Finances
Budget is the finance view for a tower. It records cash flow, outstanding loans and the tower's asset value. Use it to check how much can still be borrowed and how construction affects the balance sheet.
Tower value
Tower value is the total value of the tower's floor, room and transport assets:
- Floors: the number of constructed floor tiles multiplied by the map's above-ground floor construction cost.
- Rooms: each room's construction cost. For room types that merge into a wider room, every base-size room instance is counted. A burned room has no value.
- Transport: the transport system's construction cost plus the construction cost of every car it contains.
Elevator upgrades do not currently add to tower value; the valuation uses the original construction costs of the elevator and its cars.
Room depreciation
Only rooms depreciate. A room starts at its full construction value, then depreciates in a straight line for five in-game years until it reaches 20% of its original value. It never falls below that 20% floor. Floors and transport assets do not currently depreciate.
Loans
The maximum loan limit is the largest of the following amounts, rounded up to the next $200,000:
- 1.5 × the starting funds selected for the session;
- total income over the previous three years;
- 50% of tower value; or
- 75% of the map's default starting funds.
The available amount to borrow is the maximum loan limit minus the current outstanding loan. Cash on hand and existing loan debt do not reduce the tower-value portion of the formula; only the outstanding loan reduces the amount still available to borrow.
Cash flow and recurring income
The budget's income and expenses describe the selected period. Projected daily describes the current recurring income rate minus recurring expenses. Visitor receipts, one-off sales and grants can improve the period's result without improving that recurring rate. Projects income requirements use the recurring operating net.
Borrowing increases cash and debt; repayment reduces both. It is shown separately from the operating result. A positive balance after borrowing does not establish that the tower can cover its ongoing costs.
The following examples use illustrative dollar-display amounts. They explain the arithmetic, rather than promise particular rents or visitor numbers.
Profitable operations, falling cash
Suppose the tower starts with $200,000 cash and records the following during one in-game day:
| Item | Cash change |
|---|---|
| Recurring room income | +$10,000 |
| Recurring operating expenses | −$7,000 |
| Visitor receipts | +$2,000 |
| New construction | −$100,000 |
| Net change before borrowing | −$95,000 |
Recurring net is +$3,000/day, but construction makes cash fall to $105,000. The build is an immediate bill; its future income may take time to arrive. Leave enough cash for services, power, staffing and vacancies after construction.
A grant can hide a recurring deficit
If recurring income is $6,000/day and recurring expenses are $8,000/day, the tower is losing $2,000/day from its current recurring operations. A $50,000 one-off grant makes that day's result +$48,000 before other transactions, but the next day's recurring rate is still −$2,000/day. Improve occupancy/income or reduce ongoing costs instead of treating the grant as permanent profit.
Base upkeep is only part of a facility's bill
Unupgraded Housekeeping costs $400/day in base upkeep plus $500/day for each configured worker. With two workers, that is $1,400/day, before power or other tower-wide costs. Adding another identical room adds construction cost and another recurring bill. First check the existing workers' access to dirty rooms and garbage destinations.
Room comparison lists base upkeep separately so staffing and other operating charges are not mistaken for an all-inclusive cost.
Planning an expansion
- Check the current recurring rate and the recent period's actual receipts and expenses.
- Count the build's immediate cost, including supporting floors, transport and required facilities.
- Allow time for construction, leasing or hotel bookings; new rooms need not produce income immediately.
- Keep a reserve for operating costs and disaster response. A project advance or loan helps finance construction but is not a substitute for sustainable operation.
- Recheck power, transport and services as the population grows.