⛷️ How to split a ski trip with friends

Split a ski trip by putting every shared cost (lodge, fuel, groceries, lift passes that were bought together) into one ledger, marking who paid and who it was for, and settling once at the end. Lift passes and gear hire are the lines that go wrong: they are bought in bulk by one person but not everyone uses them, so split those lines among the skiers only, not the whole group.

Updated 2026-08-23. Example figures are in Australian dollars and made up.

Example: Thredbo long weekend$3,243.70 in

LineAmount

Lodge, three nightsPriya paid, split everyone

$1,380.00

Fuel, Sydney to Jindabyne and backTom paid, split everyone

$192.40

Lift passes, two daysJess paid, split the three skiers

$840.00

Groceries and firewoodMarcus paid, split everyone

$316.80

Gear hire, skis and bootsJess paid, split Tom and Jess

$240.00

Pub dinner, FridayAna paid, split everyone

$274.50

Settle up in 4 paymentsAmount

Tom pays Priya

$640.34

Marcus pays Priya

$306.92

Marcus pays Jess

$89.02

Ana pays Jess

$158.24

Person	Position
Priya	is owed $947.26
Tom	owes $640.34
Jess	is owed $247.26
Marcus	owes $395.94
Ana	owes $158.24

5 people, 6 lines, 4 transfers to square up. Names and amounts are made up for the example.

What goes wrong

Lift passes are not a group cost

Two of your five are snowboarding on their own season pass. Put the passes on a line split among the people who used them, or the non-skiers quietly subsidise everyone else.

Fuel is paid by the driver and forgotten

The driver fills up twice and never mentions it. Have them add it from the servo while the card is still in their hand.

The lodge deposit was paid months ago

Add it as a line dated when it was paid. The ledger does not care that it was in May.

Run it in Zeroed

Start a ledger, name it, add the people. Ten seconds, no accounts.
Send the link to the group chat. Everyone taps their name.
Add lines as they happen. Untick anyone a line is not for.
At the end, the settle-up plan shows the fewest transfers. Tap one to send the reminder.

Start a ledger Just split one bill

Questions

Should the driver get fuel money even if they were going anyway?

Yes. Fuel is a cost of the trip, not of the driver. Put it on the ledger split across everyone in the car.

How do we handle someone who only came for one night?

Split the accommodation line by shares: the one-night person gets 1 share and the three-night people get 3 each. Zeroed supports shares on any line.

When should a ski trip be settled?

Once, on the drive home or the day after, when every line is in. Settling mid-trip creates two ledgers in people’s heads.