diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 90b48f9..f89485a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -135,7 +135,6 @@ The total quota for each project is simply calculated by `(CURRENT_YEAR - year)
 
 Each project's current usage is tracked in `{project}/..usage`, which contains a JSON object with the following properties:
 - `total`: the total number of bytes allocated to user-supplied files (i.e., not including `..`-prefixed internal files).
-- `~pending_on_complete_only` (optional): internal use only, this should be ignored by readers.
 
 ## Interacting with the API
 
diff --git a/src/upload.js b/src/upload.js
index 73471cd..bdf8ff7 100644
--- a/src/upload.js
+++ b/src/upload.js
@@ -211,8 +211,6 @@ function checkBadName(name, type) {
     }
 }
 
-const pending_name = "~pending_on_complete_only";
-
 export async function initializeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
     let project = decodeURIComponent(request.params.project);
     let asset = decodeURIComponent(request.params.asset);
@@ -275,9 +273,7 @@ export async function initializeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
         }
         let link_details = await checkLinks(split.link, project, asset, version, env, manifest_cache);
 
-        // Checking that the quota isn't exceeded. Note that 'pending_name'
-        // should only EVER be used by completeUploadHandler, so even if it's
-        // non-zero here, we just ignore it.
+        // Checking that the quota isn't exceeded.
         let current_usage = 0;
         for (const s of split.simple) {
             current_usage += s.size;
@@ -289,9 +285,6 @@ export async function initializeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
             throw new http.HttpError("upload exceeds the storage quota for this project", 400);
         }
 
-        usage[pending_name] = current_usage;
-        bucket_writes.push(s3.quickUploadJson(upath, usage, env));
-
         // Build a manifest for inspection.
         let manifest = {};
         for (const s of split.simple) {
@@ -400,7 +393,9 @@ export async function completeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
     // We scan the manifest to check that all files were uploaded. We also
     // collect links for some more work later.
     let manifest = await assets.manifest;
+    let added_usage = 0;
     let linkable = {};
+
     for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(manifest)) {
         let s = assets.listing.get(k);
         let found = (typeof s != "undefined");
@@ -427,6 +422,7 @@ export async function completeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
             } else if (s != v.size) {
                 throw new http.HttpError("actual size of '" + k + "' does not match its reported size in the manifest", 400);
             }
+            added_usage += s;
         }
     }
 
@@ -449,8 +445,7 @@ export async function completeUploadHandler(request, env, nonblockers) {
     // Updating the usage file.
     let upath = pkeys.usage(project);
     let usage = await s3.quickFetchJson(upath, env);
-    usage.total += usage[pending_name];
-    delete usage[pending_name]
+    usage.total += added_usage;
     bucket_writes.push(s3.quickUploadJson(upath, usage, env));
 
     if (is_official) {
diff --git a/tests/upload.test.js b/tests/upload.test.js
index c2e1145..af6117c 100644
--- a/tests/upload.test.js
+++ b/tests/upload.test.js
@@ -197,11 +197,6 @@ test("initializeUploadHandler works correctly for simple uploads", async () => {
     expect(typeof lckbody.session_hash).toEqual("string");
     expect(lckbody.version).toEqual("v0");
 
-    // Check that the usage file was updated.
-    let usinfo = await env.BOUND_BUCKET.get("test-upload/..usage");
-    let usbody = await usinfo.json();
-    expect(usbody["~pending_on_complete_only"]).toEqual(123);
-
     // Check that a version summary file was posted to the bucket.
     let sinfo = await env.BOUND_BUCKET.get("test-upload/blob/v0/..summary");
     let sbody = await sinfo.json();
@@ -747,7 +742,11 @@ test("completeUploadHandler works correctly", async () => {
     // Checking that the usage has been updated.
     let usinfo = await env.BOUND_BUCKET.get("test-upload/..usage");
     let usbody = await usinfo.json();
-    expect(usbody.total).toBeGreaterThan(original_size);
+    let new_size = original_size;
+    for (const x of [ "makoto", "akane", "chito" ]) { //i.e., everything set as 'simple'.
+        new_size += payload[x].length;
+    }
+    expect(usbody.total).toEqual(new_size);
 
     // Check that a log was added.
     let found_logs = await setup.fetchLogs(env);