Decide before the first dollar arrives, because splitting money afterward is a negotiation and splitting it beforehand is just a rule. Equal is only fair when contribution is equal, which it rarely is. Three options work: whoever does the job gets that money, one hires the other at a set rate, or an uneven split agreed up front by role. Costs come out before anything is divided.
Decide it before the first dollar arrives, because splitting money after it exists is a negotiation and splitting it beforehand is just a rule.
Equal is the obvious answer and it is only fair when the contribution is genuinely equal, which it rarely is. One of them found the customer. One of them owns the equipment. One does the part nobody wants. An even split that ignores all of that produces exactly the resentment it was meant to prevent.
Three structures that work better.
By the work. Whoever does the job gets the money for that job. Simplest, cleanest, and it handles the very common case where one sibling is enthusiastic and the other is occasional.
One hires the other. It is one kid's business and the other is paid per job or per hour. This is honest, it removes most of the arguments, and everybody knows whose thing it is. Around a third of the job is a reasonable rate for a helper.
By role, with a split agreed up front. If the roles are genuinely different and both are doing real work, an uneven split can be fair. Sixty forty where one found the customers and does the scheduling is not unjust, it is accurate.
What matters more than the formula is that it was agreed in advance and written down. Four lines is enough. Kids will accept a split they think is slightly unfair if they agreed to it, and will resent an objectively fair one that got decided after the fact.
Costs come out first, before anything is divided. Fuel and supplies are not profit, and a kid who takes their half off the top before expenses is going to be short when something needs replacing.
Then let them argue about it a bit. Working out a fair split with somebody you cannot walk away from is a useful thing to practice at this age.
Five questions about age, budget, time, and what they actually like doing. Four matched ideas at the end, free, with no email needed to see them.
Take the quizA kid who cuts, edges, and cleans up usually starts between $25 and $40. Professionals charge about $30 to $85 a visit, and a young founder starting below that is being paid less for being unproven, not for being young.
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What should a kid charge to mow a lawn?Ten people who already know them, one prepared sentence, and an easy way for each of them to say no.
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How does a kid find their first customer?Less than almost anyone expects, and for a lot of these ideas the honest answer is nothing until somebody has already said yes to a price.
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How much money does a kid need to start a business?Earlier than most people think, as long as the business matches what the kid can actually handle. The limit is rarely age itself.
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What age can a kid start a business?A program from Founder's Best Friend. Built for kids 8 to 18 who want something of their own.