| Daarknes |
One of the easy abstractions that I use for running my campaign is just a simple formula for determining CP.
((Roll + Mod + Total CP Bonus)/10)/2 = CP Earned.
Dividing by ten gives you the available CP that can be purchased, while the second division by 2 assumes that they spent CP to earn CP. I do not even discuss gold with the players until they are getting ready to cash out. Essentially, this system just represents that the players are generally reinvesting their revenue into their business and not taking anything from it unless/until they explicitly tell me they are doing so.
Then allow players to distribute the CP up to the caps offered by their business. It cuts down the bickering and rule mongering considerably and speeds things along.
So, for example:
Tavern w/Manager- 1 bar, 1 Common Room, 1 Lavatory, 1 Office, 1 Storage has the ability to generate:
GP or Influence + 10
GP or Influence + 7
GP + 2
-------------------------
Total GP + 19 or Influence + 17
Assuming the manager follows the template on pg 88 of UC, he would have a +5 to the relevant skills. So if they take 10, thats:
10+5+17=32, 32/10=3 CP
Earned CP costs half of its Gold value to earn, and having workers treats it as being earned, so 3CP/2=1.5(or round down to 1) Influence earned. That is kept in their CP pool until they explicitly cash it out which would be 30 GP.
Some may argue that the skilled work values on pg 79 indicate that you would earn less, but I would contend that the skilled work rules apply when a PC is working at a business that they do not own, so they are getting a paycheck from the owner as opposed to being the owner collecting the profits. Additionally, paying the 1/2 cost to earn CP represents paying the overhead required to generate the CP, and thus the balance is profit.