Spaces Concept

Why separate personal, family, and business finances

The fundamental concept of Spaces lies at the core of the Small Metrics architecture.

A Space is a completely isolated financial environment. Inside each Space, there is its own set of categories, its own transaction history, its own members, and independent analytics.

The Problem of Mixed Budgets

Many people try to track all their money in a single spreadsheet or app. When buying your morning coffee, paying the rent for your flower shop, and transferring pocket money to your child all end up in one list, chaos ensues.

In such a situation, it becomes impossible to answer the main questions:

How much net profit did my business bring in this month?
What is the real amount of my family’s monthly expenses?
Are we reaching our financial goals, or are we spending more than we earn?

The Solution: Different Roles — Different Spaces

Small Metrics solves this problem through strict data isolation. By switching between spaces, you switch your life roles:

1. Personal Space (Just for you)

You can create a “Personal Money” Space where you don’t invite anyone. Here you create categories for your personal needs: software subscriptions, hobbies, gym, personal savings. The analytics of this space will show the efficiency of your personal financial activity only.

2. Family Space (Joint Budget)

Create a “Family” Space and invite your spouse or adult children.

Here you create categories describing your shared life: mortgage, supermarkets, family car maintenance, school.
Any member can add a transaction from their phone.
Together, you see the progress of savings (e.g., for a summer house) and control shared spending so the budget stably remains in surplus.

3. Business Space (Your Company’s Finances)

If you are a freelancer or small business owner, create a separate Space (e.g., “Flower Shop” or “Freelance”).

Here you set up business categories: income from selling services, expenses on purchasing materials, taxes, employee payouts.
You can invite a business partner here.
The analytics of this space turn into your P&L (Profit and Loss statement), allowing you to accurately track operational costs and prevent cash flow gaps.

Main Rules of Working with Spaces

Data never intersects. A transaction added to “Family” will not affect the balance and charts of “Business” in any way.
Isolated access. By inviting a user, you grant them access only to a specific Space, not your entire account. Your business partner will never see your family expenses.
Separate settings. Each Space allows you to set its own financial goal and configure its own category sorting order.

This concept allows Small Metrics to remain simple to use, yet an incredibly flexible tool that grows with your needs.