Kocheras Help

Need help? Write to us at care@kocheras.app and we’ll reply.

Getting started

You can sign in with Google, with Apple, or with your email and a password. All three lead to the same place; it's one account and you can switch between them.

If you're signing up, you first choose who the account is for: a home (your family, your partner, your flatmates) or a company. That changes the plan, so it's asked before anything is created.

With Apple you can hide your email: they give you a forwarding address. It works the same, but if someone invited you to their account using your usual email, that invitation won't find you. Use the link in the email you got, or "I have a code".

If you've been invited, don't create an account: use «I have an invitation». If you create one, you'll end up in an empty home instead of the one that invited you.

How do I add my car

Cars → Add car (on the web the button reads Add vehicle). All you need is a name, type and plate; the rest (mileage, insurance, notes) can come later. The car is yours: nobody else can edit or delete it.

Open the car → Share. Two ways:

By email: enter their address and they get an invitation. Cleanest option.
With a code: the app generates a code like KOCH-4QX7 you can send over WhatsApp. Useful when you don't know their email.

Either way, that person needs their own Kocheras account, and you have to approve them. Nobody gets access to your car without your say-so.

Lending the car to someone without an account

«Share» gives access to someone who has (or creates) their own Kocheras account. Lending hands the car to someone without an account: from Bookings → New booking, pick "A guest", enter their name and email and the dates. They get a link: they see the loan and do the return (mileage, fuel, a photo if there's damage) without signing up. It's on record who had the car, and if they later create an account with that same email, their history is attributed to them. Use Sharing to change who has stable access; use Lending to hand the car to a one-off person.

If you cancel the loan, the guest's link stops working immediately: they won't be able to see the booking or do the return. Tell them yourself — they get no notice.

I've been invited, what now?

If you got an email, tap the button: the app opens by itself and already knows which invitation it is. If you were given a code, open the app → I have an invitation. From there you can sign in with Google, with Apple or with your email, and you join the account that invited you.

Don't create an account on your own: you'd end up in an empty home, not theirs.

Careful, these are two different things and they look alike:

"I have an invitation", on the sign-in screen, is for joining someone's account: their home or their company. That's the one above.
"I have a code", inside the app under Cars, is for getting access to a single car with a code like KOCH-4QX7. For that you already need your own account, and whoever shares it has to approve you.

If someone sent you a code on WhatsApp and you're already inside Kocheras, it's the second one.

Booking and driving

How do I book

Book → pick the car, whether it's today or tomorrow, and how long you need. The app suggests available slots and one tap books it. If you'd rather set an exact time, the link is at the bottom.

It won't let me book

Usual reasons, in order:

You have a car you haven't returned. Until you close it, the app blocks you. Go to Today → Return now. Returning is done on the phone; it isn't on the web.
That car needs approval and your request is still waiting.
You already have another booking at the same time in a different car.
The owner has blocked those days (garage, trip or personal use).
The car is under maintenance.
The account is suspended. Nobody on the account can book until it's reactivated. Whoever administers it can fix that; if you don't know who, write to us.

I'm past my time

Return it as soon as you can: whoever has it next has already been told there may be a delay. If nobody has booked it after you, you can extend your booking from Today instead of returning it.

Can I change or cancel a booking

Yes, from the booking details. To move it, tap Edit times and set the new ones: before saving, it checks the booking doesn't clash with another one or with the car's rules. You can do it from the app and from the web. If the car needs approval, changing the times goes back to the owner.

Returning

What do I need to fill in

If all went well, one tap. It asks for the mileage (important: it's how we work out how much each person used it and how expenses are split), the fuel level and where you're leaving the car.

If something happened, choose "Something's up", pick what (damage, dirty, breakdown, fine or other), add a photo and the owner is notified.

Reporting damage or a problem

You don't have to wait until you return the car. From the car's page you can tap Report damage, choose what happened, add a note and a photo, and whoever manages it is notified. It works the same on the app and on the web. Whoever manages the car can mark the issue as resolved once it's been dealt with; it isn't deleted, it stays on the record.

What's the mileage for

Two things: knowing how far each person drove, and splitting expenses fairly. If nobody logs it, splitting by mileage doesn't work.

How are expenses split

When someone pays for fuel, a wash or a toll, they log it in the app with the amount. You can split it by each person's mileage (the fair way) or evenly. In Activity you see who owes what. Kocheras doesn't move any money: you settle it between you.

Approving or voiding an expense

A newly logged expense is pending. Whoever manages the car can approve it —then it's locked— or void it. Deleting an expense no longer erases it: it voids it, so it stops counting in the split but stays on the record. Pending and approved expenses count; voided ones don't. Once approved, only whoever manages the car can reopen or void it.

Your car, your rules

Can I require my approval for every booking

Yes. Open the car → Rules → «I approve every booking». You'll get a notification with who's asking, what for and their rating, and you decide. You can also set how far ahead a booking can be made at most, the maximum duration of a booking and the allowed hours.

How do I remove someone's access

Open the car → Who uses it → tap the person → Remove access. If they had future bookings, those are cancelled and they're notified. Their history and any outstanding debts remain.

Can I block some days

Yes: Calendar → Block some days (on the web, from Bookings). Nobody can book during that period. If there were bookings, they're cancelled with a notification.

Custom roles and permissions (business)

In a business account, on top of the usual parts (owner, manager, driver) you can create custom roles and decide box by box what each one can do: see the fleet, book, approve bookings, see or log expenses, manage maintenance, see reports… It's done on the web, in Roles. Each person carries a part or a role, and you can change it whenever you want. In a Home account it doesn't appear: there each car's owner is in charge.

Account and data

How many owners can an account have

It depends on the account type. A home has two levels, owner and driver, and it can have more than one owner: several people in control, handy when the car belongs to a couple or a family. A company has a single owner, and below that managers (they run the fleet) and drivers (they book and use the car). In both cases, the owner decides who gets in and what each person can do.

I signed in with Google and I have no password

That's normal: if you sign in with Google or Apple, Kocheras doesn't store a password for you. There's nothing to change or remember. Always use the same button.

If one day you want your own password, use «Forgot your password?» with the same email: you'll get a link, and from then on you can sign in either way.

Stop using someone else's car

Open that car → Leave this car. It disappears from your list. Future bookings are cancelled, and any outstanding expenses stay visible until you settle them.

Why are you asking for my licence

We don't ask you for it: we ask you about it. You state whether you hold a valid licence and the responsibility is yours. We don't store the number or any photo of the document, and Kocheras doesn't check anything or track whether it stays valid. If you give us the expiry date —it's optional— we only use it to warn you before it's due.

Where do I set my licences

You do it yourself, from your profile: My details → My licences (on the web, in Preferences), ticking the classes you hold (B, C…). You can add each class's expiry —it's optional— so we warn you before it runs out. We only store the class and, if you add it, that date: no number, no photo. It warns you if you book a vehicle that needs a licence you haven't listed.

Delete my account

Profile → Delete my account (on the web, in Preferences). Everything goes: your data, your cars and your bookings. It can't be undone. We warn you first if you have future bookings or outstanding debts.

Change language or theme

Profile → Language (Spanish, Catalan or English) and Theme (dark or light). On the web, in Preferences.

Cost centres (business)

If your business has sites or departments, you can group cars by cost centre: each car is assigned to a centre from its page, and then you can filter the fleet and the reports by centre to see what each site uses. It's a business thing; in a Home account it doesn't appear.

Insurance

Does Kocheras insure the car?

No. Kocheras does not insure any car. The only cover is the owner's own policy. We organise turns, nothing else.

Ask your insurer before sharing it, and get it in writing. Many policies cover any driver with a valid licence, others only named drivers, and some raise the excess if the driver is under 25. This is the single most important thing here: if the policy doesn't cover the driver, a knock comes out of your pocket.

What if there's a claim on a shared car?

The owner files it, because the policy is theirs. The app records who had the car, from what time, at how many kilometres and whether they reported anything on return: that's what settles who was driving. Kocheras doesn't mediate between you, or with the insurer.

Can I charge for lending my car?

Not today. Splitting costs between the people who use it isn't charging rent, and that's what the app does. Real renting changes the insurance you need, so it won't be switched on until that's sorted.

Paying

What happens if I add or remove a car mid-month

Adding one is charged straight away, pro rata for the rest of the period. Add a car on the 20th of a 30-day month and you pay a third: you use it from that day, so it is charged from that day.

Removing one is not refunded. The period is already paid for and you keep it in full. The reduction shows up at the next renewal, which bills whatever you have then.

I am down to two cars: am I free again?

Yes. Kocheras Home includes two free cars and that does not expire. Archive the third and at the next renewal we stop charging you and the account goes back to free on its own. No calls, nothing to cancel.

Archiving deletes nothing: the archived car keeps its whole history, and the mileage each person did with it stays in the reports.

My card failed

We try again several times over about three weeks. We email you each time. Changing the card from Plan and billing fixes it, and nothing else happens.

If it still goes unpaid, the account is blocked: no new bookings until the payment is sorted. Your data is not deleted and you can still return a car you have out (so no vehicle is left marked as out forever). As soon as it is paid, everything goes back to normal right away.

Do the prices include tax?

No. Every price you see is before tax, which is why each figure has + VAT next to it. Tax is added at checkout and itemised on the invoice.

How much is added depends on where you are, and the payment provider works it out from the billing address you give when you subscribe. If you are a company in another EU country and you enter a valid EU VAT number, the invoice comes out with the reverse charge, that is, with no tax.

So €3 a month on Casa is €3 plus its VAT, and in Spain that is €3.63. The price on the page is the same for everyone; what changes is the tax on top.

I have a discount code

You enter it when you subscribe, in Plan and billing: there is a «Have a discount code?» box. Type it in and press check. If it is valid, you will see right there what discount it applies and for how long, before paying anything.

If the code does not exist, has expired or has run out, we tell you straight away. A code is never applied on its own: you always type it and you always see what it does before confirming.

More features

How do ratings work?

When a booking ends, you and the owner can rate each other with stars and a short comment. So that nobody writes influenced by what the other said, a rating only becomes visible once you have both rated (or when the deadline passes). Your average score shows on your profile. Ratings from another account can't be muted.

What do the reports mean?

If you have permission to see them, the reports sum up how the fleet is doing: usage (how much each car is used), cost per kilometre, idle days and the balance between people (who uses it more and who less). They're for deciding whether you have too many or too few cars, not for watching anyone. In business accounts you can download them as CSV.

The Analytics screen (web)

On the web you have Analytics, a more detailed view than the panel: it breaks usage down by car, by person or by centre, lets you pick the period and compare with the previous one. It comes from the same data as the reports —no new figures— and is meant for a calm look from the computer. You need permission to see reports.

How do I set up notifications?

In Profile → Notifications (on the web, in Preferences). There's a master switch (get notifications or not) and, below it, four categories you can turn off separately: bookings, requests, maintenance and issues. Notifications arrive by email and, if you have the app installed, also as a phone notification. The invitation and the goodbye can't be turned off.

What is the activity log?

It's the history of who did what and when in the account (bookings, expenses, changes…). Whoever manages the account sees it, to have context if something doesn't add up. It's not for watching the day-to-day: it's the account's memory.

What is KITT, the assistant?

It's the help that answers: questions about how Kocheras works and about your account ("how much did I pay last month?", "who has the car now?"), always with your permissions. It also proposes actions (book, log an expense, resolve an issue, edit a booking's times, go to a screen…) that you confirm: it never executes anything on its own. And if you tell it something is broken, it collects it for the team. It opens from the central button on the bar and you can dictate to it by voice.