Originally, the allotment system was a name for a system used to pay servants of the state, like officers and clergy. It was introduced because of an often felt shortage of money, and the allotment system tried to solve this by localizing taxes; meaning that payment consisted of an individual's right to collect certain taxes. Later on it referred to an organization created to provide soldiers to the armed forces, properly known as "det ständiga knektehållet" (literally "the permanent soldier household"). The reason for this development of the term is that a large part of the allotment system was used to support "det ständiga knektehållet".