How Ligatura works

Ligatura is an iPhone app for independent artists. It has five tabs: Home, Agenda, Projects, Network and Settings. This page describes each of them, the rules they follow and what happens to your data.

• The five tabs
• Gigs and their life cycle
• Fees, income, expenses and invoices
• Projects, steps and audio files
• Network and contacts
• Settings, appearance and widgets
• Data, backups and privacy
• First launch and beta

The five tabs

Home

Your dashboard for the day. It shows:

• Received this month: the total of fees received, compared with last month, along with what is still due and your costs.
• Next gig: the closest one, with its venue and fee.
• In progress: how many projects are under way and which step they have reached.
• Network: how many contacts have been active this month.
• To do: past gigs to confirm and fees to chase.

The + button creates a gig. A long press opens the quick-add menu: new gig, new income, new expense, new project, new contact.

Agenda

Two views: Month (a calendar with a dot on each busy day, and the gigs of the selected day) and List (upcoming gigs, then past gigs grouped by month). Filters by type of work (DJ set, concert, studio session…) narrow the list down.

Projects

A grid of projects (single, EP, album), each with its cover, its progress and its current step. A project’s detail screen gathers its steps, linked gigs, audio files, collaborators and notes.

Network

The list of all your contacts, grouped by role (organiser, sound engineer, artist…). At the top, the This month block shows who has been active. Each contact card shows their financial balance, the gigs you share and the projects they are linked to.

Settings

Your artist profile, billing, appearance, reminders, widgets, Face ID lock, backup and the Beta section. Details are further down, under Settings, appearance and widgets.

Gigs and their life cycle

A gig (a concert, a DJ set, a studio session, a lesson, a private event) holds: a title, a venue, a date, a time (all day, at a given time, or from… to…), the type of work, the fee, the people involved, notes, reminders, a checklist and documents.

Statuses

A past gig that was never confirmed is flagged “Past · unconfirmed”, so you can settle it.

Reminders

Each gig can have one or more notification reminders (for example “1 day before at 09:00”). New gigs inherit the default, which you can change in Settings › Reminders and calendar.

iPhone Calendar

A gig can be added to your Calendar in one tap. Ligatura only reads the events it created itself, to avoid duplicates. Nothing else from your calendar is sent anywhere.

People involved

A gig can be linked to contacts (organiser, sound engineer, musicians). The gig then appears on each contact’s card.

Fees, income, expenses and invoices

Ligatura tracks the money around your work, without being an accounting app.

• Fees: the amount for a gig, paid by an organiser.
• Income and expenses: free entries (a guitar lesson, gear, a trip). Each has an amount, a date and a category.
• Fees view: what you received and spent this month, a 12-month chart (received and upcoming, stacked), a breakdown by category and filters.
• CSV export: a file to send to your accountant.
• PDF invoices: one invoice per gig, with your name, contact details, IBAN, VAT number if you have one, and your payment terms (on receipt, net 10 days, net 30 days, or custom). You send it through Mail.

Available currencies are CHF (default), EUR and USD. The VAT rate and the country are set in Settings › Billing.

Projects, steps and audio files

The steps

Every project follows five steps: Songwriting, Recording, Mix, Mastering, Release. You tick off each step when it is done, and the current one is highlighted. A step ticked by mistake can be undone.

Audio files

• Add files from the Files app or from Voice Memos, using the share sheet to Ligatura.
• A file can be played right inside the app, with a player that keeps going when the screen is locked.
• If a file has been moved or deleted outside Ligatura, its row stays visible and is marked “file missing”.

Collaborators and notes

A project can list its collaborators (a sound engineer, a designer…) along with what each one cost. Notes are free-form.

Links to gigs

A project can be linked to gigs, such as a release party or a studio session.

Network and contacts

• Roles: each contact has one or more roles. Roles are managed in Settings › Network roles. Filters at the top of the list show them.
• Active this month: a contact is active if they have at least one gig or fee this month.
• Balance: on the card, the total received from that person and, where relevant, what you paid them.
• Adding: by hand, or by picking a card from your iPhone contacts. Ligatura does not need full access to your contacts for this.
• Call and email: one tap from the card.

Settings, appearance and widgets

Appearance

Four palettes, each available in light and dark:

Two options round this off: Glow background (halos in the palette’s colours behind each screen, or a plain background when off) and Icon in the palette’s colors (the app icon changes with the palette; when off, it stays the same).

Face ID lock

When it is on, Ligatura asks for Face ID, or your iPhone passcode, to reopen after you leave it. Amounts then disappear from widgets too.

Widgets

Three Home Screen widgets: Next date, This month and Current project. To add them: long-press an empty area of the Home Screen, “Edit”, “Add Widget”, then “Ligatura”. The app’s Home tab also lets you choose which blocks are shown and in what order.

Reminders and calendar

The default reminder for new gigs, notification permission and Calendar access are set here.

Language and formats

Ligatura follows your iPhone’s language: French, English or German. Dates and amounts follow that language’s conventions. The currency is chosen in Settings › General: CHF, EUR or USD.

Data, backups and privacy

• On your iPhone: everything you create (gigs, fees, contacts, projects, invoices, files) is stored on your iPhone. Ligatura has no server that receives it.
• No account: no password, no login. Your profile stays on the device.
• iCloud sync (optional): it runs through your iCloud account, managed by Apple. Ligatura has no access to it. The most sensitive fields (IBAN, VAT number, addresses, contact details) are encrypted there.
• Automatic backups: local copies on your iPhone, without your IBAN or contact details.
• Exported backup: a file encrypted with a password you choose. The password is not stored anywhere: without it, the file cannot be opened. You can send it by AirDrop, Mail or Files, then restore it on another iPhone.
• Erase all data: an option in Settings that deletes everything on the iPhone.
• No ads, no tracking across apps, no buying of data.

The details are in the privacy policy.

First launch and beta

• Three welcome screens: welcome, profile (stage name, legal name for invoices, optional email), palette choice.
• “Your data, your choice”: a screen that explains what stays on your iPhone and what leaves it. Nothing leaves without your consent. You can decline, and change your mind later in Settings › Beta › Data sharing.
• Built-in guide: the first time you open each tab, a tip points to where to tap. You can replay it from Settings › Show the tips again.
• Beta: during the beta, every feature is unlocked. Three surveys (after 7, 14 and 30 days) collect feedback; they can be sent later if your iPhone is offline.
• Demo: Settings › Beta › Load demo data adds fictional contacts, gigs, entries and projects, marked “Demo”. Your own data is not touched.

Any questions?

Write to support@ligatura.app. During the beta, feedback is read and used to fix the app.