Laborer journals and guild hall profitability

Use journal profitability to evaluate one work cycle, and guild hall profitability to examine a larger setup. Select the laborer and supported tier, then review full-journal cost, empty-journal value and expected resource returns.

The cost of a full journal belongs in the cycle even if you filled it yourself: you could have sold it instead. Laborer count scales resource demand and capital requirements. It does not improve the sale price of the returned resources.

In an invented example, a full journal costs 12,000 silver, the returned empty journal is worth 7,000 and expected resources are worth 6,000. Gross cycle profit is 7,000 + 6,000 − 12,000 = 1,000. If both outputs are sold with an assumed 4% tax, net profit falls to 480 before additional charges.

Retaining the empty journal changes cash received, but it does not erase the journal’s value. Do not count that same empty journal again as a free input when filling the next one. Check AU’s actual output assumptions and apply your own selling plan consistently.

If a teaching setup costs 100,000 silver and earns 480 net per cycle, simple payback is 100,000 ÷ 480, approximately 209 completed cycles. That assumes unchanged prices and full utilization. Missed cycles, higher journal prices or lower returns extend payback; a non-positive recurring profit gives no finite payback.

Compare the required building and furnishing setup with what you actually own. Review supported return assumptions rather than extrapolating one laborer’s result to every tier or setup. Keep enough working capital for full journals between cycles.