Finance | The Undercut Wiki

The Finance app is the team’s balance sheet: cash on hand, the contractual net per grand prix, every income and expense line with the multipliers actually applied, and a projection to the end of the season. It is also where you pull the two emergency levers — selling equity and taking a bank loan. Going into the red is legal; staying there for three grands prix in a row is not.

How to open it

Sidebar / desk Finance icon, available from pre-season phase 1 onwards and all season. Escape closes it (or closes an open modal first). The app is never read-only: the Sell Shares / Buy Back / Take Loan buttons work in-season.

Layout: a left column of stacked panels (Budget · Net per GP · Team Value & Ownership · Income · Expenses) and a right column holding the projection and its per-GP bar chart.

Budget Remaining

The big number is current_budget — real cash, green above zero, red below. Under it: Income: +X | Expenses: −Y, which are the two tile totals from the panels below.

Starting capital by tier (the same amount every AI team gets):

Tier	Starting cash	Starting reputation
Small	$40,000,000	30
Medium	$60,000,000	50
Large	$90,000,000	70

Net per GP

The single most important number in the app. It is the contractual net — what lands every race weekend regardless of results:

net = sponsor_income + supplier_flow − driver_cost − running_cost
      + academy loan fees
      − bank loan installment (while a loan is active)

Prize money is deliberately not in it (it is an estimate, and it lives in the projection instead).

A tinted warning bar sits inside this panel. Its wording escalates:

Condition	Message
2 red GPs on the counter	”N consecutive GPs in the red — ONE more deficit GP and the team is bankrupt!“
1 red GP	”1 GP in the red — 3 consecutive deficit GPs means bankruptcy.”
Car build will push you red	”The season car build (X) will put the team in the red — allowed, but…”
Projection crosses zero	”…your budget goes into the red at GP N”
Negative net, positive projection	”Budget declining — find more income”
Otherwise	”Team financially stable…”

Income (per GP)

Every line here is what actually hits the bank, multipliers included.

sponsor_income = Σ sponsor_effective_money(s)
               × (1 + (marketing_level − 1) × 0.05)      # 1.00 at Lv1 … 1.45 at Lv10
               × sponsor_income_multiplier               # career slider, default 1.575

sponsor_effective_money is the 0.5.0 variable-income rule:

effective = money × (1 − share) + money × share × (happiness / 100)

where share is 30–50 %, fixed per brand, scaled by the “Variable Share ×” slider. An unhappy sponsor is a pay cut, not just a renewal risk. (The per-sponsor rows in the panel print the contract’s sticker money_per_gp; the Income total uses the effective figure.)

Partnership Suppliers

Works-deal suppliers pay you. Each is listed individually, and the positive flow takes the same Marketing multiplier as sponsor income (1.00 → 1.45).

Pay Drivers

A driver with a negative salary_per_gp brings money in. Shown here in green and in the Expenses driver list (also green) — it is counted once.

Academy Loans

One line per prospect out on loan to a PF2/PF3 team: “Name → Team (Series)” with the dev team’s per-GP salary contribution.

fee_per_gp = driver's weighted rating × 600   (PF2)
           = driver's weighted rating × 250   (PF3)

Loans last one season and expire at the rollover. Accepting one also gives the prospect a +5 % development bonus for the real seat time.

Race prizes (estimate)

The last line is an estimate, not a contract — labelled Race prizes (est. P4/P9) from your two drivers’ current championship positions (mid-grid before the season starts).

weight_i     = 20 ^ ((n − 1 − i) / (n − 1))            # n = grid size
prize        = race_prize_total × weight_pos / Σ weights
race_prize_total = $2,025,000 (career slider)

On a 24-car grid that is roughly:

Finish	Share	Payout
P1	~12.8 %	~$259,000
P2	~11.2 %	~$227,000
P10	~4.0 %	~$80,000
P24	~0.6 %	~$13,000

Expenses (per GP)

Drivers

One row per signed driver (flag, helmet, role badge, salary). Reserve drivers are paid too. driver_cost in the net is the sum of all salaries — a pay driver reduces it.

Suppliers

One row per category (Engine / Tires / Fuel), colour-coded, showing Not selected when the slot is empty. Client contracts are costs:

supplier cost = |money_per_gp| × supplier_cost_multiplier      # career slider, default 0.7

Note the asymmetry: positive supplier flow takes the Marketing multiplier, negative flow takes the cost multiplier. Partnership income and client cost are not scaled by the same dial.

Infrastructure

One line per department: Name (LvN) −$X/GP where X = 50,000 × level (the Driver Academy is 150,000 × level).

These per-department lines are printed RAW. The net uses total_running_cost_per_gp(), which multiplies the sum by infra_running_cost_multiplier (default 0.75). The rows therefore add up to about a third more than what you actually pay. Trust the Net, not the sum of the rows.

Bank Loan

Bank Loan (N GP left) −$X/GP while a loan runs. The installment is deducted every GP by pay_loan_installment() and disappears on the last payment.

Team Value & Ownership

Three readouts and three buttons. This panel is the emergency exit.

Enterprise value

infra_value   = (sum of all 9 department levels) × $1,800,000
tier_mult     = 0.75 (Small) / 1.0 (Medium) / 1.3 (Large)
rep_mult      = 0.7 + reputation/100 × 0.6                    # 0.70 .. 1.30
results_bonus = championships × $15,000,000 + wins × $700,000
team_value    = max( infra_value × tier_mult × rep_mult + results_bonus , $8,000,000 )

Cash is excluded on purpose. Folding cash in used to let borrowed money inflate both the share price and the loan ceiling.

Sell Shares / Buy Back

cash raised = team_value × pct / 100

Sell in 1 % / 5 % steps. Buy-back costs the same rate and is bounded by both your un-held share and your cash on hand.

Dropping below 50 % ownership is GAME OVER — the board removes you, with a “LOSS OF CONTROL” email from the PFS Commission. The modal warns you in red and relabels the button “Sell (lose control)”, but it will let you do it. Sales are also paddock news; buy-backs are private.

The real trap is that buy-back is priced at the current value: raise cash by selling 20 % while broke and reputation-poor, then win a championship (+$15M of value, +reputation), and buying those shares back costs far more than you got for them.

Take Loan

One loan at a time. Reputation sets both the ceiling and the rate:

max_capital = team_value × (0.25 + reputation/100 × 0.25)     # LTV 25 % .. 50 %
annual_rate = 0.12 − reputation/100 × 0.06                    # 12 % .. 6 %

Interest is flat, not amortising:

total_interest = principal × rate × seasons
installment    = ceil( (principal + total_interest) / (seasons × GPs_per_season) )

Capital adjusts in $1M / $5M steps (or Max); duration is 1–5 seasons. A 5-season loan therefore costs 5× the annual rate in total interest — the length is a cash-flow choice, not a cheaper one. The modal quotes installment, total interest and total repayment live, and confirming mails you the agreement from First Paddock Bank.

Projection

The right column projects to the end of the real calendar (gps_remaining = calendar length − GPs done).

projected = budget
          + (net_before_loan + est_race_prizes) × gps_remaining
          − loan_installment × min(loan_gps_left, gps_remaining)
          + championship_prize_estimate                    (if any GPs remain)

Both prize streams are in there — the app used to show deep red to teams that would finish comfortably in the black. The composition line under the big number keeps it auditable: “incl. race prizes ~+X/GP · championship prize (P7): +Y”.

Championship prize

weight_i = 8 ^ ((n − 1 − i) / (n − 1))                # n = number of teams
prize    = championship_prize_total × weight_pos / Σ weights
championship_prize_total = $222,750,000 (career slider)

On a 12-team grid: P1 ≈ 19.2 % ≈ $42.8M, P6 ≈ 7.5 % ≈ $16.6M, P12 ≈ 2.4 % ≈ $5.3M. This single payment usually dwarfs a whole season of sponsor income — which is why the constructors’ position matters even when the title is gone.

The car build line

Below the projection, in amber, sits the bill nobody expects:

Pre-season, cars not yet built → “car build due at Car Review: −$X” against your current budget, where X is auto_build_cost (topping the inventory up to 4 of each non-engine part and 6 of each wing).
Any other time → “next season car build: −$X (+TV rights)” against the projected end-of-season budget, using the full recommended rebuild cost (~$10.5M). The TV rights package is credited at the same rollover, so the line adds it back.

Then after build: $Y in green or red. Every team re-manufactures its car every pre-season; if that number is red, next season starts underwater.

The chart

One bar per remaining GP, with the championship prize landing on the last bar and the build cost either shifting the whole curve down (bill due now) or appended as an extra post-build bar. Bars are green above current_budget / 4, amber below it, red under zero; the deficit zone is tinted. A blue triangle marks “now”.

Advanced

What happens, in order, at every race finish

income_per_gp() is credited (sponsors + suppliers − salaries − running costs + academy loan fees).
The loan installment is paid.
The same is done for every active AI team.
Race prize money is distributed to every classified car.
Dev-series rounds simulate; academy loan fees land.
check_bankruptcies() runs.

At the season rollover: reputation is re-evaluated, the championship prize is paid, and the TV broadcast-rights package (tv_rights_per_team, default $12,000,000, flat and position-independent) is credited to every entrant including debut teams, with a PFS Commission email.

The bankruptcy rule

Three consecutive grands prix finished with a negative budget. There is no absolute debt floor — debt is a legitimate short-term strategy (the mandatory car build is explicitly allowed to push you red). What kills a team is the inability to recover.

Streak 1 and 2 → a “FINANCIAL WARNING — N GPs in the red” email counting down.
Streak 3 → bankrupt.
The player has a second loss condition: equity_pct < 50.
The AI has the same rule, and a bankrupt AI team is retired, excluded from the grid immediately, its drivers freed on the spot, and replaced next season by a newly generated constructor.

How the AI plays the same board

Every AI team runs a finance model assigned by a stable hash of its name (~50 % balanced, 25 % aggressive, 25 % conservative). One shared assessment produces the season posture:

projected     = budget + net_per_gp × gps_per_season
margin_target = tier_reserve × 4 × ai_financial_intelligence / risk_appetite
                # tier_reserve: 1.5M Small / 2M Medium / 3M Large
                # risk_appetite: 1.6 aggressive / 1.0 balanced / 0.65 conservative

projected < 0 (or budget < 0 and net < 0) → Critical
projected < margin_target                 → Tight
otherwise                                 → Comfortable

Posture	Infra at rollover	Recruiting	Discretionary designs	Mid-season
Comfortable	1–3 upgrades by tier	ignores salary	yes	reinvests dormant cash above `tier_reserve × 14 / risk_appetite`, one facility per GP
Tight	0–1 upgrade; downgrades 1 if net/GP is negative	salary weighs candidates down	aggressive models only	frozen
Critical	never invests; downgrades 1–3	prefers pay drivers	no	frozen

When an AI team is in the red, check_bankruptcies pulls its levers before the streak ticks, in this order:

One loan, sized to deficit + runway + max(deficit/2, $2M) capped by its LTV ceiling, where runway = |net| × (6 × ai_financial_intelligence) GPs.
Still red on a losing trajectory → shed one facility level (the highest non-Academy department), refunding half the last upgrade. Bricks before shares.
Still red → one equity sale, sized to cover deficit + runway, but never below 50 % control. (This decisive sizing replaced a per-GP dribble that produced 148 tiny sales over three seasons; it is now ~20.)

A healthy but cash-light reputable team (reputation ≥ 62, cash < $5M, no loan) takes one modest 4-season loan to invest instead.

The AI Financial Intelligence slider (Settings → Career, 0.25 reckless → 2.0 prudent, default 1.0) scales every safety margin in that table.

Balance sliders that move these numbers

All in Settings → Career:

Slider	Default	Effect
`sponsor_income_multiplier`	1.575	Global × on all sponsor income
`supplier_cost_multiplier`	0.7	× on money you pay suppliers (positive flow untouched)
`infra_running_cost_multiplier`	0.75	× on total department upkeep
`race_prize_total`	$2,025,000	Per-race pool
`championship_prize_total`	$222,750,000	End-of-season pool
`tv_rights_per_team`	$12,000,000	Flat pre-season payment (0 disables)
`sponsor_income_spread`	1.5	Fracture between small and headline sponsors
`ai_financial_intelligence`	1.0	AI safety margins

Common mistakes

Reading the Infrastructure rows as your real upkeep. They are printed without the 0.75 running-cost multiplier; the Net per GP has it. The rows over-state upkeep by ~33 %.
Treating the projection as guaranteed. It bakes in estimated race prizes from your current championship positions and a championship prize for your current constructors’ place. Slip three positions and both estimates shrink.
Forgetting the car build. Every team re-manufactures its whole car every pre-season (~$10.5M at recommended quantities). A season that ends at +$8M starts the next one at −$2.5M before a single upgrade.
Selling equity early and cheap. The price is today’s team value, which is at its lowest exactly when you are desperate. Buying back after a title costs multiples of what you raised — and below 50 % it is game over, with no confirmation beyond a red line of text.
Taking a 5-season loan for a 1-season hole. Interest is flat: principal × rate × seasons. Five seasons costs five years of interest even if you never needed the money after the first.
Panicking at a single red GP. One deficit weekend costs nothing but a warning email. Three consecutive ones end the career — and the counter resets the moment the budget is back above zero.