button.

One search box that looks across inventory, chores, appliances and plants.

1. 1Press ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows), or tap the search bar at the top of any page.
2. 2Type a few letters — results are grouped by module.
3. 3Pick a result to jump straight to that page.

1. 1. Tap the bell icon in the header and allow notifications when your browser asks.
2. 2. HomeBase runs a daily check and pushes alerts for upcoming maintenance and low-stock items.
3. 3. Reminders arrive even when the app is closed, on your lock screen, once push is on.