Fairly, in a commissary with tenants who use the space unevenly, does not mean dividing the pooled bill by the number of tenants. On one real $5,000 pool, an even split overcharges the lightest tenant by 84% and undercharges the heaviest by 35% — the same pool, the same tenants, just a different arithmetic.
This calculator's own verified defaults: a $5,000 monthly pool (rent, utilities, trash, cleaning, pest control, insurance) across three tenants booking 40, 25, and 15 hours, with a $75 flat base fee each.
| Tenant | Hours booked | Even split | Hours-only split | Blended split (default) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truck 1 | 40 | $1,666.66 | $2,462.50 | $2,564.82 |
| Truck 2 | 25 | $1,666.67 | $1,567.19 | $1,528.82 |
| Truck 3 | 15 | $1,666.67 | $970.31 | $906.36 |
All three columns sum to exactly $5,000.00. Only the method of dividing it changes.
Truck 3 books 15 of the pool's 80 total tenant-hours — about 19% of the usage — but an even split would charge it a flat third of the bill, $1,666.67. The default blended split charges it $906.36 instead: an even split overcharges this tenant by about 84%. Nobody decided to overcharge the light user on purpose; it is just what dividing by headcount does when usage is not actually even.
Truck 1 books half the pool's total tenant-hours and carries the most storage, and the blended split charges it $2,564.82 for that. An even split would only charge it $1,666.66 — about 35% less. The $898.16 difference does not disappear; it is paid by Trucks 2 and 3, who use the kitchen less but split the shortfall evenly anyway.
An hours-only split ($2,462.50 / $1,567.19 / $970.31) lands close to the blended one on these defaults, but not identical — because storage tracks a different cost than booked hours. A tenant who rents a full walk-in shelf but rarely cooks on-site would pay almost nothing under an hours-only split; the blended method (70% hours, 30% storage by default, adjustable) prevents that gap.
By usage, not by headcount: split the pooled monthly cost (rent, utilities, trash, cleaning, pest control, insurance) by hours booked, storage units used, or a blend of both, instead of dividing it evenly across every tenant. This calculator's own verified defaults — a $5,000 pool across three tenants booking 40, 25, and 15 hours — price a 70/30 hours/storage blend at $2,564.82, $1,528.82, and $906.36. Splitting the same pool evenly would charge all three $1,666.67 or $1,666.66.
On this calculator's defaults, the lightest tenant (15 hours booked, one dry storage unit) owes $906.36 under the default blended split but $1,666.67 under an even split — about 84% more, for a tenant using roughly a third of the kitchen's booked hours.
On this calculator's defaults, the heaviest tenant (40 hours booked, the most storage) owes $2,564.82 under the default blended split but only $1,666.66 under an even split — about 35% less, meaning the lighter tenants are covering the gap every month without anyone deciding that on purpose.
Because they track different costs. Booked hours track variable costs like utilities and staff oversight; storage units track a more fixed draw on the walk-in and freezer space regardless of how many hours a tenant actually cooks on-site. On this calculator's defaults, an hours-only split prices the same three tenants at $2,462.50, $1,567.19, and $970.31 — close to the blended figures, but not identical, because a storage-heavy, hours-light tenant is not the same as an hours-heavy, storage-light one.