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Storage Charges — How pallet and carton storage is calculated (with examples)

This guide explains how we calculate pallet storage and carton storage charges, why we use daily calculations, and why this method is fair for both you (the client) and the warehouse.

Engineering roadmap note: future work to make these storage quantities drillable by date, warehouse, location, storage classification, and inventory evidence is tracked in Storage Billing Auditability & Historical Evidence.

What we’re measuring

We track storage using nightly snapshots of how much storage you are using.

Each night, we record:

Pallets on hand (how many pallets you have in storage)
Cartons on hand (how many cartons you have in storage)

This gives a true picture of how your storage changes throughout the month (new deliveries, dispatches, stock movements).

Why we calculate storage daily (and why it’s fair)

If storage was billed using a single “point in time” number (for example, “how many pallets you had on the last day of the month”), it could be unfair:

If you had a temporary spike for a few days, you’d overpay if billing used the highest number.
If you only measure at the end of the month, you might underpay compared to the space actually used mid‑month.
The warehouse needs a fair way to recover costs for space used, while clients need a fair way to avoid paying for space they didn’t use.

Daily snapshot billing is fair because:

You pay for storage only for the days you used it.
Short-term spikes are charged only for the time they existed.
The warehouse is paid fairly for the capacity it had to provide.

The calculation in plain English

For each storage type (pallets and cartons), we do this:

Each night, we record how many pallet locations and carton locations you’re using (“on hand” storage count).
We add up those nightly counts across the month:
- Sum of nightly pallet counts this month
- Sum of nightly carton counts this month
We convert that total into an easy-to-bill weekly equivalent:

Weekly equivalent = (Sum of nightly counts) ÷ 7

This weekly equivalent is what we use as the billable quantity for “pallet weeks” / “carton weeks” style charges — but the key point is it’s derived from daily usage, not a single snapshot.

The formula (simple)

Pallet storage

Weekly equivalent pallets = (Sum of nightly pallet counts in the month) ÷ 7
Pallet storage cost = Weekly equivalent pallets × your pallet storage rate

Carton storage

Weekly equivalent cartons = (Sum of nightly carton counts in the month) ÷ 7
Carton storage cost = Weekly equivalent cartons × your carton storage rate

Example 1 — Pallet storage (simple)

Let’s say in a 30‑day month your pallet usage looks like this:

Days 1–10: 5 pallets per night
Days 11–30: 2 pallets per night

Step A: Add up nightly pallet counts

First 10 days: 5 × 10 = 50
Next 20 days: 2 × 20 = 40
Sum of nightly pallet counts = 50 + 40 = 90

Step B: Convert to weekly equivalent

Weekly equivalent pallets = 90 ÷ 7 = 12.86

Step C: Apply your rate

If your pallet storage rate is £4.00 per weekly equivalent pallet:

Cost = 12.86 × £4.00 = £51.44

Why this is fair

You paid the higher storage amount only for the first 10 days, not the entire month.

Example 2 — Carton storage (simple)

In a 31‑day month, your carton usage is:

Days 1–15: 120 cartons per night
Days 16–31: 60 cartons per night

Step A: Add up nightly carton counts

First 15 days: 120 × 15 = 1,800
Next 16 days: 60 × 16 = 960
Sum of nightly carton counts = 1,800 + 960 = 2,760

Step B: Convert to weekly equivalent

Weekly equivalent cartons = 2,760 ÷ 7 = 394.29

Step C: Apply your rate

If your carton storage rate is £0.05 per weekly equivalent carton:

Cost = 394.29 × £0.05 = £19.71

Why this is fair

If your cartons reduced halfway through the month, your cost reduces accordingly.

Example 3 — A short-term spike (why daily matters)

A client normally stores 2 pallets, but receives a big inbound and temporarily stores 20 pallets for 3 days.

27 days at 2 pallets: 2 × 27 = 54
3 days at 20 pallets: 20 × 3 = 60
Sum of nightly pallet counts = 114
Weekly equivalent pallets = 114 ÷ 7 = 16.29

If we billed based on “peak pallets” (20) for a whole month, that would be unfair.

Daily snapshots ensure the client pays for the spike only for the 3 days it happened, and the warehouse is paid fairly for the extra space used during those days.

Summary: why this approach is best

It reflects your real storage usage over time.
It prevents clients from overpaying due to temporary spikes.
It prevents the warehouse from undercharging when storage was genuinely used.
It creates a fair, consistent method both sides can trust.