Capped Actuals

[FFP]

Truckie mate speaking, and breaking it down for all to understand,so here goes .. . .

This capped actuals thing. I'm going to have to give the defence for the system first.

On a route, as a truckie, the Co carries an imprest, with suitable denominations of money for areas you are likely to visit, in suitable quantities and with a "rate" sheet for each area. So on a States trip, some US dollars and Canadian dollars would see you good. Out to the desert, US and Euro's would see you good. They give you a sheet, you put your details on it , sign for X amount and that's that. Any balance or refund is done through your pay. Paperwork is minimum (for all except the Co maybe)

Now the rate sheet has an amount for B'fast, lunch and dinner, the purpose being that if you are on the ground for more than 3 hrs and at least 30 mins in the period, you are entitled to the appropriate rate. Now I don't care what anyone says, but if you can't get dinner in Cyprus for £25 Cyp or lunch for £11, or even dinner in the States for $40 US, then you either being ripped off or eating far too much.
The current system gives you the money, say $80 US for the day, and assumes we are all big boys and girls and eat our greens like Mum says. You can go and blow $75 on getting pi$$ed and get McDonalds or you can go and get a proper 3 course meal, as per the rules and the costings the scribblies worked to when they went out to determine the cost.

A Big point here fella's, rates are great for drinking on, but the RAF doesn't owe you alcohol at the end of your day. It's meant for eating. Maybe you'd like to see a rate for 3 local beers per 24hr stop. But until that happens, the system is for food and soft drinks with your meal. The idea is that if you were at your home base, you could eat a decent meal in your mess and have water or squash with your meal. You don't get a pint with your meal in the mess. If you want one, you buy it yourself at the mess bar. You don't expect to drink at home for free, so why abroad ?

Now I know there's nothing better than meeting in the bar after a long hard day for some well deserved beers. I don't think we as a public service can justify using taxpayers money specifically for alcohol. If you can get a scam going with a restaurant and with the receipts stating Coke, then fine, good on you. But the RAF has to devise a system for feeding you down route.

The thing with the new system is that the RAF can only make or save on it. Before they were giving $80 a day, now, if you manage to eat and get receipts for $80, then they aren't spending any more. On the balance of things, people will either get receipts for less, so money is saved or if you eat over, then they still only pay the $80.
But what if I can't eat on that ? Get menu's from where you are, and if you can prove the cost was indeed resonable, then it gets sorted and the rate revised for further visits.

You also get a rate for Personal Incidental Expenses or PIE as it's known. This caters for your newspaper you must have down route, a 3 MINUTE (note this point, we'll be coming back to this) home to the missus or whoever, and laundry. For instance, in the states, it's $18.30 at the moment I think.

Now the 3 minute call home, done from the comfort of your Marriott room to the wife's mobile, I reckon could eat up the $18 in one go. But that's the entitlement, so make a point of it. Get a receipt for the 3 min call which the hotel should provide and if everyone does that, it can't be long before the paper trails says " It was cheaper to give them $18, and let them deal with it. This way, it's costing much more" Also interesting to note that the call could be your mobile to a UK mobile I guess ? You are entitled to a 3 min call. So make sure you use it.

The big ball ache will be whether you have to keep the receipts yourself for a year (or risk an audit ? What will they do if you can't provide a receipt for that one dinner in Lajes ?) OR whether the Co will have to take in all the receipts as part of the imprest ?

Where will it hit the hardest ? Bahrain. Those on a 4 month tour won't be able to save quite as much money as they have in the past, and those familiar with the situation there will know just how much of an effect that will have.