Cash register

Registers were introduced in The Sims: Hot Date, and were present in all later expansion packs for The Sims. They are also found in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. They allow Sims to make purchases on community lots. Except for the register from The Sims: Makin' Magic, which is a kiosk with a cashbox, registers must be placed on a surface, usually a counter.

The Sims
Hot Date included two registers, one cheap and one expensive, and each subsequent expansion pack added a new type of register. Any register can be used on any community lot, and each register will spawn an NPC clerk or cashier. These NPCs are functionally identical, but their appearance will depend on the register that spawned them. The clerks spawned by the Hot Date registers will be generic downscale or upscale, depending on which register was used. Clerks spawned by the registers from expansion packs after Hot Date will generally fit the theme of the community area introduced in the expansion the register is from.

The Sims 2
The Sims 2 included a normal-looking register, Open for Business added a second, antique-looking register, and H&M Fashion Stuff added a third, fashionable register. Without Open for Business, or on unowned community lots with it, the cashier will be one of several teen NPCs set aside as cashiers. NPC cashiers wear a pale yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a green apron.

With Open for Business, the cash register is necessary for most player-run businesses and for learning the Register talent badge. Players should be aware that, while the NPC cashiers show Gold badge proficiency on unowned community lots, it is likely that they will not actually have any Register talent badge.

The Sims 3
Cash Registers in The Sims 3 are introduced in The Sims 3: World Adventures and come in four different forms:
 * Bookstore Register
 * Nectary Register
 * General Store Register
 * Food Register

Each register spawns its respective merchant Sim at markets in vacation sub-neighborhoods. These registers can be placed in home neighborhoods like Sunset Valley or Twinbrook, however they will not contain full purchase inventories. For example, the bookstore register will only sell those books sold in the bookstore rabbit hole when it is placed in a main neighborhood, and not the rare exclusive books sold in the respective sub-neighborhoods. These objects can only be placed on community lots, and they have three recolorable channels.

New registers were added with other expansions, buyable in the community lot objects under build mode. With Ambitions came the consignment shop register. The limited edition of The Sims 3: Pets came with a pet register for the pet shop, and Supernatural also came with a register for the alchemy shop.