Whats the best way to keep econamy up

[dark_disclosure]

i need help i always land myself with settlements getting zero returns from my settlements

[Quirinus]

Oh.... not to fret. A settlement always makes money. It's just that the 'income' you see already has troop upkeep deducted from it. Your army upkeep is split proportionately between your cities-- the higher the population, the more it pays. Conversely, the smaller it is, the less it pays. That's why you always see big cities with 'negative' income while small settlements can rake in positive income. A larger settlement almost always makes more money, it's just that they also shoulder a larger part of army upkeep.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Regarding finances, it often can be wise to crank up your tax rate to as high as it will go without causing "red" public order, below 60%.

Moving the capital closer to low income cities will also aid your income, although primarily through decreasing the income penalties caused by corruption. Building buildings with a law bonus can also help lower this factor - law both removes corruption, and increases happiness at the same time making it the best possible bonus available in R:TW. Temples are generally the best for this purpose since their higher levels can reduce corruption by a huge amount. If you don't have temples dedicated to law bonuses, you may wish to destroy the ones you have to construct them. Ensure that public order is stable first, or you may have rebellious problems while you build them though.

A final note, as Quirinus has said, no city is ever losing you money, regardless of what the display says. Every city contributes to your funds, even if it does seem to be losing money every turn. This is because the game subtracts military upkeep from every settlement before showing its details to you.

Due to this problem, a more accurate depiction of your empire's finances can be seen on the end of turn report. A more accurate depiction of individual cities financial contribution can also be seen, although this requires manual work.

Quite simply, open up the the settlement details scroll, and look at the financial summery. Add up all the items in the "+" section, and then subtract all the items in the "-" section excluding military upkeep. Your result is your city's financial contribution to your empire.

This function can also be used to work out the economic viability of projects in the settlement. Items in the "+" section which are faded out are benefits which will be granted to you by buildings currently in the build que. Items which are gradually fading out constantly in the "-" section are negatives which will be removed by the construction of buildings currently in the build que.

Use this, combined with the cost of each building, to work out which projects are worthwhile for boosting income, and which ones are best left till later.

[RLucid]

This factor is important in the game, for the grand strategy.

For instance economically it's probably better not to capture some settlements, the conflicts you get dragged into aren't worth the hasssle. So for instance, sticking a fort on border with Luvavum and then scramble with mercs, and newly raised army, when an attack southwards is spotted by a spy, is probably financially better than fighting a 3 front war, with Germans, Gauls, Spain & Britains simultaneously.

As Jullii, I've tended to try to grow capitol rapidly, but tax 2nd city higher, so I'm not hit by expensive public buildings all at same time, at the 6,000 level. Early on, small populations need growth more than, short term funds you raise by tax, so there's no right setting for all settlements.

The financial faction situation is what matters, not that some large settlements appear to be loss makers. If the financial situation deteriates, it's probably because you over built army or navy, and should have paid more attention to economic developments, like farm improvements, ports, roads and trading structures.

[Quintus.JC]

The biggest expendisure of your denarius is army upkeep, there's no need to keep 10+ units of Hastatis and principes in your cities, peasants and Town Watch make just as fine garrisons with a much less pay. Disaband units if nessary. Always build ports first, as they're most of the time the most lucrative way of making revenue, trade centres after. Using army efficently will be the key to your income.

[Severus]

I've been playing BI and if you have settlements that export overseas upgrade those ports, they can bring in a lot of money, also upgrading roads that trade over land can significantly increase money. And like mentioned above, anything that increases law is excellent.
One problem I am having in BI is that everytime a general sits in a settlement he starts to get negative traits, esp. income penalty. I understand these traits build up when you leave your general in a settlement. I remember reading about a mod where you no longer need to move your general constantly to keep this from happening, does anyone know where i can find that mod? Is there any other way to keep your generals from aquiring bad income traits without a mod? Always pay close attention to your generals, i rarely seem to have a general thats worth a damn for managing a settlement for long due to this!