Ask Dolly

One device has the kids and chores; another signed into the same Apple Account shows an empty or different family. Both devices must be signed into the same Apple Account. In the app, Settings › iCloud shows the Account row (Signed in / Not signed in / Restricted), the Store row (iCloud / This device only), Last import and Last export, and any error in red. Open the app on both devices online for two minutes; a force-quit app gets no push to wake it. Two complete setups under one account make two flocks — that needs support, not Erase everything.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › iCloud sync in the Guide

The Today screen says “Sync problem — see Settings”, or a red line sits under Last import or Last export with a CloudKit error number. Settings › iCloud shows the last error in red with a CloudKit number. 25: iCloud storage is full — free space, then Check again. 9: not signed in — sign in with the family's Apple Account. 3 or 4: no network. 6 or 7: iCloud is busy; it retries. 36: iOS wants attention on the account. 12: the app is newer than iCloud's schema — update every device. 26: first contact; it recovers. 22: held back by another record — read the other red line. The line turns grey when a later sync of the same kind succeeds.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › iCloud sync in the Guide

The Today screen's iCloud row has said Waiting for the first sync for a long time. On the family's first device the row stays until another device exchanges something — nothing is wrong. On a device that joined, keep the app open online for two minutes (the first download lands in batches), make sure Settings › iCloud says Signed in and Store: iCloud, check for a red line and for free iCloud storage.

A red line says the app saves details iCloud does not know yet, or shows CloudKit error 12. The app is newer than iCloud's record schema, so new and changed items wait on the device; nothing is lost. Update every device to the same newest version. If the newest version still says it, tell support — the schema is deployed from their side.

A banner says iCloud sync is unavailable right now, that the app started with an empty recovery store, or that no database could be opened. “iCloud sync is unavailable right now” means the app opened its local copy; check iCloud in iOS Settings and relaunch. “Empty recovery store” or “No database could be opened” means the database file could not be opened: don't set up a new family, restart the device, free storage, relaunch — and if it persists, email support with the banner text.

You deleted and reinstalled the app, and afterwards a kid's wool, history, badges, reward requests or savings goals were shorter than before. Build 44's launch clean-up could delete older wool, history, badges, requests and goals while the first sync was still arriving on a fresh install, and those deletions reached iCloud and the other devices; the next build waits for the whole family and never deletes from iCloud. The deleted rows cannot come back. Restore balances with Shear Day › the kid › Adjust balance (from a ledger CSV if you have one). On a fixed build, keep the app open online for five minutes first.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money and Shear Day in the Guide

After updating or reinstalling, some kids, chores, history or rewards are missing. Wait two minutes online first. Then Settings › Data › Previous version › Restore from the previous sync: it adds anything the earlier version synced that is missing and never overwrites. Keep the app open while it says Looking or Restoring (up to four minutes). “The previous sync holds nothing for this device” means there is no older copy to pull from.

A chore, approval or ledger line appears twice after two devices were offline. Every device works offline; when they meet, duplicates fold: the most progressed row wins, two approvals pay once, and the earlier grab of an up-for-grabs chore keeps it. Keep both devices online with the app open for an hour; a duplicate that survives is one for support.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Taking turns and up for grabs

You want to know what Settings › Data › Erase everything does, or you tapped it by mistake. Erase everything deletes every kid, chore, routine, reward, request, badge, goal and the whole ledger on all devices, with no undo; it keeps the PIN, device settings, family settings and the purchase. After a mistaken erase the only possible source is Settings › Data › Restore from the previous sync.

You have a new iPhone or iPad and want the flock on it. Sign the new device into the same Apple Account, install the app and open it: after Checking iCloud it says Welcome back and joins the family; pick the device's role. Set the device-only settings again (notifications, summaries, reminders, voice, Battery, fridge chart, Face ID) and tap Restore Purchases if it says Free plan. If it offers a new family instead, stop — that's a sync problem.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Devices in the Guide

The other parent's phone does nothing with the invitation, the Messages bubble won't load, or the app opens without “You are in”. The other parent installs Sheep Chores first, then opens the invitation; a link opened before the app exists goes nowhere. If the Messages bubble won't load, Settings › Family sharing › Copy the invitation link and paste it as text. Opening the link accepts the share, switches their device to member and merges anything on it into your flock. Devices on the same Apple Account need no invitation.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Two parents, two Apple IDs

The other parent's iPhone says Free plan, or you want to know what Stop sharing and Leave this flock do. The purchase belongs to the Apple Account that bought it and is shared only inside a Family Sharing group; a co-parent outside it is on the free plan on their own devices, which only blocks adding more. Stop sharing ends their access but leaves the copy on their device; Leave this flock does the same from their side. Each Apple Account has its own Shepherd PIN.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The free plan and the whole flock

The PIN pad won't take any PIN you remember. There is no Forgot PIN button; the PIN lives in your family's iCloud Keychain and nobody can read it. Way one: on an iPhone or iPad set up as My own, Face ID or the device passcode opens the Shepherd area — then Settings › Shepherd PIN › Change PIN. Way two: finishing setup as My own iPhone on a device on the same Apple Account that has never had the app opens the Shepherd area without the PIN. The family iPad alone has no bypass, on purpose.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Shepherd PIN and Face ID in the Guide

The PIN pad refuses with Too many tries, or a kid's screen says Give it a minute. Five wrong PINs pause every parent pad on that device for 60 seconds, even across a relaunch. Wait the full minute, then try once; on your own iPhone use Face ID or the device passcode. Kid PINs have no cooldown.

The pad never offers Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode. Face ID opens the Shepherd area only on a device set up as My own iPhone or iPad, with Settings › This device › Unlock with Face ID on and the app allowed under iOS Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Other Apps. The family iPad and a kid's iPhone are PIN-only on purpose.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Shepherd PIN and Face ID

A kid's board asks for their secret PIN and they don't remember it. A parent changes or removes a kid's PIN under Kids › the kid › Kid PIN; it syncs with the kid's record. Kid PINs have no cooldown; Not me on the pad goes back to the Pasture.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › A kid and their sheep

You can't get back to the Shepherd area, or a phone only shows one kid's board. The lock (Shepherd) button in the top corner or on the Pasture opens the PIN pad; Back to the Flock returns to the kids' side. A kid's iPhone is locked to its kid on purpose — the lock button still opens the pad, and Settings › This device changes the role. On the night clock, tap once to wake, then the Shepherd button.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Kid Mode and the Shepherd area

A kid finishes a chore or asks for a reward and your iPhone stays silent. Banners go only to devices set up as My own iPhone, with permission allowed and the Banners switches on (they stay off if permission was denied during setup). The device that recorded the chore never notifies itself; banners are posted after your phone syncs, so a force-quit app, a Focus, an open Approvals screen or a chore older than three days means no banner. A red line under Settings › iCloud is the usual cause.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Notifications for parents

You tapped Approve on a banner; the chore stays in the inbox, and Settings › Notifications says Waiting to apply. A banner's Approve queues on the phone (Settings › Notifications › Waiting to apply) and is retried for ten minutes and on every sync. Open the app and it applies at once; the iPad sees it on its next sync. A red line under Settings › iCloud blocks it.

The evening summary or the weekly digest never arrives. Both are parent-iPhone-only and need notification permission. The evening summary is scheduled only if its time is still ahead when the app is active or syncs; the weekly digest posts when the app runs after 9 am once six and a half days have passed, not at a fixed time. Open the app once a day.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Evening summary and weekly digest

A chore with a due time, or a routine's start, never reminds the kids. Kid reminders live on the family iPad and a kid's iPhone, never on parent phones. A chore needs a Due by time and a Reminder lead; a routine reminds at its start. Settings › Chores › Reminders: Remind kids in the app (a card for 30 minutes while the app is open) and, off by default, Also on this iPad's Lock Screen.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Reminders for kids

A Home Screen or Lock Screen widget is out of date or says to open the app. Widgets read a snapshot written by this device's app after saves, syncs, coming to the front and at midnight; the 00:01 refresh only re-reads it, so if the app hasn't run on this device since midnight the widget shows yesterday. Open the app here, don't force-quit it, check for a red line under Settings › iCloud, and re-add a widget placed before the app ever ran.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Widgets and the Lock Screen

A running routine doesn't show on the Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island, or shows an old step. Allow Live Activities for Sheep Chores in iOS Settings and start the routine on the device that should show it. The Activity goes stale five minutes after the step should have ended and ends when the routine finishes, is parked under Settings › Battery, or at midnight.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Routines in the Guide

Siri answers with a message about the parent's iPhone, says the app is still starting, or doesn't understand. Approving and bonuses by Siri work only on a device set up as My own iPhone; the family iPad answers what's on today and what's waiting. “Still starting up” means open the app once first. A HomePod hands personal requests to your own iPhone. The Shortcuts app lists every phrase under Sheep Chores.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Siri and Shortcuts

Settings › Your plan won't load a price, waits for approval, or shows an App Store error. The price is fetched from the App Store each time Settings › Your plan opens: be online and signed in under iOS Settings › Media & Purchases, then Try again. “Waiting for approval from your family organizer” is Ask to Buy — the unlock arrives once approved. A receipt that could not be verified charged nothing; try again. An App Store error that lasts a day is one for support.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The free plan and the whole flock

You paid for the whole flock and the app says Free plan, or Restore Purchases finds nothing. Settings › Your plan › Restore Purchases asks the App Store for this Apple Account's purchases. “No purchase found on this Apple Account” means another account bought it: sign in to the App Store with that account, or share it through Family Sharing with purchase sharing on. After a refund the app returns to the free plan; nothing is deleted.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The free plan and the whole flock

Adding a kid or a chore is refused by the free plan, and the count surprises you. The free plan is one kid and two chores; routine steps and paused chores count as chores, grown-ups and archived kids don't count as kids. Being over the limit only blocks adding more. Unlock the whole flock under Settings › Your plan, or archive a chore or kid to free a slot.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The free plan and the whole flock

A kid finished a chore and their wool, stars or money didn't go up. Wool and money are written only when a chore is approved: a chore Waiting for a Shepherd isn't paid yet, and Try again means it was sent back. Flock duties and grown-ups earn no wool; Oops, a put-back, Reset today or Reset the ledger remove the line; penalties, Barn Store approvals and cash-outs take from it; saved money sits under In savings, not Owed; another device shows the line after its next sync; one chore pays once per day.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Wool, levels and the fluff streak · In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money and Shear Day

A kid's allowance line hasn't appeared this week. Allowance posts only when the app is launched on any device — once a week on the chosen weekday, catching up to four weeks — so an always-on iPad that is never relaunched won't post it. Quit and reopen the app; check the kid's amount, weekday and Starting date; look under Owed on the Money page.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money, allowance and Shear Day

Wool went negative with a “Missed …” line, or a jar refused a deposit or withdrawal. Penalties are off by default; when on, a missed chore with penalty points costs them the next morning (looking back three days), and Shear Day › Adjust balance forgives it. A jar can only give back what it holds, and amounts must be positive. Jar interest is monthly; Owed is spendable, In savings is set aside.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Penalties · In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Savings goals and jars

A routine won't start today, vanished mid-way, or its clock stopped. Start shows only on a day the routine has steps for that kid (check its days and Who runs it; archived step chores don't play). A forgotten routine is parked after the time under Settings › Battery, which ends it like Skip for now. Clocks pause in the background; sessions end at midnight.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Routines in the Guide

A small alert titled Hmm stopped a tap in Kid Mode or the Barn Store. Every Hmm alert is the app refusing a tap for a reason: someone else grabbed the chore first; another device already finished or handled it; the chore or kid was deleted elsewhere; the reward is gated, too expensive (saved money doesn't count), or all claimed; cashing out is off under Settings › Rewards; big wishes wait; approvals can only be undone within ten minutes.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The Barn Store

The chore wants a photo and the photo is refused, or the camera doesn't open. A chore set to Needs a photo shows I did it! only after the photo is taken. Photos are re-encoded on the device to 1200 px and 200 KB; take it with the camera rather than a screenshot or Live Photo. If the camera won't open, allow Camera and Photos for Sheep Chores in iOS Settings and restart the app.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Create a chore

The portrait button or the Ask Apple Intelligence for ideas button is missing. Portraits and chore ideas need Apple Intelligence available and on (iOS Settings › Apple Intelligence & Siri) on a supported device; everything runs on the device. Other devices show the drawn sheep and the 300-chore library. Back to the drawn sheep removes a portrait everywhere.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › A portrait for the sheep · In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Chore ideas from Apple Intelligence

The chart dims or goes dark, the screen won't stay on, the meadow stopped moving, or the iPad gets warm. At night the chart shows a clock (“Night mode. Tap to wake.”; tap once for 90 seconds) between the hours under Settings › This device › Fridge chart. The screen never sleeps while the chart is up. Settings › Battery rests the meadow after 10 minutes, follows Low Power Mode and a hot device, dims the screen at night and parks forgotten routines — the levers for an always-on iPad.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The fridge chart · In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Battery and the always-on iPad

You want the sample family in or out, a copy of your data, or the app crashes. Settings › Data › Add the sample family needs the whole flock and has no remove button — only Erase everything, which takes real data too. Money › Export ledger (CSV) and Calendar › Print this week are the exports; iCloud is the backup. For a crash: restart, update, free storage, then email support with any Analytics Data file starting “Sheep Chores”.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Your data and privacy

Setup is one short wizard: name the flock, add the kids, tick some starter chores, choose a 4–6 digit Shepherd (parent) PIN and say what this device is. Other devices on the same Apple Account join on their own — there is no code to type. 1. Give the family a name; it shows on the Pasture and in the weekly summary. 2. Add each kid with a name, a wool colour and a favourite colour. A birthday is optional and only picks age-fitting starter chores. 3. Tick the starter chores you want; every one can be edited, paused or deleted later under Chores. 4. Choose the PIN, then tell the app what this device is: the family iPad, your own iPhone, or a kid's iPhone. 5. Open the app on your other devices with the same Apple Account; they join the flock by themselves.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Set up your flock · For parents: the Shepherd area

Kids live on the Pasture: a meadow with every kid's sheep. Tap a sheep for that kid's board, tap I did it! on a chore, and the sheep hops. Grown-ups tap the lock (Shepherd) button and enter the PIN to reach the Shepherd (parent) area; Back to the Flock hands the device back. 1. Family iPad: the app opens on the Pasture; a kid taps their sheep to get their Today board. 2. One-step chores have I did it! right on the card; chores with steps open a checklist first. 3. The lock button in the corner (or the Shepherd button on the Pasture) opens the PIN pad; on your own iPhone, Face ID opens it instead. 4. Back to the Flock returns to the kids' side and locks the Shepherd area again on the family iPad.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Kid Mode and the Shepherd area · For kids: the Pasture

Settings › Family › Holidays on the Pasture dresses the meadow for Halloween all October (jack-o'-lanterns, bats, a ghost, a black cat), Thanksgiving all November (a turkey, corn shocks, a harvest basket) and Christmas all December (snow, a lit tree, lights on the barn). 1. Shepherd area › Settings › Family › Holidays on the Pasture: on. 2. The meadow changes with the month on its own; nothing else to set.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Kid Mode and the Shepherd area · For kids: the Pasture

A fair answer takes a page: what any chore app needs, what makes parents give up on them, the questions worth asking, and what Sheep Chores deliberately doesn't do (accounts, ads, subscriptions, a server). 1. Read the page below with your own house rules in mind. 2. Free to start with one kid and two chores, so the real test is a week on the kitchen counter.

Choosing a chore app

Shepherd area › Kids › + adds a kid. A name, a wool colour and a favourite colour are all the app needs; the favourite colour marks their chores everywhere. 1. Kids › +: name, wool colour, favourite colour. 2. Add a birthday to get chore suggestions for their age band: little lamb (3–5), lamb (6–8), yearling (9–12), ram (13+). 3. Turn on Read aloud for pre-readers; set a weekly allowance here if you pay one. 4. Use Edit on the Kids list to drag kids into the order you want on the Pasture.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › A kid and their sheep · For kids

Archive a kid who has outgrown the app: their history stays and they leave the Pasture. Delete a kid and everything of theirs goes for good on every device. Two softer resets live at the bottom of a kid's page. 1. Kids › the kid › Archive keeps every completion and ledger line; the kid just leaves the Pasture and any rotation. 2. Delete takes every completion, ledger line, request, goal and badge, the chores that were theirs alone, and their name off shared chores and rewards — on every device, with no undo. 3. Reset the sheep takes accessories and the portrait off; Reset the ledger clears every wool and money line (it asks for the PIN or Face ID).

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › A kid and their sheep · For parents: everything can be undone

On devices with Apple Intelligence, Kids › the kid › Edit profile › Portrait › Make a portrait with Image Playground makes a picture that replaces the drawn sheep everywhere. It starts from the sheep's wool colour and accessories. 1. Kids › the kid › Edit profile › Portrait › Make a portrait with Image Playground. 2. Tweak it in the playground, then Done. Portraits sync with the rest of the family's data. 3. Back to the drawn sheep removes it.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › A portrait for the sheep · For kids: the wardrobe

Every approved chore earns wool if the chore pays it, and experience in any case: easy 10, medium 15, big job 25. Levels unlock the wardrobe. The Fluff streak counts days in a row where everything assigned got done; days with nothing assigned neither break nor extend it. 1. Wool and money are paid on approval; Flock duties pay nothing but still earn experience. 2. A chore a Shepherd skips (excused) keeps the streak alive; a day that ends with an assigned chore still open breaks it. 3. My Flock shows the balance, the streak, the level, the badges and everything redeemed. 4. Call points whatever your house does — Wool, Stars, Points or Minutes — under Settings › Family.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Wool, levels and the fluff streak · For kids: wool, levels and the Fluff streak

Seventeen badges for real milestones and a wardrobe of more than a hundred and thirty things to unlock by level — hats and tiaras, glasses, pearls, capes, wings, boots, balloons — one per spot. Kids tap to wear; parents can put anything on from Kids › the kid › Dress up. 1. Badges follow the real story: first approved chore, 25, 50 and 100 chores, streaks of 7, 14 and 30 days, early birds, weekends, routines, photo proofs, up-for-grabs wins, a reached savings goal, pet and kitchen chores. 2. A new badge or level celebrates on the kid's board at most once every half hour; the rest wait with a dot under My Flock. 3. Badges can't be given by hand — give a surprise bonus instead.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Badges and levels · For kids: the wardrobe

Kids › Add, then turn on This is a grown-up. Grown-ups get a sheep and a board like everyone else, their chores count right away, earn nothing and never wait for a check; the Barn Store, My Flock and savings stay hidden on their board. 1. Kids › Add › This is a grown-up: on. 2. Assign chores to a grown-up like anyone else; they show on the calendar, the fridge chart and the printed week. 3. A grown-up can take a turn in a rotating chore — add them to the chore's kids.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Grown-ups on the board · For parents: grown-ups on the board

Kids › the kid › Picture board turns their Today into a path from the pasture to the barn with one big card per chore and almost no words; real photos can replace the emoji icons, and Read aloud speaks the steps. 1. Kids › the kid › Picture board: on. Turn on Read aloud for the kid too. 2. Chores › a chore › Use a photo instead replaces the emoji with a real picture — their own bed, their own toy box. 3. Pair it with a morning routine: the player shows one step at a time with a timer and speaks each step.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The picture board for little lambs · For kids: the Today board

A kid can have a PIN of their own for the Pasture: Kids › the kid › Kid PIN. It has no cooldown, syncs with the kid's record, and the pad's Not me button goes back to the Pasture. 1. Shepherd area › Kids › the kid › Kid PIN › Set a PIN. 2. Change PIN or Remove PIN from the same place when it's forgotten.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Kid Mode and the Shepherd area · For kids: the Pasture

Chores › + opens the editor: name it, decide what it pays, who checks it, how it repeats and who does it. Matching pictures appear beside the icon as you type; tap one, search the catalogue, or use a photo. 1. Name and icon; Difficulty sets the experience it earns; Takes about helps routines time their steps. 2. Reward: wool, money, both, or Flock duty for the expected, unpaid things. 3. Approval: Counts right away, A Shepherd checks it, or Needs a photo, then a check. 4. Repeats and Assign decide when it shows up and for whom; add steps for younger kids.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Create a chore · For parents: setting up chores

Chores › ⋯ › Add from library has about three hundred chores: a short list picked for each age, a Habits & goals shelf, and every room from the bedroom to big jobs. On devices with Apple Intelligence, Ask Apple Intelligence for ideas suggests five more for an age, made on the device. 1. Chores › ⋯ › Add from library; pick an age or a room; search by name, a step, or a word like garbage. 2. Tick what you want and Select all works per shelf; they land as ordinary chores you can edit. 3. Ask Apple Intelligence for ideas shows only where the model is available; nothing leaves the device.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Chore ideas from Apple Intelligence · For parents: setting up chores

Pick Repeats in the chore editor: every day, weekdays, weekends, specific days, every few days, every other week, monthly, with a start and an optional end. A due time makes a chore late after it; a missed repeating chore disappears at midnight unless the chore allows the next day. 1. Chores › the chore › Repeats; the preview underneath lists the next few dates so you can check the rhythm. 2. Every N days counts from the start date; every N weeks picks a weekday and skips the weeks between; monthly on a day uses the month's last day when it's short. 3. Pause a chore for holidays instead of deleting it; it keeps its settings and history.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Repeating chores · Family calendar: repeating chores, correctly

Assign in the chore editor has three ways to share: Takes turns rotates through the kids in the order you list them; Up for grabs puts it on every chosen board and the first to grab it keeps it; Together makes one chore for all of them, finished by whoever taps We did it!. 1. Chores › the chore › Assign › Takes turns, Up for grabs or Together; drag to reorder a rotation. 2. Reports › Fair shares shows how turns and grabs landed over the last four weeks. 3. A Shepherd can hand an open chore to a kid from the calendar; a kid can un-grab from the chore detail until it's finished.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Taking turns, up for grabs and together · Fair between siblings

Turn on Flock duty in the chore's Reward section for the things everyone does anyway — teeth, homework, tidying. Duties pay nothing but still earn experience and keep the streak; leave it off and set wool or money for the jobs you pay for. 1. Chores › the chore › Reward › Flock duty: on for the expected things. 2. Filter the Chores list by Flock duties or Jobs to see each pile. 3. A duty can become a job later: edit the chore and switch Flock duty off; past completions keep what they earned.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Flock duties and jobs · Allowance: what a chore can pay

Routines › + names the routine, picks its days and start time, and sets a default time per step. Tap the kids at the top under Who runs it; every step is a chore assigned to them, and they get a Start button on their board on the routine's days. 1. Routines › +: name, days, start time, default seconds per step. 2. Who runs it: tap the kids. For the same routine at another time for another child, swipe it right and Duplicate. 3. Add steps three ways: New chore, Add existing chores, or Add from the chore library; the arrows set the order and each step can have its own time. 4. Takes about on a chore overrides the routine's default for that step.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Routines: mornings and bedtimes on rails · Routines: setting one up

On the kid's board a Start button appears on the routine's days. Each step shows the chore big, with its checklist and a countdown ring; Done! records it like any completion, Skip for now moves on. The player speaks the time, and the AirPlay button sends the voice to a HomePod. 1. Past zero the ring keeps counting in clay so the kid sees how far over they are; Done records how long it really took. 2. Two kids can run two routines at once; an Also running row at the top gets each back to their own clock. 3. Read aloud for a kid speaks every step; Settings › The voice › Read-aloud button on chores adds the speaker for everyone else. 4. A finished routine folds to one line with a check on the board and the fridge chart.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Routines: mornings and bedtimes on rails · Routines: the player

The steps were chores assigned to the kids who ran the routine, so deleting it archives them and they leave the boards. Finished ones stay in history, and Chores › Archived brings any of them back. To keep them as ordinary chores, choose Delete, keep the steps as chores. 1. Routines › swipe the routine › Delete › choose whether to keep the steps as chores. 2. Chores › Archived restores a step chore with a tap.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Routines: mornings and bedtimes on rails · Routines: deleting a routine

Approvals lists every chore waiting, grouped by kid: swipe right to approve, left to send it back for another go. Tap a card to read the note, see the photo, add a parent note, or approve with a surprise bonus on top. Approve all clears the list once you've checked things in person. 1. Needs redo puts the chore back on the kid's board with your note; when they redo it, it returns to the inbox. 2. Changed your mind? Undo an approval within ten minutes. 3. On your iPhone, approve straight from the banner (Approve / Needs another go). 4. Two parents approving the same chore on two phones pay once; the duplicate folds.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Approving chores · For parents: approvals from your pocket

Kids › the kid › Trust: Check means every chore that asks for a check waits for you; Spot check lets most count right away and holds about one in four; Trusted lets everything count. Approvals shows what counted without a check this week, and a swipe sends one back. 1. Kids › the kid › Trust › Spot check for a month, then Trusted. 2. The weekly review in Approvals: swipe Send back and the reward comes off until it's done properly. 3. Chores set to Counts right away are unaffected; photo chores still ask for the photo.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Trust levels and spot checks · For parents: trust levels and spot checks

Oops — not done yet on the chore puts it back: always for a chore waiting for a check, and for ten minutes when it counted right away. A Shepherd can put any chore or whole routine back from the kid's screen with the PIN, from the calendar, or with Reset today on a routine. 1. Kid's screen: open the chore › Oops — not done yet. 2. Parent: A Shepherd is here › PIN › Put it back to to-do, or Put the whole routine back. 3. Calendar › the chore › Put it back to to-do; Routines › swipe › Reset today. 4. An approval can be undone within ten minutes; after that, send it back and approve again, or Adjust balance.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Kid Mode and the Shepherd area · For parents: everything can be undone

Chores › + › Kind › Timed goal, then set the minutes. The kid's sheet shows a countdown with Start the timer, Pause and Keep going; when it reaches zero the chore is done exactly as a tap on I did it!. The Habits & goals shelf in the library has ready-made ones. 1. Chores › + › Kind › Timed goal › minutes; wool, approval and repeats work as for any chore. 2. Chores › ⋯ › Add from library › Habits & goals: read for 20 minutes, practise an instrument, play outside, tidy up before screens. 3. Settings › Family › Points are called › Minutes turns wool into screen minutes. 4. Timed goals have no quick I did it!; a Shepherd can still mark one done from the calendar.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Timed goals and the Habits & goals shelf · For parents: setting up chores

Off by default. Settings › Chores › Penalties for missed chores turns it on for the whole family; then give a chore penalty points in its editor. A chore nobody finished by midnight costs the points once the next morning; a chore a Shepherd skipped (excused) never does. 1. Settings › Chores › Penalties for missed chores: on. 2. Chores › the chore › penalty points (zero means never penalised). 3. A balance can go below zero; Adjust balance forgives it. Many families do better with streaks and bonuses alone.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Penalties (optional) · Allowance: bonuses, adjustments and penalties

In the chore editor set Approval to Needs a photo, then a check. The kid takes a photo (or chooses one) before I did it! appears; you see it in Approvals. Photos are shrunk and kept in your family's iCloud with the rest. 1. Chores › the chore › Approval › Needs a photo, then a check. 2. Approvals › the card shows the photo; approve, send back, or add a bonus. 3. A timed goal with a photo shows I did it! after the clock so the photo can go in first.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Create a chore · For parents: setting up chores

Barn Store (Rewards) › + adds a reward: name, emoji, category, a cost in wool or money, and optional stock. Reward ideas (the books button) opens a hundred-odd examples on shelves. Limit a reward to certain kids or leave it open to everyone. 1. Barn Store › +: name, emoji, category, cost, stock. 2. Reward ideas: screens, treats, outings, privileges, time together, things to keep, making and doing. 3. Keep a few cheap rewards in stock; small, frequent wins keep younger kids going.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The Barn Store · Rewards: a catalogue you write

Kids request a reward from their Barn Store; it waits for a Shepherd unless you turned approval off for that reward. Approve or deny from the Approvals inbox or the Barn Store screen, and mark it fulfilled once handed over. A denied request refunds the cost. 1. Approvals › the request › Approve or Not now; your iPhone also offers it on the banner. 2. Barn Store › mark it fulfilled once the treat is handed over. 3. Kids see what they bought under My Flock, on the redeemed shelf.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The Barn Store · Rewards: a catalogue you write

Settings › Wool can be cashed out sets what one wool is worth, say ten cents. A Cash out card then appears in every kid's Barn Store: they pick how much, it waits for a Shepherd like any request, and approval takes the wool and adds the money to what you owe. 1. Shepherd area › Settings › Rewards › Wool can be cashed out › the value of one wool. 2. The kid taps Cash out in the Barn Store; you approve it from Approvals.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The Barn Store · Rewards: wool into money

Barn Store › a reward › Unlock gate ties the reward to the board: it stays locked until the morning routine, every chore due before a time, or the whole day is done. Kids see a lock with how many chores are left; your iPhone gets a banner when a gate opens. 1. Barn Store › the reward › Unlock gate: a routine, every chore due before a time, or the whole board. 2. Counts once a Shepherd has checked decides whether a chore still waiting for your approval counts. 3. The Shortcut "Is the board done?" answers yes or no, so an automation can switch a Screen Time limit or a smart plug.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Unlock gates: no tablet until the chores are done · Rewards: unlock gates

Every reward has a heart; tap it and it moves to My wishes with a line like About 3 weeks away at your pace. Settings › Rewards › Big wishes wait makes wishes over an amount sit on the list for a few days before Ask for it works. 1. Kids tap the heart in the Barn Store; the pace is what they earned over the last four weeks. 2. Settings › Rewards › Big wishes wait: the amount and the number of days. 3. You see each kid's wishes under Kids › the kid, so a birthday or a bonus can land where it matters.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The wish list and the wait · Rewards: the wish list and the wait

Kids › the kid › Weekly allowance: the amount, the weekday it's paid every week, and a Starting date. It posts to the ledger on that weekday the next time the app is launched on any device, catching up to four missed weeks. 1. Kids › the kid › Weekly allowance › Amount, Paid every, Starting. 2. The footer gives the rule of thumb — a dollar per year of age per week — and Use … fills it in. 3. Allowance is money, not wool: it shows under Owed on the Money page and is paid out on Shear Day.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money, allowance and Shear Day · Allowance: weekly allowance

Money shows the ledger per kid: what's owed now and what they earned all time. Shear Day (Payday) pays out the balance or part of it and records the payout, so what you owe drops to zero. Paid by remembers how you settle up: cash, Apple Cash, a bank transfer or something else. 1. Shepherd area › Shear Day › the kid › Paying out › Paid by › Pay. 2. Settings › Shear Day is on picks the day Today shows as the next payout. 3. The app never moves real money; you hand over the cash or the transfer and it keeps the books.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money, allowance and Shear Day · Allowance: Shear Day

A surprise bonus (Today › Quick actions, or on an approval) lands wool or money on any kid at any time. Adjust balance, on Shear Day, adds or removes wool or money with a reason, for the things the app doesn't know about. 1. Today › Quick actions › Surprise bonus, or approve a chore with a bonus on top. 2. Shear Day › the kid › Adjust balance › Add or Take away › Reason › Apply. 3. Every one of these is a ledger line, so the history stays honest.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money, allowance and Shear Day · Allowance: bonuses, adjustments and penalties

Kids › the kid › Savings goals › Add: a name, an emoji and a target. The kid fills the jar from My Flock with their own spendable money; a Shepherd can move money in or out from the goal's editor. Saved money isn't paid out on Shear Day and the Barn Store can't spend it. 1. Kids › the kid › Savings goals › Add. 2. Settings › Rewards › Jar interest pays a monthly rate into every jar with money in it, as its own ledger line. 3. Reaching the target completes the goal and earns the Goal Getter badge; deleting a goal returns the money.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Savings goals and jars · Allowance: savings goals and jars

The editors show what families typically pay for a kid's age — per chore by effort, and per week — and a Use button drops the number in. The numbers come from a small table in the app, never from the network, and are a starting point, not advice. 1. Chores › a chore › Reward: when it pays money, the footer shows the typical range for the kids it's assigned to. 2. Kids › a kid › Weekly allowance: the rule of thumb is a dollar per year of age per week; Use … fills it in. 3. Add birthdays under Kids for hints that fit.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › How much should a chore pay? · Allowance: what a chore can pay

Money › Export ledger (CSV) saves one file per kid — date, kind, wool, money, reason, reference — through the share sheet. There's no import or backup file: your family's iCloud is the backup. 1. Shepherd area › Money › Export ledger (CSV) › share or Save to Files. 2. Calendar › Print this week makes a one-page PDF of the week.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Money, allowance and Shear Day · Allowance: reports and export

One chart for everyone: Week shows every kid side by side, Month shows a dot per kid per day, Day lists everyone's chores with approve and redo swipes. Tap any chore to act on it: approve, send back, mark done, skip, hand to a kid, or add a bonus. 1. Shepherd area › Calendar › Week, Month or Day; swipe sideways for other weeks, Today jumps back. 2. Day has a shortcut to add a one-off chore for that day. 3. Kids see the same calendar from their board, read-only.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The family calendar · Family calendar: week, month, day

Calendar › Print this week renders the week you're looking at as a one-page PDF: days down the side, a column per kid, a checkbox per chore. The share sheet offers Print, Save to Files and AirDrop. 1. Shepherd area › Calendar › the week you want › Print this week. 2. Print, Save to Files or AirDrop it from the share sheet.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Trends, the time report card and the printed week · Family calendar: print the week

Reports › Twelve-week trend draws each kid's completion rate per week; Fair shares shows how turns and grabs landed over four weeks; the Time report card lists every timed goal and routine that ran on the clock — the usual time against the plan, the fastest run, how often it went over. 1. Shepherd area › Reports. 2. A dip three to six weeks in is normal; that's the moment to add a fresh chore, a surprise bonus or an up-for-grabs job.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Trends, the time report card and the printed week · For parents: reports

Every device signed into the same Apple Account is part of the flock; its role decides what it shows. Family iPad: opens on the Pasture, kids tap their sheep. Your own iPhone: opens in the Shepherd area, approvals live here. A kid's iPhone: locked to that kid's board. 1. Pick the role in setup, or change it any time under Settings › This device › This device is. 2. Devices don't need to be online at the same time; changes queue and merge when they reconnect. 3. The other parent can use their own Apple Account — see Two parents, two Apple IDs.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Family iPad, your iPhone, a kid's iPhone · For parents: the Shepherd area

On a device signed into the flock's Apple Account, open Settings › Family sharing › Invite a co-parent and send the link by Messages, Mail or AirDrop. The other parent installs Sheep Chores first, then opens the link: the whole flock arrives on their phone and they choose My own iPhone. 1. Settings › Family sharing › Invite a co-parent; if the Messages bubble won't load on their phone, Copy the invitation link and paste it. 2. They install the app first, open the link, pick My own iPhone and allow notifications. From then on both of you see and change the same flock, each with your own PIN. 3. Family sharing shows who accepted; Stop sharing ends it, and they can Leave from their own Settings.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Two parents, two Apple IDs · For parents: two parents, two Apple IDs

On the family iPad, tap Fridge chart on the Pasture, or turn on Settings › This device › Start on the fridge chart so it comes up at launch. Today shows a column per kid; This week switches to the grid; a tap on a chore finishes it right there and routines play over the chart. 1. Pasture › Fridge chart, or Settings › This device › Fridge chart › Start on the fridge chart. 2. The screen stays awake while the chart is up; at night it dims to a clock between the hours you set. 3. A cheap stand and a charger on the kitchen counter is all it takes.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The fridge chart · The fridge chart: setting it up

Add a Sheep Chores widget from the Home Screen or Lock Screen gallery: Today's board, A kid's day (it asks which kid), or Waiting for you. While a routine plays, the step and its countdown show on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. 1. Long-press the Home Screen › + › Sheep Chores › pick a widget; the Lock Screen gallery has the small ones. 2. Tapping a widget opens that board or the inbox. 3. Widgets read a snapshot the app writes after every change on that device.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Widgets and the Lock Screen · For parents

Say "What's on today in Sheep Chores" or "What's waiting for me in Sheep Chores". "Finish a chore in Sheep Chores" asks for the kid and the chore; "How much time is left" answers from the device playing a routine; "Approve everything" confirms the count first; "Give a bonus" adds wool. 1. The Shortcuts app lists every action under Sheep Chores for automations and the Action button. 2. Approving and bonuses only work on a phone set up as My own iPhone. 3. A HomePod passes personal requests to your iPhone, so ask the iPad or phone that runs the routine.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Siri and Shortcuts · For parents

Data lives in your family's private iCloud database and syncs between your devices on its own; Settings › iCloud shows the account state and the last successful sync. To keep the data on one iPad only, turn iCloud off for Sheep Chores in iOS Settings on that iPad; the app then runs locally. 1. Settings › iCloud: Account, Store, Last import, Last export. 2. Give a new device a minute on first launch; a long history takes a moment to import. 3. Duplicates from two offline devices fold into one after a sync.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › iCloud sync, and when it is off · For parents: settings, in one place

Set your iPhone up as My own iPhone and allow notifications (in the setup wizard or under Settings › Notifications). When the family iPad records a finished chore, iCloud wakes your phone, it syncs, and a banner appears with Approve or Needs another go right from the Lock Screen. 1. Settings › This device › My own iPhone; Settings › Notifications › Allow, then the Banners switches. 2. Reward requests arrive the same way with Approve / Not now; four or more at once become one summary banner. 3. Banners follow the sync, so they take seconds to a minute; the family iPad never shows parent alerts.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Notifications for parents · For parents: notifications you choose

Give a chore a due time and a Reminder (15 minutes before, for example) in its editor; routines remind at their start time. On the family iPad and a kid's iPhone the reminder shows as a card at the top of Kid Mode while the app is open; Also on the Lock Screen adds real notifications. 1. Chores › the chore › Due by + Reminder. 2. Settings › Chores › Reminders › Remind kids in the app, and Also on this iPad's Lock Screen (iOS asks once). 3. Parents never get the kids' reminders; the next two days are planned, forty at most.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Reminders for kids · For parents: notifications you choose

Settings › Notifications › Evening summary posts "Today: 7 of 9 chores done · 2 waiting for you" at the time you choose; Weekly digest posts once a week, after 9 in the morning, with each kid's chores done, wool earned, streak and money owed. 1. Settings › Notifications › Evening summary › Summary at; Weekly digest: on. 2. Both come from this phone's own numbers when they're prepared; open the app for the live view.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Evening summary and weekly digest · For parents: notifications you choose

Settings › Shepherd PIN: pick 4, 5 or 6 digits and enter it twice; it reaches your other devices through iCloud Keychain. On your own iPhone, Unlock with Face ID (Settings › This device) shows the scanner instead of the pad and Use the PIN instead is a tap away. 1. Shepherd area › Settings › Shepherd PIN › Set a PIN or Change PIN. 2. Settings › This device › Unlock with Face ID: on by default on My own iPhone/iPad; the family iPad is PIN-only on purpose. 3. Pick digits the kids won't guess; birthdays are the first thing they try.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Shepherd PIN and Face ID · For parents: the Shepherd area

Settings › Family › Playful farm words turns Shepherd, Flock, Barn Store and Shear Day into Parent, Family, Rewards and Payday. Points are called Wool, Stars, Points or Minutes — pick under Settings › Family too. Week starts on, the currency and the payout day follow the family, not the device. 1. Settings › Family › Playful farm words: off for the plain words. 2. Settings › Family › Points are called: Wool, Stars, Points or Minutes. 3. Settings › Family › currency and Week starts on.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Playful or plain words · For parents: settings, in one place

Settings › Battery has four choices per device: Rest the meadow after (the Pasture slows, then holds still until a touch), Follow Low Power Mode and a hot device, Dim the screen at night (family iPad, while the chart shows its night clock), and Park a forgotten routine after. 1. Settings › Battery: rest after 10 minutes, follow Low Power, dim at night, park after 2 hours are the defaults for a kitchen-counter iPad. 2. Keep the fridge iPad plugged in; the chart keeps the screen on by design.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Battery and the always-on iPad · The fridge chart: setting it up

Free for one kid and two chores with every feature; the whole flock is one purchase under Settings › Your plan, no subscription, shared with your Family Sharing group so the other parent's iPhone and the kitchen iPad are unlocked too. Nothing is ever deleted if a family is over the limit. 1. Shepherd area › Settings › Your plan › Unlock the whole flock; the App Store shows the price for your country. 2. New device or reinstall: Settings › Your plan › Restore Purchases. 3. Every chore counts toward the free limit — routine steps and paused chores too; grown-ups never count.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › The free plan and the whole flock · Pricing on the home page

No accounts, no ads, no analytics. Data is stored on your devices and in your family's private iCloud database; Sheep Chores has no server of its own and never sees it. Erase everything removes it all, everywhere, with no undo. 1. Export: Money › Export ledger (CSV). Erase: Settings › Data › Erase everything. 2. Photo proofs are kept in your iCloud with the rest; deleting a completion deletes its photo. 3. The privacy policy, support and terms are linked under Settings › About.

In the app: Shepherd area › Guide › Your data and privacy · Privacy policy