What is my share in the value we create together?

Different resources around the same table

Imagine a group preparing a learning session. Someone has a room that is empty on certain days. Someone else can prepare the programme. Another person answers enquiries and brings the dates together. A fourth person covers some initial expenses. There is no income yet, but the work has already begun.

The session itself may last just a few hours. Preparing the room, making calls, setting other work aside and providing resources also made it possible. We need to see these contributions from the beginning if we want to discuss the value created together.

The people, events and amounts in this account are illustrative. They are not the accounts of an actual BenBiz project.

“I expect no return” and “I am not taking my compensation today”

One person may say, “I can help for two hours without expecting anything in return.” This is freely offered support with clear limits. The contribution stays visible; no repayment or profit-sharing right is assumed.

Another person may say, “I can take responsibility for this work. I need part of the compensation to live on, and I can leave the rest in the project under terms we agree.” There is an expected return here; when and under what conditions it will be met must be discussed separately. Waiting for payment is not the same as donating a right.

Some contributions depend on the project succeeding. A person may knowingly accept the risk that part or all of their contribution will not be compensated under agreed conditions. We keep this separate from work for which a payment obligation has been established. Existing wage and expense obligations do not disappear through this choice.

Agree on the value before work begins

Write down the work, its scope, duration and what counts as completion. Explain how compensation was determined, who is responsible and which resources will cover it. A person’s hesitation or need for money must not become a reason to undervalue their work.

Use a consistent valuation method for contributions of comparable scope and quality. Consider expertise, responsibility, time and the nature of the work. Offering work, completing it and having its evidence independently reviewed are separate steps.

Ben Akçe can record this agreed compensation. If gold is used as a reference, specify its source, date and calculation method. A common measure makes comparisons easier; it does not decide what work is worth. A contribution score does not automatically become a Ben Akçe right.

Contributing while everyday life continues

Someone carrying a project day after day still has rent, food and family needs before the project earns income. Agreed compensation for that work belongs in the initial budget. Needing monthly payment does not mean believing less in the work.

The person can state how much they would like compensated now, while the remainder is tracked under accepted conditions. The app’s monthly preference is neither a payment promise nor an automatic transfer. A partial-payment request records a current need; only an actual payment record reduces the outstanding amount.

Urgent solidarity support needs its own purpose and funding source. Receiving support or explaining a need does not buy a larger economic share, and does not reduce the value assigned to the person’s contribution.

If 60 out of 100 has already been compensated

For illustration, suppose an accepted contribution has a total value of 100 Ben Akçe. If 60 has already been compensated, the new record starts with 40 outstanding. The earlier 60 is disclosed with evidence; it is not added again as an amount to be paid.

If a further 15 Ben Akçe of compensation is actually paid and recorded, 25 remains outstanding. The total contribution is 100, total compensation is 75 and the outstanding contribution is 25. A payment request alone changes none of these amounts.

Payment does not erase the contribution history. Preserving the record of work that helped establish a project is different from paying twice for the same contribution. An incorrect payment entry is corrected with a reasoned reversal that preserves the original record.

What happens when income arrives?

The first receipt of money is not all available to share. First come mandatory obligations, agreed compensation for the working period and necessary operating costs. Next comes an operating reserve whose purpose and upper limit were accepted in advance. Outstanding initial contributions are then compensated, before any distributable surplus is considered under agreed terms.

Initial contributions with the same repayment conditions should be compensated in proportion to their outstanding amounts. Different binding payment obligations and due dates remain protected. It should be possible to explain why resources are assigned to one contribution while others wait.

The reserve’s limit and use must be visible. New investment or a constantly growing reserve must not become a reason to postpone earlier contributions indefinitely. This is a framework for sharing; it is not a substitute for accounting profit or the money actually available.

Repaying a contribution and sharing a surplus

Repayment reduces an outstanding contribution. Participating in surplus because of founding work is a separate right that needs terms accepted in advance. Taking payment to meet living costs does not erase the work that helped establish a project. The risk carried by resources left in the project can also be considered separately.

Using only outstanding amount multiplied by waiting time could give too much advantage to people who can afford to wait. Founding work and resources left outstanding therefore need consideration in their different roles. Whether waiting has any effect, its method and its upper limit must be agreed in advance. A repaid amount stops generating new waiting weight; earlier period records are preserved.

Sharing has an agreed beginning and end. The terms must say whether participation ends when the contribution is fully repaid, or continues only to the end of the agreed period. A new period requires a new agreement. The app does not erase an outstanding contribution when a sharing period ends; separately accepted failure conditions still apply to success-dependent contributions.

The next decision belongs to the contributor

When a right arises, receiving it, leaving it in the project, directing it to another activity or giving it for solidarity is a new choice for its owner. Not requesting payment at the beginning does not mean never wanting it later. Reinvestment is not automatic.

The accepted version of the terms and its supporting evidence are preserved. New rules do not unilaterally rewrite earlier records. People can ask for an explanation, see the reasons and record an objection. An explanation thread does not itself amend an amount or contract.

Being able to say no, and choosing to give

Voluntary action is weakened when asking for compensation is treated as shameful or setting limits as selfish. People must be able to state their limits, pause and leave. If temporary support becomes ongoing work, discuss the terms again.

Infak or giving means freely directing one’s own resources or an established right towards a purpose. A common solidarity fund needs a clear purpose, funding source, authority and record of use. It must not be an unexplained deduction from pay, or a demand that the same people repeatedly cover an activity’s deficit through sacrifice.

What can you see in the app today?

In Wallet → Ben Akçe · My Rights, you can submit the terms and evidence of a completed contribution for review, request a partial payment from an accepted record and follow manual evidence records of payments made outside the app. Project summaries distinguish total, compensated and outstanding contributions, as well as success-dependent contributions and established payment obligations. The pilot app’s interface is mainly Turkish.

New records preserve the accepted version of the contribution and sharing principles. If sharing terms have been agreed, the period, reserve limit, calculation method, effect of waiting and position after repayment are recorded separately. If terms are not yet agreed, that remains explicit.

Only the person concerned and authorised general coordination can see the financial amounts. This area does not collect or send money or automatically verify bank transactions. Actual profit calculation and distribution are not open. Outstanding contributions do not automatically gain a return while project budgets, suitable agreements, sharing methods and a real-user trial remain to be completed.