SimpliHome is built around the concept of a Circle — your household group. The Circle is where all your shared data lives: the calendar, bills, vehicles, finances, and more.
To get the most out of SimpliHome, you need the right people in your Circle — with the right level of access. This guide explains how to invite members, set their permissions, and manage who sees what.
#Two Types of People in Your Circle
It's important to understand the distinction between:
Circle Users — people with a SimpliHome account who can log in and interact with the app. They receive invitation emails, set their own password, and contribute to the Circle.
Circle Member Profiles — entries representing people in your household, including children and others who don't need their own login. These profiles hold personal information like allergies, prescriptions, school details, and medical records. Events and meal plans can be assigned to them.
You can have both. Your 10-year-old doesn't need a login, but having them as a member profile means you can track their medical info, assign events to their schedule, and filter the meal planner by their dietary needs.
#Part 1: Inviting Users to Your Circle
#Who Should You Invite as a User?
Invite anyone who needs to actively use SimpliHome:
- Your partner or spouse
- Older children who manage their own schedules
- Another adult in the household
Don't invite children who won't use the app themselves — add them as member profiles instead (covered below).
#Step-by-Step: Sending an Invitation
- Log in to SimpliHome as the Circle Owner or an Admin
- Go to Circle → Members
- Click Invite Member
- Fill in the form:
- First name — how they'll be identified in the Circle
- Email address — where the invitation will be sent
- Permission group — what level of access to grant them (see below)
- Colour — their calendar colour for easy identification
- Click Send Invite
The invited person will receive an email with a link. When they click it, they'll set their password (or sign in with Google/Microsoft) and join your Circle.
#What Happens When They Accept
Once accepted:
- They appear in your Circle Members list
- Their calendar colour is set automatically
- A personal calendar schedule is created for them
- They can immediately see the shared household data based on their permission level
#Part 2: Understanding Permission Groups
Every Circle member is assigned a permission group that controls what they can see and do. Getting these right is important — it keeps sensitive data like finances and bills visible only to those who should see it.
#The Four Permission Levels
Admin — Full access to everything
The Circle can have up to two admins:
- Circle Owner (you, when you created the Circle) — controls subscriptions, can assign/remove the secondary admin, manages permission groups
- Secondary Admin — manages members, finances, bills, cars, and houses, but cannot change subscription or admin assignments
Family — Core household members
Ideal for adults who live in the house and are actively involved in household management:
- Can create and edit calendar events
- Can create feed posts and interact with the social feed
- Can upload files
- Can see all calendar events and feed posts (including private ones)
- Cannot access bills, finances, or vehicle management (admin-only)
Relatives — Extended family with view access
Good for grandparents, siblings, or extended family you want to keep in the loop:
- Can view public calendar events and feed posts
- Read-only — cannot create events, posts, or upload files
- No access to bills, finances, or vehicles
Friends — Family friends with view access
Same access level as Relatives:
- View public calendar events and feed posts only
- Completely read-only
- No access to household management features
#Choosing the Right Permission Level
| Who they are | Suggested permission | |-------------|---------------------| | Partner / spouse sharing full household management | Admin (Secondary) | | Partner who needs calendar & daily updates but not finances | Family | | Adult child living at home | Family | | Teenager with own schedule | Family | | Grandparents who want to see the kids' calendar | Relatives | | Nanny or au pair | Family or Relatives | | Close family friends | Friends |
#Changing a Permission Level
Permission levels can be updated at any time by the Circle Owner:
- Go to Circle → Members
- Find the member
- Click Edit or the member's name
- Update the Permission Group
- Save
#Part 3: Adding Member Profiles (Without Logins)
Member profiles are for household members who don't need app access — typically children, elderly relatives you care for, or anyone whose information you track but who won't log in themselves.
#Why Add Member Profiles?
- Calendar: Assign events to a specific person's schedule (e.g., "Emma's dentist appointment")
- Meal planning: Filter recipes by their allergies and dietary preferences
- Medical: Track allergies, prescriptions, medical providers, and glasses prescriptions
- School: Record school details, teacher names, and academic years
- Passports: Store passport expiry dates for travel planning
#Step-by-Step: Adding a Member Profile
- Go to Circle → Members
- Click Add Member
- Enter the basic details:
- First and last name
- Date of birth
- Gender (optional)
- Profile colour for calendar identification
- Click Save
You can add more detailed information at any time by clicking on the member's profile.
#What You Can Track Per Member
Personal details:
- Date of birth, gender, address
- Emergency contact information
Health information:
- Allergies (food, drug, environmental)
- Prescriptions and medications
- Glasses/contact lens prescriptions
- Medical providers (GP, dentist, optician, etc.)
- Blood group
Education (for children):
- School name and type
- Year group and class
- Teacher name
Travel:
- Passport number and expiry date
- Country of issue
Add this information progressively — don't feel you need to fill everything in at once. Start with the basics and add detail as it becomes relevant.
#Part 4: Managing Your Circle
#Viewing All Members
Go to Circle → Members to see everyone in your household:
- Users (with logins) appear with their last active time
- Member profiles appear with their basic details
- Invitation status shows for users who haven't yet accepted
#Removing a Member
To remove someone from your Circle (admin only):
- Go to Circle → Members
- Find the member
- Click Remove or Delete
- Confirm the action
Removing a user revokes their access to the Circle immediately. Their historical contributions (events they created, posts they made) remain in the Circle unless you manually delete them.
#The Circle Owner
The Circle Owner is the person who created the Circle. Only the owner can:
- Manage the subscription (upgrade, cancel, change plan)
- Assign or remove the secondary admin
- Change any member's permission group
Ownership cannot be transferred directly — contact support if you need to change Circle ownership.
#Assigning a Secondary Admin
If you want another household member to help manage the Circle:
- Go to Circle → Settings (owner only)
- Click Assign Secondary Admin
- Select the member to promote
- Confirm
The secondary admin gets admin-level access to all household management features except subscription and admin assignment.
#Common Questions
Can someone be in multiple Circles? No — each SimpliHome account belongs to exactly one Circle. If you want to share data with someone who has their own household, they would need to view your iCal calendar feed rather than join your Circle.
What does a new user see when they first join? Depending on their permission group, they'll see the shared calendar, news feed, and other permitted features immediately. Admins will see the full dashboard including bills and finances.
What if the invitation email doesn't arrive? Check the spam folder first. If it's not there, resend the invitation from Circle → Members by clicking Resend Invite next to the member's entry.
Can I change someone's calendar colour after they've joined? Yes. The colour can be updated from their member profile in Circle → Members.
What happens to events assigned to a profile if I delete it? Events are not automatically deleted, but the member association is removed. The events remain on the calendar assigned to the circle's default schedule.
#Quick Reference: Member Setup Checklist
Use this when setting up your Circle:
- [ ] Circle Owner account created
- [ ] Secondary Admin assigned (if applicable)
- [ ] Partner/co-parent invited with appropriate permissions
- [ ] Other household adults invited with appropriate permissions
- [ ] Children added as member profiles with date of birth and colour
- [ ] Key medical information added to each child's profile (allergies especially)
- [ ] School details added for school-age children
- [ ] Calendar schedules confirmed for each person
Once your Circle is properly populated, the rest of SimpliHome — the calendar, meal planning, event assignments, and health tracking — becomes significantly more useful.