You organise the stag or hen do. The group decides it.
Truce is a group trip planner for iPhone. The group picks the weekend, votes on what you do, and splits each cost as it’s booked, with the bride or groom’s share covered. Below is one hen do, planned start to finish in the app.
Priya’s hen
Example trip
// Before the weekend
The weekend
Fri 14 – Sun 16 May
Dates poll3 weekends proposed9 of 9 free
Jess put three weekends up and everyone marked the ones they could make. Only the first worked for all nine, so she confirmed it, and the plan and the ledger unlocked.
// Dates poll09 members← Back[ When are you all free? ]Priya’s henVote on the options below, or propose your own.
14 May – 16 May 272 nights✕ Remove✓ 9 available✕ 0 unavailable// ResponsesJM✓AO✓CB✓DR✓EW✓FK✓HS✓ML✓ZT✓✓ AvailableUnavailableConfirm these dates →21 May – 23 May 272 nights✕ Remove✓ 6 available✕ 3 unavailable// ResponsesJM✓AO✓CB✓DR✕EW✕FK✕HS✓ML✓ZT✓04 Jun – 06 Jun 272 nights✕ Remove✓ 5 available✕ 4 unavailable// ResponsesJM✓AO✕CB✓DR✓EW✓FK✓HS✕ML✕ZT✕Dates poll
The budget
Under £450 a head
Anonymous poll6 of 9 picked £350–450
Asked anonymously, so nobody had to say what they could afford in front of everyone else. The answer set the budget, and the ledger has measured the trip against it since the first booking.
The dress code
70s, Saturday night
Group pollOn the packing list8 of 9 packed
The theme went to a poll and the outfit went on the shared packing list, where each person ticks it off for themselves. Jess can see who still needs one without asking round.
The bride
Added on Friday morning
Kept off the trip till thenOwes nothing booked before
Truce has no hidden mode, so the surprise holds by leaving Priya off the trip. Jess added her at the airport: Priya got the whole plan, and the five costs already booked stayed split between the nine.
Fri 14 May
05 stops · £2,29506:1508:55
Flight
LGW → LIS
Added from a boarding passEveryone books their own seat
09:3010:15
Transit
Airport → Príncipe Real
Jess paid £45
15:00
Stay · check in
Apartment, Príncipe Real
Won a group poll 6–3Split 9 waysJess paid £1,242
Three flats went to a poll. When Jess booked the winner, the cost split nine ways on the spot. Priya shows on that split now, unticked at £0, so nobody has to ask whether she’s paying.
17:3019:30
Activity
Sunset sail on the Tagus
Won the vote7 yea · 2 nayNominated by ChloeChloe paid £585
Chloe nominated it from Discover with its price attached. It beat a tuk-tuk tour and a cocktail class when the vote closed, and went straight onto the plan for her to book.
21:0023:00
Food & drink
Dinner in Bairro Alto
Won the vote6 yea · 3 nay3 notes · 5 repliesChloe paid £423
A vote can carry a line saying why, and anyone can reply to it. Mei’s note about a proper veggie menu for Priya swung it, and the replies under it sorted out who would book.
Sat 15 May
03 stops · £96310:3013:00
Activity
Pastel de nata class
Tied with a Sintra day tripThe wheel picked itJess paid £396
Both finished on six yeas and three nays. A two-way tie can’t be voted down any further, so it went to the wheel. Nobody holds a casting vote here, Jess included.
14:3018:00
Free time
Afternoon off: Carcavelos beach
Added by HanaNo cost
20:0023:30
Food & drink
Dinner and fado, Alfama
Won the vote5 yea · 4 nayDress code: 70sJess paid £567
Sun 16 May
03 stops · £4511:0012:30
Food & drink
Recovery brunch
Everyone paid their ownNot on the ledger
13:3014:15
Transit
Príncipe Real → airport
Jess paid £45
16:4019:20
Flight
LIS → LGW
Everyone books their own seat
// After
The bill
£3,303 · £367 a head
Jess and Chloe fronted itSquared in 15 payments£83 a head under budget
Jess and Chloe fronted every cost. The other seven settle twice, once with each of them; Priya owes nothing; and every balance updates on everyone’s phone as it’s paid.
The recap
Wrapped, the morning after
FreeThe Wallet: JessThe Scout: Chloe
When the trip ends, everyone gets a tap-through recap of what happened: what won, where the money went, and an award for whoever fronted the most.
The awkward bits
Most of what goes wrong on a stag or hen do is money and surprises. This is how Truce handles both.
Can the stag or bride see what’s planned?
Not until they’re on the trip. Truce has no hidden mode: everyone on a trip sees the whole plan, and the votes and notes behind it. So plan it without them, and add them when you want the reveal.
How do we cover their share?
Leave them off while you book, and each cost splits between the people paying as it’s booked. Anything logged after they join can leave them out too: untick them under Split between, and the rest of you cover it.
What if someone drops out after we’ve paid?
A cost’s split is fixed when it’s booked, so a dropout doesn’t quietly put up what everyone else owes. Their share of anything already booked stays theirs to settle. If they leave the trip first, whoever paid absorbs it, not the group.
Does everyone need the app?
Everyone who votes, or wants the plan on their phone, does. For now Truce is iPhone only and in open beta. You invite people by username or send them a link.
Can we book activities through it?
You nominate real activities from Viator, prices included, and the group votes. Whoever books the winner does it on Viator, confirms it in Truce, and the cost lands on the ledger split between everyone on the trip at that moment.
What does it cost?
Planning is free for the whole group: the dates poll, the ballot, the plan and the ledger. A Pro trip adds extras such as the document vault and offline maps, for one payment of £9.99 $9.99 A$14.99 NZ$19.99 that covers everyone.
Is it only for stag and hen dos?
No. Bachelor and bachelorette parties, buck’s and hen’s nights and birthday weekends all run the same way. Truce is a planner for any trip a group has to agree on.
Put the weekend to a vote.
Truce is in open beta on iOS. Start the trip, invite the group, and let them decide it.
Free. Open it on your iPhone - it installs through TestFlight, Apple’s app for testing new apps.