Split a budget between contributors, based on what was delivered.
The question every collective ends up asking
An open source project funded on Open Collective receives donations and reimburses expenses. The day contributors need to be paid, the discussion runs into a question of fact: who did what, over which period, towards which goal?
Without a shared record, the answer depends on everyone’s memory, and the split turns into a negotiation. Jalon puts those facts on the table before the conversation starts.
What Jalon does not do
Jalon is not connected to Open Collective, holds no money and pays nobody. It computes no amount: proposing a split key would mean deciding in the collective’s place.
Expenses are still submitted and paid on Open Collective, under your fiscal host’s rules.
The facts to rely on
The activity log
Creations, completed tasks, state changes and assignments, in the order they happened and with their author. A factual history, without interpretation.
Milestones and their baseline
Split the funded work into milestones, freeze a baseline, and the Tracking screen says what was delivered on time, late, or not yet.
Everyone’s load
The Organisation page shows each member’s open tasks. It counts tasks, not hours: it is a breakdown, not a scale.
The contributions table
From the Activity screen, pick the funded period and download a CSV: one row per person and per milestone, with the number of completed tasks and their titles. It opens in any spreadsheet and can be shared as is with the collective.
A task reopened since no longer counts; the person listed is whoever holds the task at export time. The file counts, it prices nothing.
A three-step approach
First, split the funded period into milestones and assign tasks to the people who take them. Then, at the end of the period, export the contributions table and review it alongside milestone tracking. Finally, agree on the split among yourselves, and submit the expenses on Open Collective as usual.
With a connected forge, the delivery report adds what issues and merge requests say: what was planned, against what was delivered.
Frequently asked questions
Does Jalon connect to Open Collective?
No. No data flows between the two: Jalon establishes the facts, Open Collective manages the collective’s money.
Does Jalon suggest a split key?
No, and on purpose. A task count does not measure effort: ten one-line fixes weigh as much as a rewrite. The decision belongs to the collective.
Does every contributor need an account?
To appear in the log and be assigned tasks, yes: each person is a member of the organisation. The Free plan accepts three; beyond that, it is the Pro plan.