Without the right structure, even small financial tasks can become overwhelming. Tracking expenses, remembering who paid what, and keeping everyone informed takes time and energy that families simply don’t have. SupportPay is pioneering Modern Family Finances—bringing clarity, trust, and peace of mind to how family members manage money across households.
The Story Behind SupportPay
When Financial Stress Meets Family Complexity
SupportPay didn’t begin as a startup idea. It began with a real family challenge.
Our founder and CEO, Sheri Atwood, experienced something most financial tools weren’t designed for—managing money with family across multiple households.
And with it came stress, confusion, and conflict.
There has to be a better way!
A few months after her daughter’s birth she separated from her daughter’s father and subsequently divorced. Raising her daughter on her own wasn’t the scary part, though it wasn’t something Sheri had dreamed of either, having been raised by a single mother. She did worry about how she would have time to do everything that needed to be done. Since this was a very amicable divorce, she decided to do the divorce, financial agreement and settlement on her own. It sure saved a lot of money and filing the divorce paperwork was fairly easy (though there always seemed to be one document she forgot to fill out and had to go back to the court-house several times!) We had been married for 6 years, and always agreed if we didn’t stay together, we would do our best to ensure our daughter was put before our own needs, wants and emotions. We agreed on custody and visitation and used the standard calculator to determine the amount of child support that would be paid. Other than a few hundred dollars in filing fees, a ton of paperwork and having to wait 6 months for the final judgment (a requirement in the State of California) she can say our divorce went very smoothly. She learned a long time ago that nothing good comes of remaining angry and the best thing she could do for her daughter and her daughter was to build a loving, positive home for us.
Divorce doesn't end the conflict!
The divorce process was easy. However, the biggest lesson she has learned is the issues that lead to divorce- communication and money- do not get easier with your former partner. They get much harder. Now that she had less time and they were no longer managing a single household and bank account, enforcing the child support agreement became difficult and time-consuming. Let’s face it no one likes to talk about money with someone they like. And they really don’t like to talk about money with their someone who is now their ex. Perhaps if child support was simply one payment per month it wouldn’t be so hard. However, in most, if not all child support agreements, parents are supposed to split basic household expenses plus incremental expenses such as healthcare, education or any other special needs for the children. These incremental, or additional, expenses became a communication and tracking nightmare. Between tracking on a spreadsheet, having to keep copies and send them to my ex as well as having to remind him to pay me, or a third party for any child-related expense, she began to feel more like a bill collector than anything else and the entire process was time-consuming, exhausting and fraught with error. she just wished she never had to talk to my ex about money again.
There Has to Be a Better Way!
Many years ago, our CEO and Founder, Sheri Atwood, was enjoying a successful career in Silicon Valley. But like many families, she began facing something that no financial tool seemed designed to handle—managing money with family. It started when Sheri and her siblings were helping support their mom. They all wanted to do the right thing and make sure she was cared for. But what should have been simple quickly became complicated. Bills needed to be shared, expenses needed to be tracked, and everyone wanted transparency around what was happening. Emails, texts, and spreadsheets started piling up. Conversations that should have been about caring for their mom slowly turned into conversations about receipts, reimbursements, and who had paid what. Sheri realized something many families quietly experience: money has a way of creating tension even when everyone has the best intentions.
Loaning Money to Family
Around the same time, Sheri began to see the same challenge appear in other parts of her family. She and her siblings were all trying to help support their mom, but coordinating money between multiple people quickly became complicated. Keeping track of who paid which bill, sharing expenses fairly, and making sure everyone had visibility turned into a constant stream of messages, receipts, and spreadsheets. What started with good intentions slowly became time-consuming and frustrating to manage. That’s when Sheri realized something important. The issue wasn’t the family members involved. Families everywhere were trying to manage shared financial responsibilities together—but without a system designed to support how modern families actually manage money.
Divorce Made the Need Clear
Not long after, Sheri went through a divorce. Fortunately, the divorce itself was amicable. She and her former partner agreed their child would always come first, and they handled the legal process themselves. The paperwork was manageable. The real challenge began afterward. Managing finances across two households proved far more complicated than filing the divorce documents. Child-related expenses, healthcare costs, school activities, and everyday needs all had to be shared and tracked. Sheri often found herself documenting expenses, sending receipts, and reminding someone else to pay their share. At times she felt less like a parent and more like a bill collector. And she kept thinking one simple thing: there had to be a better way.
SupportPay is Born!
As someone who had spent her career building technology, Sheri began asking an obvious question. If we can automate credit card statements and track banking transactions instantly, why is managing money with family still so chaotic? Why were families relying on spreadsheets, payment apps, text messages, and scattered receipts to manage some of the most important financial responsibilities in their lives? The more Sheri researched, the more surprising the answer became. Families everywhere were facing the same challenge—siblings supporting parents, family members lending money, and families raising children across households. Yet every financial tool had been built for individuals, not families managing money together. That realization led Sheri to create SupportPay. SupportPay is pioneering Modern Family Finances, helping families manage money across households with transparency, structure, and clarity—so they can spend less time arguing about money and more time focusing on what truly matters: their relationships.
Managing Money Across Households
Today, many families manage finances across multiple households. Whether supporting children, caring for aging family members, or sharing everyday expenses, families often find themselves trying to coordinate money together without a clear system. What should be simple quickly becomes complicated—tracked through spreadsheets, texts, payment apps, and scattered receipts.
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The Reality
Families are expected to manage shared financial responsibilities with tools that were never designed for families. Banking, budgeting, and payment tools are built for individuals, not for family members who need transparency, shared records, and an easy way to manage money together.
The Result
THE IRONY
Despite the fact that more than 298 million parents exchange over $990 billion dollars every year in child support after an order or agreement has been established parents are left to try to figure out how to manage the complicated, complex and time-consuming process.
The irony of such a situation is that two people who mutually agreed that they can no longer stay together must now figure out how to communicate about money for the purpose of sharing child expenses.
STRESS & CONFLICT
This naturally leads to a stressful partnership, harmful for all involved, especially the children. Clearly, a solution was needed to address this complex, painful and conflict-ridden process, yet none existed.
A New Way to Manage Family Finances
SupportPay was created to solve a challenge many families face—managing money across households. Modern families often share financial responsibilities while living in different homes. SupportPay provides a transparent way for family members to track expenses, send money, and stay aligned.
Ending The Conflict
Money is one of the biggest sources of stress in families. SupportPay brings structure and transparency so family members no longer have to chase payments, track receipts, or argue about who paid what.
Save Time & Money
SupportPay gives families one place to manage shared finances. Track expenses, manage payments, upload receipts, store documents, and keep clear records—without spreadsheets, payment apps, or constant reminders. Everything families need to manage money across households is in one place.
SupportPay seeks to address the specific needs of parents dealing with child support. It provides a much needed automated child support platform to help parents manage the process of sharing child expenses and exchanging child support.
ENDING THE CONFLICT
SupportPay takes the emotion out of the equation and protects your finances from becoming a victim of quick tempers and pent up aggression. It is the embodiment of a simple solution to address a complex problem.
SAVE TIME & MONEY
Both parents can manage child support communications, bills, payments, receipts, documents, and get certified reports through SupportPay. Imagine eliminating phone calls, constant reminders, checking numerous bank accounts or updating spreadsheets. All your child support and child expenses in one place, for both parents.
You Can Now Focus on What Matters Most
Your Family.
We knew there had to be a better way.