Travel Planning – Trips, Itinerary & Expenses

Navigate to: Dashboard > Lifestyle > Travel (/dashboard/lifestyle/travel)

Travel in SparkyMinis goes far beyond a list of destinations. It is a fully integrated trip management system: trip details, a Kanban-style itinerary board, multi-currency expense tracking, a pre-travel checklist wizard, and a file vault for your tickets and memories.

Trip Status Logic

SparkyMinis automatically manages trip statuses based on dates:

The Dashboard overview shows your active and upcoming trips prominently.

Creating a Trip

1. Click + Plan a Trip from the Travel list.
2. Fill in:

- Title — e.g., "Japan 2026" or "Goa Family Trip"

- Destination(s) — Add one or more cities or countries.

- Start Date and End Date

- Primary Currency — The main currency you'll track spending in.

- Additional Currencies — Other currencies you'll use (e.g., add JPY for Japan, THB for Thailand). Multi-currency is handled seamlessly.

- Total Budget — Your spending limit in the primary currency.

- Companions — Select from Friends & Family directory (optional).

- Trip Type — Business trip, vacation, family travel, etc. (affects checklist suggestions).

- Notes — Free-text for visa requirements, packing reminders, or trip context.

1. Click Save.

Editing a Trip

1. Open the trip from the Travel list.
2. Click the Edit (pencil) icon in the header.
3. All fields — including dates, budget, and currencies — can be updated at any time.
4. Click Save.

Deleting a Trip

1. Open the trip detail page.
2. Use the header actions menu to click Delete Trip.
3. Confirm. All associated trip plans and expenses are also removed.

Trip Plan Tab – The Itinerary Board

The Trip Plan tab is a visual, day-by-day itinerary board. Each day is a column; activities are cards within each day.

Adding Activities

1. Go to the Trip Plan tab inside a trip.
2. Navigate to the day using the date bar at the top (arrows to move between days).
3. Click the + Plus button in the Day Header or at the bottom of the column.
4. Fill in:

- Activity Title — e.g., "Tsukiji Market Visit", "Check-in at Airbnb"

- Time — Start time (optional but helps with sorting: Morning → Afternoon → Evening).

- Category — Food, Transport, Accommodation, Activity, Shopping, etc.

- Est. Amount & Currency — Enter the planned cost and select the currency using the Quick Currency Picker (consistent with Expenses).

- Status — Planned / Done / Skipped / Cancelled.

- Location — Search for places using the integrated map search.

- Notes — Booking references, addresses, or tips.

1. Click Save Activity.

Activities & Places (Unscheduled Column)

The first column on your board is Activities & Places. This is your "Ideas Board" where you can capture plans before they are assigned to a specific day.

• Unscheduled Only: Toggle the filter to see only items that aren't on your timeline yet.
• Assigning to Day (Linking): Open an activity in the master column and use the Assign to day... dropdown. The activity will move to the selected day's column.
• Unscheduling (Unlinking): If plans change, open any scheduled activity and click Move to Unscheduled. It will return to the master list, preserving all details.

Activity Status

• Planned — Not yet done.
• Done — Completed. Shown with a tick.
• Skipped — Decided against it.
• Cancelled — Booking cancelled.

Converting to Expense

Planned activities can be instantly converted to actual expenses:

• Open an activity card and click Dollar Icon (Expense).
• This opens the Expense form with the Title, Amount, and Currency already pre-filled.
• Saving this links the financial record to your itinerary plan seamlessly.

Today's Column

When a trip is Ongoing, the board automatically scrolls to today's column and highlights it visually. The day header shows a "Today" badge for instant navigation.

Expenses Tab – Trip Budget Tracking

The Expenses tab inside a trip is a simplified version of the Business Expenses system, optimised for on-the-go entry:

• No tax fields — Trips aren't usually about tax deductions. The form is kept lean.
• Quick currency toggle — One tap to switch between your Home Currency and the trip's local currencies.
• Budget Bar — Real-time progress bar at the top. Goes from green → orange → red as you approach your budget limit.

Adding a Trip Expense

1. Go to the Expenses tab inside a trip.
2. Click + Add Expense.
3. Enter: Amount, Currency, Category, Date, and optional Notes.
4. Click Save.

The Budget Bar updates immediately.

Checklist Wizard Tab

The Checklist Wizard generates a personalised pre-travel checklist based on your trip details (destination, trip type, duration, and companions).

Generating Your Checklist

1. Go to the Checklist tab inside a trip.
2. The wizard analyses your trip profile (international vs domestic, business vs leisure, with family vs solo).
3. A smart checklist is generated across categories:

- Documents — Passport, visa, travel insurance, vaccinations.

- Bookings — Flights, accommodation, local transport.

- Finance — Notify bank, load travel card, check currency availability.

- Health — Medications, first aid, travel vaccinations.

- Packing — Climate-appropriate clothing, adapters, electronics.

- Connectivity — International SIM, roaming plan, offline maps.

Using the Checklist

• Tick items as you complete them before departure.
• Add custom items with + Add Item.
• Progress is shown as a percentage complete.
• Remaining items are highlighted to keep you focused.

Files Tab – Tickets, Confirmations & Memories

The Files tab stores everything related to a trip — tickets, visa copies, hotel confirmations, and personal photos.

Uploading Files

1. Go to the Files tab inside the trip.
2. Click Upload or drag and drop files.
3. All trip files from activity attachments and expense receipts also aggregate here automatically.

File Sources

Trip files come from three sources:

1. Manual uploads — Directly to the Files tab.
2. Activity attachments — Files attached to a Trip Plan activity card.
3. Expense receipts — Receipt images attached to trip expenses.

All three appear in one unified Files tab so you never have to search multiple places.

Downloading & Deleting Files

• Click a file to view or download it.
• Hover and click the trash icon to delete a file.
• Deleted files are removed from the Vault permanently.