Business perk

Business perks came with the Open for Business expansion pack. They are rewards for receiving customer loyalty points in a business. A business owner can get only a total of 10 business perk points per business, one per level of the business. There are five sections of business perks: Connections, Perception, Cash, Wholesale and Motivation. Each section has five tiers. They are used to help your business do well, however some, such as Rally Forth, can drain your energy.

The 'Pass On' interaction allows a Sim who has a perk to pass it on to another family member or friend, or to a manager. In this case 'family' is equivalent to 'household'. Sims cannot invite relatives who are not part of the household to come over, and then pass on perks to them. (Contrary to what is in the Prima guide for OFB, perks can be passed on to teens.) The higher the level of the perk, the longer it takes to pass on. Obviously, Cash perks cannot be passed on, but all others can be. If you intend for a Sim to inherit a business, it is recommended to pass on at least a few perks to that Sim, as that will help them to continue expanding the business after the teacher is long gone.

Cash

 * Level 1: One time reward of §1000
 * Level 2: One time reward of §2500
 * Level 3: One time reward of §10,000
 * Level 4: One time reward of §20,000
 * Level 5: One time reward of §50,000

These awards are useful for venues, and can give a boost to struggling new businesses. At the higher levels, they're useful to owners of home businesses, especially if they plan to retire at some point.

Wholesale

 * Level 1: 12% discount on catalog items
 * Level 2: 15% discount on catalog items
 * Level 3: 19% discount on catalog items
 * Level 4: 24% discount on catalog items
 * Level 5: 30% discount on catalog items

These perks are useful for businesses that sell catalog items, as they increase the discount an owner gets when buying at wholesale. This can allow a business owner to increase profit margins, or to reduce prices while continuing to make a good profit. Since lower prices make items easier to sell, this can be a useful tool for new businesses struggling to gain customer loyalty.

Perception

 * Level 1: A Sim can look at another Sim and determine if that Sim is in a 'Bad', 'Average', or 'Pretty Good' mood.
 * Level 2: A Sim can look at customer and determine the item in the store that he or she really wants.
 * Level 3: A Sim will look for the customer who is the most susceptible to sales interactions.
 * Level 4: Increases the effectiveness of all the Sim's sales interactions.
 * Level 5: A Sim is able to control a customer into buying items against their will. This action will reduce customer loyalty, so use it on a loyal customer if you want them to return to your store.

These perks can help a business gain customer loyalty and additional simoleons as a result. This tool is highly useful for business owners wishing to gain more Business Perks at a faster rate for any of their businesses.

Motivation

 * Level 1: Increases a Sim's capacity for influence as if he or she had three more friends.
 * Level 2: Improve someone's mood. (In an unpatched copy, this is a Romantic interaction.)
 * Level 3: A Sim can motivate a target to excel. The target's talent badges will temporarily be increased by 1 level. While this boost in in effect, it may affect the target's perception of how well he or she is being paid.
 * Level 4: A Sim will receive double points when fulfilling wants that increase influence.
 * Level 5: Your Sim can Rally Forth and boost the motives of everyone present.

These perks are best used to prevent your workers from quitting inexplicably. You can make sure your employees are in a better mood than is indicated by their sphere PlumbBob.

Connections

 * Level 1: A Sim will start new relationships at +5 daily and +5 lifetime.
 * Level 2: A Sim will start new relationships at +10 daily and +10 lifetime.
 * Level 3: A Sim can Network and get to know all Sims the target has met, with a Level 1 starting boost.
 * Level 4: A Sim will have a "head for numbers", and be able to call any Sim in the phonebook (other than NPCs), whether or not he or she has ever met them.
 * Level 5: A Sim can meet anyone through a target, and get a Level 2 starting boost through them.

Since sales interactions are more likely to be well received when the seller and customer have a positive relationship, these perks will help in making sales. Of course, they're also useful beyond the shop walls. Even at low levels, they can help in making friends for careers or influence.