Why a check-in?
A Who Owns What deck is only useful while it matches real life. Jobs drift: someone picks up a new shift, a child gets old enough to take out the trash, a card nobody wanted quietly never gets done. The Family Check-in is a short, regular moment for the grown-ups to look at the deck together and catch that drift early. It takes about ten minutes. There are no scores and nothing is graded; it’s just a chance to talk.
By the end of this article you’ll know when a check-in is due, which cards it brings up and why, exactly what each answer does, and where to find what you decided afterwards.
Grown-ups start and finish check-ins. Kids can see the Family Check-in panel on the Overview, but can’t run one.
When a check-in is due
- Every 4 weeks by default. The clock starts when your family first puts a card into the deck, and restarts each time you finish a check-in.
- Change the rhythm from the ⋯ menu on the Who Owns What page: Check-in Rhythm lets you pick Every 2 Weeks, Every 4 Weeks, Every 8 Weeks or Off. With Off there are no check-ins or reminders.
- When it’s due, the Family Check-in panel on the Overview says so, and grown-ups see a reminder in their daily briefing every day until your family finishes one.
- Not a good week? Tap Remind Me Later to hide the reminder for a week.
- You don’t have to wait. While a rhythm is set, Start a Check-in is always on the Overview, so you can check in whenever it suits you.
Run a check-in
Open Who Owns What and stay on the Overview. In the Family Check-in panel, tap Start a Check-in.
Work down the agenda together (the sections are explained below). For each card, tap the answer that fits. You can change an answer until you finish, except on a card you re-deal: that one stays Re-deal (use Undo on the toast if you change your mind).
Under Still to Deal, tap Deal Now on any card nobody holds yet and pick who takes it. Like everywhere else, a deal shows a toast with Undo for a few seconds.
Tap Finish Check-in. You’ll see Deck checked with a summary of your answers, the cards you saved for next time, and when the next check-in is due.
If cards are still waiting to be dealt, the button reads Deal the Remaining (or Deal the Last Card) and takes you straight to them. Otherwise tap Done.
The answers are saved together when you tap Finish Check-in. If you close the check-in before that, the answers are dropped (any cards you dealt stay dealt). Starting again brings up the same cards.
Which cards come up, and why
beanies builds the agenda when you open the check-in. It’s kept short on purpose, so you talk about the cards most likely to need it. Each section only appears when it has something in it.
- Saved From Last Time: cards your last check-in answered Save for Next Time. They come first, because you already decided they needed another look.
- Haven’t Moved in a While: up to three cards the same person has held for three months or more, longest first. A long-held job is worth a quick “still OK with this?”.
- Moved Since Last Time: cards that changed hands since your last check-in, with who they moved from and to. New owners often need a little time to settle, so it helps to ask how it’s going.
- Still to Deal: cards your family kept but nobody holds yet, each with Deal Now. Below them, a line counts the cards nobody has sorted at all (kept or skipped). Those can be dealt from Deal the Remaining when you finish.
If nothing needs a look, the check-in says so: every card has a holder and nothing has moved. You can still tap Finish Check-in to record that you checked.
What each answer does
- 👍 No Issues: this card is fine, nothing to follow up. The card is closed out for this check-in. Nothing changes on the card.
- 💬 We’ve Talked: you discussed this card together. The card is closed out, and the conversation is recorded in the card’s History as Talked about at a family check-in, with the date.
- 📌 Save for Next Time: not settled yet. Nothing changes now, and the card comes back at the top of your next check-in under Saved From Last Time.
- 🔁 Re-deal (on cards that haven’t moved in a while, when someone else could take it): pick who takes the card next. The card changes hands right away, the same as re-dealing it anywhere else. Once a card is re-dealt in a check-in, its answer stays Re-deal; use the toast’s Undo if you change your mind.
A card under Saved From Last Time starts on Save for Next Time, and it keeps coming back check-in after check-in until you answer No Issues or We’ve Talked. It never drops off by accident.
Any other card you leave unanswered is simply closed out, the same as No Issues. It isn’t counted in the summary, and it won’t come back unless it moves again, stays with the same person for a long time, or has nobody holding it.
Where to see what you decided
- Right after finishing: the Deck checked screen shows how many cards had no issues, were talked about, were saved, were re-dealt and were dealt, and names the cards you saved for next time.
- On a card: open the card (tap it in the Deck view, or anywhere a card appears) and look under History. Every We’ve Talked shows there with its date, alongside every deal and hand-over.
- On the Overview: the Family Check-in panel shows when the last check-in was and when the next is due, and previews what’s coming up, including the cards saved from last time. Recent Moves lists the check-in too.
- At the next check-in: saved cards are waiting at the top.
Check-ins never score anyone, never compare who holds how many cards, and never create to-dos. Your answers don’t notify anyone; they record only what you need to pick the conversation up next time. (A card you re-deal or deal during a check-in moves like any other deal, so its old and new holders see the usual note in their daily briefing.)
Good to know
- Every device, one check-in. A finished check-in is part of your family’s data, so the next check-in shows the same saved cards on any phone, tablet or computer in your family.
- Older app versions. A check-in finished on an older version of beanies records the summary but not which cards were talked about or saved. If saved cards don’t come back, make sure everyone who runs check-ins has updated the app.
- Starting over. Restore Default Cards keeps your check-in history, but saved cards don’t carry into the new deal, and a card’s history starts again from when it’s sorted.
What’s next?
Read the full Who Owns What guide for dealing, splitting and re-dealing cards, and see how the check-in reminder shows up in Your Daily Briefing.