diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/company-work-batch.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/company-work-batch.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9fe1abc5a1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/company-work-batch.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { takeCompanyWorkBatch } from "../services/company-work-batch.js";
+
+describe("company work batch", () => {
+  it("shares capacity while preserving the owner's order within each company", () => {
+    const entries = [
+      { companyId: "a", id: "a-oldest" }, { companyId: "a", id: "a-next" },
+      { companyId: "a", id: "a-later" }, { companyId: "b", id: "b-due" },
+    ];
+    expect(takeCompanyWorkBatch(entries, 3)).toEqual({
+      entries: [entries[0], entries[3], entries[1]], lastCompany: "a",
+    });
+  });
+  it("rotates between batches when more companies are due than fit in one batch", () => {
+    const entries = ["a", "b", "c", "d"].flatMap(companyId => [
+      { companyId, id: `${companyId}-first` }, { companyId, id: `${companyId}-second` },
+    ]);
+    const first = takeCompanyWorkBatch(entries, 2);
+    const remaining = entries.filter(entry => !first.entries.includes(entry));
+    const second = takeCompanyWorkBatch(remaining, 2, first.lastCompany);
+    expect([...first.entries, ...second.entries].map(entry => entry.companyId)).toEqual(["a", "b", "c", "d"]);
+    expect(takeCompanyWorkBatch(remaining, 1, "z").entries[0].companyId).toBe("a");
+  });
+  it("finishes an empty or exhausted batch without inventing work", () => {
+    expect(takeCompanyWorkBatch([], 25, "gone")).toEqual({ entries: [], lastCompany: "gone" });
+    const entry = { companyId: "only" };
+    expect(takeCompanyWorkBatch([entry], 25).entries).toEqual([entry]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/server/src/services/company-work-batch.ts b/server/src/services/company-work-batch.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f83d2dcd5a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/services/company-work-batch.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export function takeCompanyWorkBatch<T extends { companyId: string }>(
+  ordered: readonly T[],
+  limit: number,
+  afterCompany: string | null = null,
+): { entries: T[]; lastCompany: string | null } {
+  const grouped = new Map<string, T[]>();
+  for (const entry of ordered) {
+    const group = grouped.get(entry.companyId);
+    if (group) group.push(entry); else grouped.set(entry.companyId, [entry]);
+  }
+  const companies = [...grouped.keys()].sort();
+  const next = afterCompany === null ? 0 : companies.findIndex(id => id > afterCompany);
+  const start = next < 0 ? 0 : next;
+  const rotation = [...companies.slice(start), ...companies.slice(0, start)];
+  const entries: T[] = [];
+  let lastCompany = afterCompany;
+  for (let round = 0; entries.length < limit; round++) {
+    let added = false;
+    for (const companyId of rotation) {
+      const entry = grouped.get(companyId)![round];
+      if (!entry) continue;
+      entries.push(entry); lastCompany = companyId; added = true;
+      if (entries.length === limit) break;
+    }
+    if (!added) break;
+  }
+  return { entries, lastCompany };
+}