ONTO vs. ON TO:
Onto is a preposition. In a sentence, the preposition
onto will be part of a prepositional phrase consisting of
onto + its object + any modifiers of its objects. The entire phrase it is a part of will function adverbially to modify the
verb or verb phrase that precedes the phrase.
However, there are a number of sentences where either form would be correct, depending on the intended meaning. Take a look at some examples:
1. We drove onto the turnpike. (We got on the turnpike.)
2. We drove on to the turnpike. (We drove until we got to the turnpike.
3. It would be more profitable to shift the cost onto your customers.
4. It would be more profitable to pass the cost on to your customers.
Hope we can now choose when to choose onto and when to choose on to than a lot of explanation involving grammatical terminology.
In the sentance " Pass the cost onto/ on to the customers" it entirely depends on teh meeting intended.
Prajjwal [e-mail address removed by mods, please register and add it to your profile]