Moving a Chore Chart From Paper to an App: Keep What Works

Step 2: Decide what to keep and choose one start date

Now have a calm talk with your kids about the chart. The question isn't "what do we want in the app?" It's "which agreements work, and which ones do we want to drop?" Only the agreements you still want get set up again. If you'd like to adjust chores by age, What should kids be able to do at home? A complete list by age can be a starting point. It often helps to hold off on big changes until after the first week.

Make three decisions before switchover day:

1. Start date. Pick a specific day, such as Monday. From then on, what's in the app is the record. The paper chart doesn't run alongside it.
2. One-time settlement. Anything earned on paper gets settled once and crossed off. You pay real money the way you always have, with cash, a mobile payment app or a bank transfer.
3. A rule for unfinished chores. Choose one rule that applies to everyone. Examples: "Chores that haven't been started by Sunday at 6 p.m. are dropped," or "Unfinished chores are completed on paper before the start date." For half-finished chores, note what has been done and agree what remains. Keep rewards already earned, and do not count the same work again.

Keep the wording your kids already know. If the chart says "Feed Whiskers," the app should say "Feed Whiskers" too. Then the first week feels like a new place to check things off, not a whole new system.

Table: from paper agreement to app chore

Here's how the Parkers planned the move. This is still a fictional example.

Paper agreement	Chore in the app	Who	Schedule	Reward	Unfinished at switch	Review
Empty the dishwasher	Empty the dishwasher	Emma	Mon, Wed, Fri	$1 (virtual)	Friday's turn was done and paid on paper	After week 1
Feed Whiskers	Feed Whiskers	Leo	Daily	Unpaid	Nothing	After week 1
Tidy bedroom	Tidy bedroom	Emma and Leo	Sunday	$2 each (virtual)	Starts the first Sunday in the app	After week 2
Vacuum the living room	Vacuum the living room	Emma	Saturday	$2 (virtual)	Not done, dropped under the rule	After week 1
Reading time, stars	Reading time, 20 min	Leo	Weekdays	Agreed reward: pick the Friday movie	7 stars noted; an adult tracks the next 3 reading sessions against the promise	After week 2
Emma's $3 owed	Not a chore	Emma	Once	Paid in cash on Sunday	Crossed off on paper	Done

Look at the last row. Old debts don't become chores. They get settled, and that's the end of it.

Setting it up in Kroni

In Kroni, you add each chore by hand. There's no import from a photo or paper chart. For each chore, you choose who it's for, how often it repeats, and whether it's paid or an unpaid family chore. Your child marks it done when finished, which can be on a shared family device. You decide whether an adult needs to approve it before anything shows up in the balance. The balance is virtual. Kroni has no bank connection and doesn't pay out real money, so you handle payouts yourselves when you've agreed to. Keep the promise to pick the Friday movie as a separate agreement. Note the seven stars already earned, and have an adult track the next three reading sessions. Recording the chores does not automatically transfer the old star count into a savings goal.

If you want to rethink the reward model itself first, Reward Systems for Kids: Stars, Points or Money? What Works Best is worth a read.

Step 3: Check the first digital week

After seven days, sit down together and compare the week with the old agreement. You could set aside fifteen minutes to start, and take longer if anything needs clarifying.

• Is anything missing? Are all the chores from the table in the app, on the same days?
• Do the amounts match? Does "Empty the dishwasher" still earn $1, and not $10 or $0.10 because of a typo?
• Was anything counted twice? Check that nothing from the last paper week was also approved in the app.
• Is approval clear? For chores that require approval, your kids should know who approves them and when. Closing the week does not approve chores or trigger a payout. Scheduled virtual allowance follows its own setting.
• What do we want to change? Write it down, but make only one change at a time so you can see what works.

If a disagreement comes up, use the photo of the paper chart. It applied until the start date. The app applies after.

Copyable checklist for switchover day

Print or copy this list and fill it in together.

Before the start date

• Photo or copy of the paper chart taken (date: ________)
• All active chores written into the move table
• Unsettled amounts: $________ to , $ to ________
• One-time settlement done and crossed off on paper
• Promises in progress written down: ________________________
• Rule for unfinished chores: ________________________
• Chores we're dropping: ________________________

Start date: ________

• Chores added to the app with the same wording as on paper
• Paid/unpaid and amounts checked for each chore
• Decided which chores require approval and who approves them: ________
• Paper chart taken down or marked "valid until ________"

Review after week 1 (date: ________)

• All chores are in place
• Amounts match the agreement
• Nothing counted twice
• One thing we want to adjust: ________________________

Blank move table

Paper agreement	Chore in the app	Who	Schedule	Reward	Unfinished at switch	Review