Each planet has a different kind of economy so facilities that would do well on one planet might not do as well on another. There is a variety of factors that can affect the economy; these factors will be accounted for by the employment rate (ER) and the general planetary income modifier (PIM).

The employment rate is a ratio of jobs vs. population. The more people that have jobs or the more jobs available per person, the higher the average pay and therefore the higher the average spending of NPCs, which is where this type of facility income comes from. This holds true to an extent; however, if you have too many jobs per person, the excess jobs will not be filled and facilities can lose money. The best employment rate lies between 1 and 2. Employment rate can be viewed from the 'Show Stats' link on the city inventory.
Equations
ER = Jobs/(Flats + 0.1)
Jobs = total number of jobs on a planet
Flats = total number of flats on a planet

This is a general measure of the planetary economy and is calculated as follows:
Equations
PIM = (1.65) * tan^-1(((-(ER^2) + 3 * ER)/2) - TL - CR - 0.25)
ER - employment rate
TL - tax-level - between 0 and 1
CR - crime - between 0 and 1
note: tan^-1 is arctan

Many facilities in the universe provide a possibility of jobs for the inhabitants of whatever planet they are on. Jobs as used in Facility Income: Employment Rate is equal to the sum of all the job spots provided by each facility on that planet.
Jobs = Sum(job spots)
Tip
You can find the number of jobs each facility provided in the Facility Rules. Click on the name or picture of the facility; it is then listed under Cargo Stats.

There is a general equation (PIM) for how well business and facilities will do depending on the planet they are on (see Section 1). That equation gives the overall economic picture of that planet; each type of facility in its turn has a modifier, which will be multiplied to this general equation to determine the income or cost of each facility.

The Facilities with a FIM and thus the possibility of an income are the following:

1x1
Personal Residence, ATM, Chapel

1x3
Office, Hotel, Tavern, Bank, Garage

3x3
Semi-detached House, Library, Museum, Civic Centre, Church, Casino, Workers Compound, Council Flats, Shop

3x5
Hangar, Landing Pad

5x5
Training Academy, Hospital, High Rise Building 10 flats, High Rise Building 20 flats, High Rise Building 30 flats, High Rise Building 40 flats, Temple, High Rise Building 50 flats, Port, Ranch

7x7
Skyscraper 60 flats, Skyscraper 70 flats, Skyscraper 80 flats, Skyscraper 90 flats, Skyscraper 100 flats, Cathedral, Zoo

1x5
Dry Dock

4x8
Starport

20x20
Wildlife Preserve

4x7
Stadium

Note
FIM is a secret value.

Some facilities require that they be assigned to a faction of a certain type to earn an income.

Religion
Chapel
Church
Temple
Cathedral

Medical
Hospital

Trading
ATM
Bank
Casino

Transport or Government
Starport

The trading skill of the operator will affect how well you can run your business. If you have a high skill, you will make more income than someone with a lower skill. Also, if you are on a planet with poor stats but have a high trading skill, you will lose less money than someone with a lower skill.
Equations
When PIM >= 0
TSM = (1 + ((Trade Skill - 2) / 20))

When PIM < 0
TSM = (1- ((Trade Skill - 2) / 20))

There are some business where there is a limited demand for their services for a given planet or city. If there are more facilities than are sustainable by the market, then the income of all of the facilities will be diminished. Each type of facility has a different maximum sustainable number (MSNF) of facilities per given market. Therefore, the maximum total income per facility type is divided between all of the facilities of that type if the number of that type of facilities exceeds the maximum sustainable number. These restrictions only apply when the PIM > 0. If the facilities are losing money, their losses do not get divided by the number of facilities. The market changes as more facilities get built. To reflect this, the maximum is linked to the civilization level (CL) of the planet.

A couple of variables are used in the modifier to the income: RNF (real number of facilities) and MNSF (Max Number of Sustainable Facilities per city).
Note
MNSF is a secret value. RNF = # of facilities of each specific type of facility that is on that planet. There is an RNF value for Hotels, Taverns, etc.

MNSF depends on facility type.

If the real number of facilities surpasses the max number of facilities and the PIM > 0 then the SBR modifier equation is:

((Planet Size in Squares) x Civ Level x MNSF) / (0.85 x RNF)

Else the SBR modifier = 1.

Planet Size in Squares: for a 20x20 planet this is 400
Civ Level: as used everywhere else
MNSF: max number of sustainable facilities (of that type) per city
RNF: real number of facilities of each type
0.85 comes from the fact that the CL cannot exceed 0.85

In order for a facility to provide an income, there are a few conditions:

• The facility's crewlist must be set Open To All.
• The facility must have an operator and that operator must be active (logged in within the past week). There is no limit to the number of facilities you may operate, and no requirement to be at the same location as any of the facilities.
• The facility must have a manager. If the manager is a player, he or she must be active. Note that some facilities require that the manager be a faction of a certain type (see Section 4).
• The facility must be powered. Unpowered facilities will generate a loss of income.

The amount of income/loss from a facility for its manager, calculated once a month, is as follows:
Equations
FIM = Facility income modifier (see Facility Income: Facility Income Modifier)
PIM = Planetary income modifier (see Facility Income: Planetary Income Modifier)
TSM = Trade Skill Modifier (see Facility Income: Trade Skill Modifier)
SBR = Sustainable Business Restrictions (see Facility Income: Sustainable Business Restrictions)
RAND = Random number between .9 and 1.1

Income = FIM x PIM x 350 x TSM x SBR x RAND

When a facility's income is negative, the facility will incur a debt. The owner will then receive a message informing him or her how many credits are owed. The owner then has time to come up with the cash to pay off the debt. Debt can be paid off from the 'Pay off Debt' button on facility inventory ('Manage Facilities' level 4 is required for factions). If the facility makes a profit next month, the income will go first to paying off the debt and then, if any still remains, to the manager. If the facility continues to lose money and the owner does not pay off the debt, the facility will eventually be seized by NPCs.

Facilities that are unpowered, or do not have the right faction type as manager, incur a loss equal to half the profit they would otherwise have made. Those that are making a loss still receive the full loss. The biggest deficit you can run before the facility is seized is 3 months of maximum loss.
Equations
Maximum Debt = 2719 x FIM

How do I make the most money?

• Have an ER between 1 and 2. You can still make money with an ER below 1 or above 2 but only to a certain point. The ER, Jobs & Flats for a planet can be found on City Inventory > Show Stats. If you do not own a city on a planet where you have facilities contact a city owner or the group that controls the planet (found on the galaxy map)
• The lower the tax rate the better, 5% is the default tax rate for all planets. The tax rate can be found on the galaxy map
• Have a low crime rate. 0 = good, 1 = bad. Crime Rate can be found on the same page as the ER (City Inventory > Show Stats)
• The higher your trade skill the better. Having a high trade skill will mean that you will make more money or, if the facility is losing money, will lose less money.
• Make sure there is enough population to sustain the facilities. For example: you can't expect to have a highly profitable Casino on a planet with only a few High Rises.

How do I prevent a large loss?

• Don't open or build facilities on planets who have bad ER, Crime or Tax rates
• If there are already a lot of that type of facility on the planet it might not be worth opening up a business because you would be sharing the profits among all the other facilities if the number of facilities exceeded the MNSF. The higher the CL and larger the planet the more facilities of one type that planet can sustain before profits start to shrink

Example
Suppose that there is one tavern on a planet and it is making 20,000 credits a month. Also suppose that the MNSF for the tavern is 1. If someone decides to build another tavern then the tavern will now be making 10,000 credits a month. This is only an example, the values are made up.
Still confused? Don't know why your facility just lost you a lot or didn't make what you were expecting? Contact khan@swcombine.com