How HomeBase works

A short tour of every feature and exactly how to use it.

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.

New: allowance payouts

Open

Any adult can mark a kid's allowance as paid, at any time — so earnings and cash 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.

Tip
Payouts live in the shared household, so every adult who joined your family sees the same earned / paid / owed numbers instantly.

Family & allowance

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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.

Tip
Kids don't need their own account — add them as people and assign chores to them from any adult's login.

Inventory & low-stock alerts

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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.

Tip
Set thresholds to the amount you want left when you reorder, not zero — that way you never actually run out.

Maintenance & fair chores

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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.

Tip
Daily is great for dishes, tidy-ups and pet care; Seasonally suits gutters, HVAC filters and smoke-detector batteries.

Manuals & warranty hub

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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.

Tip
Paste the manufacturer's PDF link so you never hunt for a paper manual again.

Plant & lawn care

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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.

Tip
Overdue plants are highlighted, so a quick glance tells you what needs a drink today.

Energy & utility monitor

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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.

Tip
Log a bill the day it arrives — a few months of data is when the trends get genuinely useful.

Global search

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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.

Tip
Search works from anywhere in the app, including on mobile.

Reminders & push notifications

  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.