½SplitOsteria Nove · Table 7
Ana
Paid the bill
Your share
£18.84incl. 12.5% service
OSTERIA NOVE
12 Lamb's Conduit St · 21:47
Service 12.5%£9.06
TOTAL£81.56
Drag a dish onto a phone, or tap it to cycle. 6 left
Ben
Owes Ana
Your share
£3.09incl. 12.5% service
Duet Booth by Paige Latimer, from Figma's Make-a-thon, is built around two people using one thing together, and it stayed with me. I wanted that two-person feeling in something useful, so I pointed it at one of the most awkward moments of a night out: the bill.
6 designs that reimagine how we interact with software, Figma blog ↗Splitting a bill evenly is quick but unfair, and itemising it at the table is fair but awkward. Usually one person pays, does the maths later, and then has to chase the other for money. Most split apps make both people sign up before they can see a number.
Make the receipt the shared object. Both people see the same receipt on their own phone, drag dishes to themselves, and share plates with one gesture. The totals update live on both screens, service is split in proportion, and paying back is the last step instead of a follow-up message.
Why splitting a bill is awkward, who it's for, and how it works on two iPhones and an iPad.
// 01 · Framing the problem
01
The bill arrives
Someone grabs it to be nice. Now they're the bank.
02
“Shall we just split it?”
Fair for some, not for the person who had soup and water.
03
Itemising at the table
Phones out, calculator, squinting at the receipt. The mood drops.
04
Paying back later
“I'll send it tomorrow.” A week later, nobody wants to chase.
05
All square
Relief, if it happens at all.
Step 3 is the problem: the maths isn't hard, doing it in public is. Split moves it onto two phones and makes it quick enough to stay part of the evening.
| How people split today | Done before the coats are on | Everyone pays for what they had | Both people see the same thing | Paid back on the spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Split it evenly | ||||
| Calculator at the table | ||||
| Expense-sharing app afterwards | ||||
| Split |
// 02 · Proto-personas
Ana, who always pays
Goal
Pay with her card, get paid back the same evening, never send a reminder.
Frustration
Chasing friends for £18 feels petty, so she often just absorbs it.
What Split gives them
The request goes out when the split is done, with the exact amount and what it's for.
Ben, who had the soup
Goal
Pay for what he actually had, without looking stingy.
Frustration
Saying “I only had a starter” at the table is awkward, so he overpays.
What Split gives them
Dragging dishes is neutral. Nobody argues with a receipt.
Mia, the one at the end of the table
Goal
Join in without downloading anything or creating an account.
Frustration
Every split app wants her to sign up before she can see her number.
What Split gives them
Tap phones (or scan a code) and the split opens in the browser, no account needed.
// 03 · User stories, on the board
Must have · MVP
Payer
As the person who paid, I want to scan the receipt so that nobody types prices in.
Guest
As a guest, I want to join by tapping phones so that I don't install anything.
Both
As two friends, we want to see each other's share update live so that we agree as we go.
Both
As two friends, we want to share a dish 50/50 so that the focaccia doesn't start a debate.
Should have · v1.1
Payer
As the payer, I want service split in proportion so that it's fair to the light eater.
Guest
As a guest, I want to pay back in one tap so that it's done before we leave.
Payer
As the payer, I want a gentle reminder sent for me so that I never have to chase.
Could have · later
Both
As a group of four, we want to split across more phones so that it scales past two.
Guest
As a guest, I want to round my share up so that I can leave a little extra.
Both
As friends who eat out often, we want a running tab so that it evens out over time.
// 04 · Two iPhones, one bill
Step 1 · Scan
One photo, every dish
The payer photographs the receipt. Dishes and prices are read off it and shown for a quick check, so nobody types a number.
Focaccia, rosemary£5.50
Burrata, blood orange£9.50
Cacio e pepe£14.00
Pizza margherita£12.00
Negroni£10.00
Negroni£10.00
Sparkling water, 75cl£4.50
8 dishes found · £72.50
Osteria Nove, read from the receipt
Ana · check the receipt
8 dishes, £72.50
Tap a line to fix a misread price.
Looks right, invite BenStep 2 · Join
Tap phones to join
The guest holds their phone near the payer's. The split opens in their browser: no app to install, no account.
Ana · host
Hold Ben's phone near yours
Or show a code to scan
Ben · joining
Joined Ana's table
No app, no account. It opens in the browser.
Step 3 · Split
Both screens, live
Each person drags their dishes. Shared plates split 50/50, service is added in proportion, and both phones update as it happens.
Ana
Your share
£30.09
Live with Ben
2 dishes left to split
Ben
Your share
£27.84
Live with Ana
2 dishes left to split
Step 4 · Settle
Paid before the coats are on
When everything's assigned, the guest pays back in one tap, and the payer sees it land. Nobody has to chase anyone.
Ana
£40.50
Ben paid you back
All square
Settled at the table. Nobody has to chase.
Ben
£40.50
Paid to Ana · Osteria Nove
All square
Settled at the table. Nobody has to chase.
// 05 · iPad · table mode
Ana
£41.06
Ben
£40.50
OSTERIA NOVE
Focaccia, rosemary£5.50
Burrata, blood orange£9.50
Cacio e pepe£14.00
Pizza margherita£12.00
Negroni£10.00
Negroni£10.00
Sparkling water, 75cl£4.50
Tiramisu£7.00
All split · Ben owes Ana £40.50
// 06 · How I'd test it
Question 01
Is dragging dishes faster than typing amounts?
MethodTimed task with 6–8 pairs: split the same receipt in Split vs. a calculator.
Good signPairs finish faster and make fewer mistakes with Split.
Question 02
Does tapping phones actually work at a table?
MethodField test in two restaurants with real receipts and real phones.
Good signGuests join on the first try, without asking how.
Question 03
Does it feel less awkward than itemising out loud?
MethodShort interview right after the meal, rating comfort before and after.
Good signPeople describe it as “neutral” or “quick”, not “petty”.
Question 04
Do people really settle on the spot?
MethodPrototype with pay-back links, then check a week later.
Good signMost shares are paid before people leave the restaurant.
Drag, don't type
Prices come from the receipt, so the only thing people do is say who had what. Dragging also works as a tap, so it stays usable one-handed and with a keyboard.
Sharing is one gesture
Dropping a dish in the middle splits it 50/50. Shared dishes show as ½ on both phones, so nobody wonders where the other half went.
Fair service, by default
Service is added in proportion to what each person had, not split evenly. It's the fair answer and nobody has to argue for it.
Two phones, two colours
Each person has a colour that follows their dishes across the receipt, both phones and the iPad view, so it's always clear whose is whose.